This is a topic I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, though I didn’t know of this book. I’ve become much more aware in the outer world after 11 years of walking with a camera, yet I know i still miss a lot. Like a quarter mile patch of trout lily’s I missed for years because I didn’t know to look for them. I’ve trained myself to see movement in the way of things furry and feathered, but I’ve come to think even that then means I’ll miss something else that someone else might see. I once missed seeing my sister in a parking lot and she said, jokingly but accurately, if I was a bird you would have seen me. We truly can only take in so much. (Overwhelm is a regular state for me.) not just what we take in through the five senses, but what we take in empathically and unconsciously as well.
I think it's generally our default setting to not see a lot, and that's even a sign our brains are working properly in prioritising what we're focused on - if we were truly aware of everything around us to an equal measure, we'd instantly be swamped with too much information. So I like this topic not because it's a recipe for feeling bad/guilty at how much we miss,but because it's a buffet, expanding our choices. You can say "okay, today is a sky day!" and mostly pay attention to what's overhead, or "okay, what's at ground level?" and you can sacrifice distance covered on your walk for heightened attention on what's on the ground under your feet. Even sitting still is a great way to "go for a walk" in this way (as you know as a birding enthusiast!). Being in one place, silent and mostly still, for half an hour is long enough to transform the wildlife around you, as it gets accustomed to your presence...
I realise now, with a fair degree of gloom, that what I usually pay attention to when I walk outside is where I'm putting my feet. Partly because not everyone clears up after their dog, but, less depressingly, to avoid any small, vulnerable creatures such as worms and exhausted bees. It's going to be a hard habit to break.
When I first moved to Paris from London, I deliberately set out to photograph my new surroundings as an incomer.
The writer of a travel guide writes about *two* places .. the city/ country that is the subject of the guide, and the context/ mileu that the writer grew up in. A guide to Italy written by an French person is different from one written by an English person.
I wanted to record Paris with an outside eye, before I became habituated to seeing the city with French eyes.
The ability to see with the eyes of another is invaluable.
I'm in. Just purchased a used hardback copy for only a little more than Kindle version. While I wait, I will borrow ebook from library. Do we need threadable app? I am slightly confused (which is more of a normal state 😂).
Wonderful! Yes, sorry for the confusion, Cris - you grabbing a copy of the book is everything you need for the read-along! I still haven't made plans on how I'm using Threadable for it, but the core of the read-through is everyone having their own copy of the book and me publishing newsletter updates.
I tried to sign up to Threadable and it sorta... won't let me in. Will the reading group be hosted only over there or will there be posts/discussions about it here on Substack too?
Argh - sorry about that, Charlotte. Yes, same for me too. I don't think that link works anymore. I'll check in with Threadable and see what the right link is these days - although you can find my circle by signing up and browsing through all the circles until you see "Active Geology with Mike Sowden". If you request access, it should let you in immediately...
And yes, however I am using Threadable as part of this reading group, I'll be writing it all up properly over here. My newsletter will be where the core of the read-through is happening - at least, my part of it anyway (everyone is welcome to read the book in their own time!).
A question: You say, “If you’re reading this, you can participate” (or something to that effect). Is there a code or something to get into this Threadable? The app seems to want one from me.
I haven't decided exactly how I'm using Threadable for it yet! It'll probably just be a particular sample chapter - Threadable doesn't use entire books that are still in copyright. When I saw "you can participate" I mean: you can grab a copy of the book yourself and read along as I post updates to the newsletter - or just read the updates as I publish them *without* reading the book! (But the book's well worth reading.)
Also, if you don't have an Audible account, do a free trial and use your one free credit to get On Looking in audiobook form - it's ready the author!
I like the general idea *very* much indeed (though not this author/ book so much), but are these groups restricted to owners of particular tech (hardware/ software ) or open to everyone?
Open to everyone! I could have been a bit clearer with my breakdown of how it's going to work - I'll clarify things in my next update - but essentially: all everyone needs is their own copy of the book we're reading, in any format of their choosing. That's the only requirement, so everyone can join in.
Thank you for being my third inspiration here (and I realise I didn't say so in the newsletter above - I'll edit it to make that clear)! Your book club has made me very envious of the books you've read and the authors you've virtually hung out with, so I just had to try something similar.
Extremely and enormously and hugely a lot! I'm glad I read it - Laura Kennedy chose well, because it's stuffed with things to think about - but at the same time, I think I've had my lifetime's fill of THAT one.
Brave New World was/ is a cynical and thought-provoking work that touches on human nature and frailty. Orwell's 1984 is an order of magnitude deeper and more complex. Both only yield their full impact to an experienced, adult reader.
If you are not left reeling by Orwell's 1984, you have not read it at the right age, or you have not read it with enough attention.
I actually found BNW a bit heavy-handed! Yes, it's thought-provoking, but to my modern taste it was a sledgehammer to crack open a peanut - the extent to which the characters felt like plot devices to nail home the story's themes rather than sources of genuine agency...it just didn't suspend my disbelief enough to truly unsettle me. I absolutely appreciate this may be a mixture of personal taste and (as another member of Laura's book club pointed out) a mark of the times it was written in, when what's now called "science fiction" was much less firmly defined as a genre with all its styles and tropes. A book I can admire, while having no desire to read it again except in summary...
