I've been trying to catch up on everything Rebecca Solnit-authored that I've missed (and it's quite a bit) and discovered this gem of an exploration of walking. That's right--walking. Solnit looks at history, landscape, walking tours, social class-- I enjoyed it all.

I keep thinking this is such a great topic, and I like the author's works, and there's so much potential... but I haven't been a fan of the book so far.

This will be the first book discussed for walking book club.

At some point this year, Rebecca Solnit's name and books came to my attention. I wish I could remember how or why this happened. All that really matters is that I gotten to read some fascinating books. This is my second, No Ordinary Land by Laura McPhee included an essay by Solnit.

Microhistories, detailed books about one subject have probably existed for a long time, but the genre has grown like crazy in the last decade. Who knew that a whole book on salt, pencils, turquoise or walking could be so interesting. Solnit has written an excellent example of narrative non-fiction.

Solnit did her research and seems to have covered walking as throughly as one could. This is not a dry book. Solnit covers walking from pilgrimages to hiking through the streets of cities to suburbia, and her thoughts and excellent writing makes the journey very enjoyable.

In an interview, Solnit is asked to define herself as a type of author. She is unwilling to define herself as a particular kind of writer. She says, "I realized there that the genres — first-person lyrical essay, reportage, critical analysis — couldn’t be separate, that I needed all the tools..." in this case when she was writing about the Nevada test site. I think this is why I like Solnit's writing. She uses what she needs to tell her story. I am grateful that Solnit does not have one field that she writes about, but applies her knowledge to what she encounters. I look forward to meandering with Solnit again soon.

I recommend this book to readers who like to learn, who find books as a way to travel to new places and encounter different viewpoints.

Generally I really like Rebecca Solnit’s writing. The first 70% or so of this book, however, was a real slog for me. But I did quite enjoy the last 4 chapters-on gendered issues, suburbia (and exercise and bodies and consumption), art, and, surprisingly, Las Vegas (and commercialism, facades, nature, and space).

Death to treadmills, but not to this book, it’s a really good book