November NONFICTION selection A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST

[El]

Our November nonfiction selection will be Rebecca Solnit's 2005 work, A Field Guide to Getting Lost.

From Google Books:

In this investigation into loss, losing and being lost, Rebecca Solnit explores the challenges of living with uncertainty. A Field Guide to Getting Lost takes in subjects as eclectic as memory and mapmaking, Hitchcock movies and Renaissance painting.Beautifully written, this book combines memoir, history and philosophy, shedding glittering new light on the way we live now.

I have read only one other book by Solnit so far (Wanderlust: A History of Walking) which I really enjoyed, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Having not read this yet, I'm curious to see if this is a feminist work, and if so, how it fits into that category. I'm excited to delve into this, though I will have to wait to get a copy through the library as I don't own this one.

Anyone have any immediate ideas about this book? Has anyone read it already? Looking forward to some thoughts about this autobiography/book of essays.

[Viv]

I've read two of Solnit's essay collections - Men Explain Things to Me and The Mother of All Questions. Both were excellent - I love Solnit's style and wit. I have a copy of this and hope to get to it this month, time permitting!

[El]

I will probably be a bit late to this one, but did request a copy from the library. Sort of forgot about the holiday later this week, which means I probably won't get to it until next week, or even the beginning of December... but I am looking forward to it.

[El]

I got my library copy before the American Thanksgiving break, but haven't been able to start it yet. I have one book that I need to finish before 10:00 am tomorrow, and then I hope to jump right into this one. Just from flipping through it when I picked it up, I think I'm really going to like it.

[Viv]

I'm a bit behind schedule but started this today. I was really struck by this, on the second page: "Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That's where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go." I think I need to mull that over for a few days/weeks/a lifetime!

I love Solnit's writing - it feels like it deserves savouring so I will be taking my time with this one I think.