This is, oddly enough, one of my least favorite books related to walking (sh, don't tell anyone!), but it's purely to do with the writing style and nothing at all with the content (I gave up when I got to the chapter that started by saying, "You don't know what gneiss is" because I did in fact know what gneiss was but even if I hadn't, I respond poorly to those kinds of assumptions). BUT I know that I would probably enjoy it a lot more when reading in the company of a bunch of people guided by Mike Sowden's wonderfully weird brain and bottomless curiosity!
I very much agree on the style. I found it rather too didactic as (extensively) quoted in the review in The Marginalian. I like the idea of the book club, but this writer just rubs me up the wrong way. I'll wait for the next one.
You will get more out of it than most people! Having to go deeply and repeatedly into a single subject area will stretch your language and vocabulary, having to recognise and bridge the cultural differences in the way that people think (and see) in different societies will stretch your brain.
I was reading Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale in French while in Paris (as one does ;), and a young woman at the next table had just finished it, and (predictably!) wanted to talk about it. The following half-hour was *easily* one of the most demanding, and most stimulating I have ever had .. not only did I have to work out my thoughts on the book (so far) but then had to express them in French.
So -- key question -- had I read the book in French, and processed and stored it in French .. or had I read it in French, but translated it in my brain and stored it in English?? ie Did I have the French vocabulary from this French-language book in my memory? Only by being suddenly forced to analyse and discuss the book at length did I get the answer to that. Yes, I did! <big smile emoji>
After 10 years of regularly speaking some French, I was finally thinking in French.
(PS: Your English looks fine .., no need to mention that it's not your first language!)
Also, for budget-conscious readers, it's available on Kindle for $2.99.
Thank you so much Joyce! Which country are you using for Amazon? ie. which store is this offer on?
US ... didn't think about it being different for different countries.
Thanks for that!
This is a topic I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, though I didn’t know of this book. I’ve become much more aware in the outer world after 11 years of walking with a camera, yet I know i still miss a lot. Like a quarter mile patch of trout lily’s I missed for years because I didn’t know to look for them. I’ve trained myself to see movement in the way of things furry and feathered, but I’ve come to think even that then means I’ll miss something else that someone else might see. I once missed seeing my sister in a parking lot and she said, jokingly but accurately, if I was a bird you would have seen me. We truly can only take in so much. (Overwhelm is a regular state for me.) not just what we take in through the five senses, but what we take in empathically and unconsciously as well.
I think it's generally our default setting to not see a lot, and that's even a sign our brains are working properly in prioritising what we're focused on - if we were truly aware of everything around us to an equal measure, we'd instantly be swamped with too much information. So I like this topic not because it's a recipe for feeling bad/guilty at how much we miss,but because it's a buffet, expanding our choices. You can say "okay, today is a sky day!" and mostly pay attention to what's overhead, or "okay, what's at ground level?" and you can sacrifice distance covered on your walk for heightened attention on what's on the ground under your feet. Even sitting still is a great way to "go for a walk" in this way (as you know as a birding enthusiast!). Being in one place, silent and mostly still, for half an hour is long enough to transform the wildlife around you, as it gets accustomed to your presence...
I realise now, with a fair degree of gloom, that what I usually pay attention to when I walk outside is where I'm putting my feet. Partly because not everyone clears up after their dog, but, less depressingly, to avoid any small, vulnerable creatures such as worms and exhausted bees. It's going to be a hard habit to break.
Which is also to say - I’m in!
Hooray!
When I first moved to Paris from London, I deliberately set out to photograph my new surroundings as an incomer.
The writer of a travel guide writes about *two* places .. the city/ country that is the subject of the guide, and the context/ mileu that the writer grew up in. A guide to Italy written by an French person is different from one written by an English person.
I wanted to record Paris with an outside eye, before I became habituated to seeing the city with French eyes.
The ability to see with the eyes of another is invaluable.
What an... Amazing idea! Thanks for the mention, Mike. 👍
Thank YOU for doing such a stonkingly terrific job of yours. It's a marvel and your work ethic is a superpower.
I'm in. Just purchased a used hardback copy for only a little more than Kindle version. While I wait, I will borrow ebook from library. Do we need threadable app? I am slightly confused (which is more of a normal state 😂).
Wonderful! Yes, sorry for the confusion, Cris - you grabbing a copy of the book is everything you need for the read-along! I still haven't made plans on how I'm using Threadable for it, but the core of the read-through is everyone having their own copy of the book and me publishing newsletter updates.
Thank you!
Ooh this sounds fabulous. Amazing, even. I'm in!
I tried to sign up to Threadable and it sorta... won't let me in. Will the reading group be hosted only over there or will there be posts/discussions about it here on Substack too?
Argh - sorry about that, Charlotte. Yes, same for me too. I don't think that link works anymore. I'll check in with Threadable and see what the right link is these days - although you can find my circle by signing up and browsing through all the circles until you see "Active Geology with Mike Sowden". If you request access, it should let you in immediately...
