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Abstract

<div> <h2>In Defense of Thoreau</h2> <div><h3>He may have been a jerk, but he still matters. Henry David Thoreau was an asshole, Kathryn Schulz tells us in an…</h3></div> <div><p>www.theatlantic.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*9AYrCMnSDLLx6jgp)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="f6a4">My favorite bit of that article comes at the end.</p><p id="c69d" type="7">Henry Thoreau was a genuine American weirdo. He did not believe in niceness, or even civility, but in justice. He believed his soul was at stake in it, even though he was not sure his true self was part of this world at all.</p><p id="9419">So I didn’t like Walden, but Thoreau is the father of civil disobedience. About slavery, he said, “The government pretends to be Christian and crucifies a million Christs every day.” And that is still relevant today. Still painfully, heartbreakingly relevant.</p><p id="b96b">You can get his book <a href="https://amzn.to/2BV8CAU">Civil Disobedience</a> for free on Kindle, by the way. I just downloaded it. And for less than fifty cents (I think with the download of the Kindle version), I added an audio version. It’s a short book — only 36 pages — and it seems like a good way to start 2019.</p><figure id="40ce"><i # Options mg src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*xHmSGR7Q4xBcJrwQOdbb5w.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><div id="0c42" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-commonplace-book-project-c5314f428062"> <div> <div> <h2>The Commonplace Book Project</h2> <div><h3>An Experiment.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*j1ZCWi9ROYBfxBwm)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="0e45"><a href="https://upscri.be/848309/">Here’s my secret weapon for sticking with whatever <i>your </i>thing is.</a></p><p id="f238"><b>Shaunta Grimes </b>is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter <i>@shauntagrimes </i>and<i> </i>is the author of <a href="https://amzn.to/2K3tubN"><i>Viral Nation</i></a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2rv1ozm"><i>Rebel Nation</i></a><i> </i>and the upcoming novel <a href="https://amzn.to/2rxds1Z"><i>The Astonishing Maybe</i></a><i>.</i> She is the original <a href="http://bit.ly/2dfEiaJ">Ninja Writer</a>.</p></article></body>

Thoreau on skipping the crap. (The Commonplace Book Project #2)

The Commonplace Project is a daily post that starts with a quote and goes wherever the rabbit hole leads. Follow The 1000 Day MFA so you don’t miss a thing.

“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” — Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.

I do not finish reading books that I don’t like.

There. I said it.

Life is too short and there are too many stories in it for me to spend time reading a book just because I opened the cover and read the first page.

I’ll admit to one more thing. I would have put Walden down, if I could have. It was assigned reading, though. My eleventh-grade English teacher made me read it.

Here’s a good article about why Thoreau is both problematic and essential.

My favorite bit of that article comes at the end.

Henry Thoreau was a genuine American weirdo. He did not believe in niceness, or even civility, but in justice. He believed his soul was at stake in it, even though he was not sure his true self was part of this world at all.

So I didn’t like Walden, but Thoreau is the father of civil disobedience. About slavery, he said, “The government pretends to be Christian and crucifies a million Christs every day.” And that is still relevant today. Still painfully, heartbreakingly relevant.

You can get his book Civil Disobedience for free on Kindle, by the way. I just downloaded it. And for less than fifty cents (I think with the download of the Kindle version), I added an audio version. It’s a short book — only 36 pages — and it seems like a good way to start 2019.

Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter @shauntagrimes and is the author of Viral Nation and Rebel Nation and the upcoming novel The Astonishing Maybe. She is the original Ninja Writer.