I read this after watching Into the Wild, in which Thoreau is paraphrased in a style reeking of pretension. I wanted to see what all of the fuss is about. That scene in the film basically sums up the book -- you can paraphrase Walden to death in as lofty a manner as you wish.

I really loved it at first (the beginning is where you get all of the meaty quotes). I've never read a book like this and the idea of living off the land, of building a house with your own two hands, reveling in the glory of the changing seasons, etc, initially sounded very romantic and lovely. However, even greater than the force of physical labor and experience in the novel, is the idea of living consciously -- this is what I really latched onto and what I will actually take away from the book. What bothered me after a while was the application of that principal which seemed to be wrapped up in a lot of moralizing and a huge superiority complex on Thoreau's part. He wants everything reduced to the essential, sensual, experiential, in other words to pure consciousness, but there are many ways to go about that (and they don't all involve chopping wood, planting beans, or going ice-fishing). I guess you could say I have strongly mixed feelings about this book.

Having said all of this I think I would like to give Walden another go sometime (much much much) later in life. My goal is to read it one last time, outside, surrounded by nature. Then the book is going into that effing pond for good.