And yes, however I am using Threadable as part of this reading group, I'll be writing it all up properly over here. My newsletter will be where the core of the read-through is happening - at least, my part of it anyway (everyone is welcome to read the book in their own time!).
Excellent, that worked. Looking forward to it!
I’m in too. Paperback copy cheaper on eBay just now £16
I think I’ve just acquired the last paperback copy on Amazon UK.
A question: You say, “If you’re reading this, you can participate” (or something to that effect). Is there a code or something to get into this Threadable? The app seems to want one from me.
I haven't decided exactly how I'm using Threadable for it yet! It'll probably just be a particular sample chapter - Threadable doesn't use entire books that are still in copyright. When I saw "you can participate" I mean: you can grab a copy of the book yourself and read along as I post updates to the newsletter - or just read the updates as I publish them *without* reading the book! (But the book's well worth reading.)
Also, if you don't have an Audible account, do a free trial and use your one free credit to get On Looking in audiobook form - it's ready the author!
Thx!
I like the general idea *very* much indeed (though not this author/ book so much), but are these groups restricted to owners of particular tech (hardware/ software ) or open to everyone?
Open to everyone! I could have been a bit clearer with my breakdown of how it's going to work - I'll clarify things in my next update - but essentially: all everyone needs is their own copy of the book we're reading, in any format of their choosing. That's the only requirement, so everyone can join in.
Um, does this book have a different title outside the UK?
I'm finding this:
On Looking: A Walker's Guide to the Art of Observation
paperback, published April, 2014
Hope so!
That's the one! (By Alexandra Horowitz?)
Yes!
I knew her from her Dog Cognition work at Barnard. Who knew it was the same person!
Thanks for doing this.
This sounds so interesting!
Thank you for being my third inspiration here (and I realise I didn't say so in the newsletter above - I'll edit it to make that clear)! Your book club has made me very envious of the books you've read and the authors you've virtually hung out with, so I just had to try something similar.
😂 Book club envy!
That is *so* Mike Sowden!
Great idea!
I’m in! This book sounds awesome.
Yay! Thank you, Amy. And I hope you enjoy it like I have.
Do we start now? I’m nothing but a sheep, you see.
oof, Brave New World is a LOT. Though waiting to read it was a good move, I was like 13 when I read it, so it was EXTREMELY a lot.
Extremely and enormously and hugely a lot! I'm glad I read it - Laura Kennedy chose well, because it's stuffed with things to think about - but at the same time, I think I've had my lifetime's fill of THAT one.
(I mean the book, not Laura Kennedy.)
Brave New World was/ is a cynical and thought-provoking work that touches on human nature and frailty. Orwell's 1984 is an order of magnitude deeper and more complex. Both only yield their full impact to an experienced, adult reader.
If you are not left reeling by Orwell's 1984, you have not read it at the right age, or you have not read it with enough attention.
I actually found BNW a bit heavy-handed! Yes, it's thought-provoking, but to my modern taste it was a sledgehammer to crack open a peanut - the extent to which the characters felt like plot devices to nail home the story's themes rather than sources of genuine agency...it just didn't suspend my disbelief enough to truly unsettle me. I absolutely appreciate this may be a mixture of personal taste and (as another member of Laura's book club pointed out) a mark of the times it was written in, when what's now called "science fiction" was much less firmly defined as a genre with all its styles and tropes. A book I can admire, while having no desire to read it again except in summary...
This is, oddly enough, one of my least favorite books related to walking (sh, don't tell anyone!), but it's purely to do with the writing style and nothing at all with the content (I gave up when I got to the chapter that started by saying, "You don't know what gneiss is" because I did in fact know what gneiss was but even if I hadn't, I respond poorly to those kinds of assumptions). BUT I know that I would probably enjoy it a lot more when reading in the company of a bunch of people guided by Mike Sowden's wonderfully weird brain and bottomless curiosity!
I very much agree on the style. I found it rather too didactic as (extensively) quoted in the review in The Marginalian. I like the idea of the book club, but this writer just rubs me up the wrong way. I'll wait for the next one.
I'm in.. English is not my first language, and never been a member of a book club, so it would be an interesting challenge for me...
You will get more out of it than most people! Having to go deeply and repeatedly into a single subject area will stretch your language and vocabulary, having to recognise and bridge the cultural differences in the way that people think (and see) in different societies will stretch your brain.
I was reading Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale in French while in Paris (as one does ;), and a young woman at the next table had just finished it, and (predictably!) wanted to talk about it. The following half-hour was *easily* one of the most demanding, and most stimulating I have ever had .. not only did I have to work out my thoughts on the book (so far) but then had to express them in French.
So -- key question -- had I read the book in French, and processed and stored it in French .. or had I read it in French, but translated it in my brain and stored it in English?? ie Did I have the French vocabulary from this French-language book in my memory? Only by being suddenly forced to analyse and discuss the book at length did I get the answer to that. Yes, I did! <big smile emoji>
After 10 years of regularly speaking some French, I was finally thinking in French.
(PS: Your English looks fine .., no need to mention that it's not your first language!)
You are too kind! Thanks