Overall I guess I didn't really find this especially enjoyable to read. There are definitely parts of it that are very thought provoking. There are passages that are for me nostalgia inducing depictions of the forests I remember from growing up around there. But then there are big chunks of really boring stuff like "I bought 12 nails and 8 boards and blah blah blah" and his attitudes about other people seem maybe a little bit off-putting.

It was interesting to be reminded of the context of some of the aphorisms that I feel are so often quoted and taking them in as part of this whole text casts them in a slightly different light.

I remember reading an article about Thoreau shortly after I'd started this book and a sentence that stuck with me was something to the effect of "Walden is the original cabin porn; like one of those 'minimalists' who choose this lifestyle in the woods for a little while and then can't stop telling everybody about their amazing experience free of the shackles of society" or whatever.