Red-
While I did not particularly like this book very much, it was still interesting nonetheless. One interesting perspective that opened my eyes in this book, was the perspective of the local people that lived in and around areas that were being turned into nature preserves in the Wild Act chapter. Before I read this, I did not recognize or even realize that people had been displaced by the inception of these natural parks and monuments. It was also interesting to see how the government responded to the outcry of the people that lived in these areas. It was also interesting to find out that many times, these national parks and nature preserves actually did not do a very good job at preserving the populations of many organisms.
How to be Idle-
I thought this book was pretty interesting for the most part. It was definitely different from a lot of the other books that we read like Nature, where there was just a bunch of facts and figures. Instead, it was interesting, as it proposes a different type of lifestyle than is commonly accepted. It kind of reminded me a little bit of Thoreau, and I thought that was interesting, because while they may try and convey some of the same points, they do it completely differently. It reminded me of Thoreau, because Thoreau is always critical of people that he says “choose” this style of living that focuses on work and it leaves no time for leisure activities. I agree that societal pressures force many of us today to work endless hours to maintain a style of living that we feel is suitable. It was interesting that Hodgkinson proposes an alternative mode of living the way he does.
Lawn People-
This book first caught my attention when I decided to sort through it one day, to find a quote about lawns for one of my geography papers. While this may not sound like a great idea, I quickly found that this book had a lot to offer in terms of insight on lawns and the culture that it has created in America. It was interesting how he believed that lawns were derived from an appeal to nature, and it has quickly turned into something so artificial and un-natural. And he really is right that in American society today, many people are judged on how well their lawns are maintained, from both a social and economic perspective.
Posted by cjdrover 
