I love the words, love the axe and love the overall message of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance, the third book released under Seth Godin’s Domino Project (I’m a member of the street team).
I wanted to love this entire book, but I just can’t. Perhaps my digitally inclined, ADHD-addled brain just can’t process long-form writing much anymore or perhaps I’m become really lazy, but I had a hard time with this book. The prose, while magnificent, is antiquated enough to make me re-read too many passages for my liking.
And that’s totally my fault.
Perhaps that’s what Self Reliance is meant to do. Maybe Emerson wrote it as a wake up call to lazy “intellectuals” who are too used to reading short magazine articles, Twitter and blogs about nothing. If so, then it is absolutely a five-star book. While my initial review was three stars, it wasn’t because I disliked the book, but rather because I was a little mad at it for making me think so damn hard.
If you’re on the fence, fear not. The Kindle edition is available for free until May 27, but I recommend the beautiful hardcover edition
As an added bonus, outdoor company Ibex, sponsor of the free Kindle edition, is giving away $15,000 in gift certificates over the next two days. All it takes is a Tweet or two.
Happy reading.