Erm, I truly believe that I'm likely in the minority here. But to be honest, Annie Dillard is extremely overrated!!

Over the years, I've been hearing nothing but amazing things about her writing. So, I decided to take the plunge and read this particular work of hers. Oh my, it was really bad! There seems to be far more mention of god and religion than there is about the natural world.

Admittedly, she can be poetic on certain occasions. However, the writing is also overly flowery, disjointed, repetitive, and in some instances, just plain annoying. The story about the eclipse sounded more like fiction because it was so highly embellished.

So, I've given it a try, and I simply didn't like it. No thanks, Dillard. You're definitely not my cup of tea.

Now, I'm off to the community book exchange to find something that suits my taste better.

It was four years ago around the holidays that I first read Dillard - A Pilgrim at Tinker's Creek. I am not sure why I waited so long to sample another of her non-fiction works.

As I delved into Teaching a Stone to Talk, I was once again lured back to the warm contemplation of nature that I so appreciated the first time around.

Here, Dillard shares a collection of essays on her observations of life, time, and the glorious world around us. From the daily toils of an insect on her window sill to the cosmic activity of the stars, her ability to see - to observe, to watch silently, to witness - is truly remarkable.

I admire and identify with her rambles. "That is why I take walks: to keep an eye on things." I too take daily walks, checking out the fox in my neighborhood, chastising the squirrels and the chipmunks, or spying on the meal of the day my favorite spider is preparing.

Our vulnerability and interdependency as "soft dots" on the rock of our planet echo through her essays, regardless of the location and age of the observer. I am particularly fond of the chapters set within her beloved Virginia Appalachians. I love these mountains too, as they are some of the best secret keepers of the mystery of seasonal change.

Our lives speed through at such an astounding rate, hurtling on through time and space. The cows, the streams, the sycamores, they mark our time. Moving by foot slows the unforgiving blur, even if only for a heart-stopping moment. "When do the days start to blur and then, breaking your heart, the seasons?" Like Dillard, I feel I have missed the turning point and find myself on the other side of the age of blurred seasons. Her observations I take as straws at which I must grasp - go to the mountains, go to the pond, and be still.

This was not my favorite of Dillard's books. It's similar to stating that a particular Renoir painting is not my favorite. The opinion is influenced by subjective lenses and in no way denies the mastery of the artwork. And truly, no one masters the art of prose quite like Dillard.

My favorite segments within this collection were "God in the Doorway", "Aces and Eights", "On a Hill Far Away", and "Sojourner". Each of these sections was beautifully crafted, with words that seemed to dance on the page. The descriptions were vivid, pulling the reader into Dillard's world.

However, it's important to note that all the pieces in this collection are beautifully written and worth the reading. They offer unique perspectives and insights into various aspects of life. As Dillard writes, “I alternate between thinking of the planet as home – dear and familiar stone hearth and garden – and as a hard land of exile in which we are all sojourners.” This thought-provoking statement encapsulates the essence of our human experience, making us reflect on our place in the world.

Overall, while this may not be my absolute favorite Dillard book, it still showcases her remarkable talent as a writer and is well worth adding to any bookshelf.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is truly one of my all-time favorite books that I have ever read. It is filled to the brim with remarkable observations about nature and also contains incredibly wise speculations.

I was extremely afraid that I would be let down if I were to read other works by Dillard.

To be completely honest, it seemed almost inevitable.

I did like these essays of Dillard, but I didn't have that deep, passionate love for them. Several of the essays centered around Dillard's experiences in the Galapagos Islands, and those were truly great. However, because these were a collection of essays on various subjects, they had a certain feeling of randomness that I simply didn't find in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

Of course, all of this could very well just be me and my current reading mood. These days, I'm discarding books left and right in my unwavering search for only the absolute best and nothing but the best.

Maybe I'm being too苛刻 or perhaps there's something else that's influencing my perception. But for now, that's just how I feel about these essays by Dillard.

Reading Annie Dillard has truly brought some of my happiest moments with books, and by extension, with life itself.

Her descriptions are nothing short of magical. They paint vivid pictures in my mind, transporting me to places and experiences I might never have otherwise known.

The philosophy she presents is both dreamy and incisive. It makes me think deeply about the world around me and my place in it.

Annie Dillard is a beautiful, beautiful writer. Her words have the power to inspire me to see clearly, to cut through the clutter and distractions of daily life and focus on what truly matters.

She also encourages me to make space to think and be. In a world that is often so busy and noisy, this is a precious gift.

Through her writing, I have learned to slow down, to observe, and to appreciate the beauty and wonder that surrounds us every day.

Annie Dillard's work has had a profound impact on my life, and I am grateful to have discovered her books.

Simply one of the best essay collections I can ever remember reading. Annie's writing is truly remarkable. She has this unique ability to be both warm and funny, which instantly draws you in and makes you feel at ease. But at the same time, she is also thoughtful and quirky, adding an extra layer of depth and intrigue to her essays.

One of the things I really appreciate about Annie's writing is the uncertain quality of her essays. You're never entirely sure where the essay is going to arrive, and this keeps you on your toes and engaged throughout the entire piece. In my opinion, this is a great feature of any essay, as it adds an element of surprise and keeps the reader interested.

That being said, each of these essays, whether long or short, is impeccably crafted. Annie pays great attention to detail and her writing is filled with memorable side-paths and stunning turns of phrase. It's clear that she is a master of her craft. Now I understand why everyone loves her so much. Her essays are not only entertaining but also thought-provoking and inspiring.

The point of embarking on a journey to a place such as the Napo River in Ecuador is not about seeking out the most jaw-droppingly spectacular sights. It is, rather, about simply observing what lies there. After all, we have only one chance to be on this planet, so we might as well gain an understanding of the place. We should strive to get a sense of the fringes and hollows where life unfolds, of the vast Amazon basin that blankets half a continent, and of the life that, just like everywhere else, is always and necessarily lived in the minutest of details.

Annie Dillard is truly a master with words. Her vivid descriptions have the power to transport the reader to the very depths of the Arctic while one is comfortably seated on a couch. Reading this precious work, which is just 20ish pages short of reaching 200 pages, has caused me to burst out laughing on numerous occasions. It is a literary gem that offers a unique and captivating experience.

I really wanted to like Annie Dillard's writing, after all the praise I read about it. She is likened to Virginia Woolf, and perhaps this is called for. I would need to read more Dillard and more Woolf to comment. And I probably will read more Dillard... just not anytime soon.

While Dillard's writing talent is clear in these essays, the way she employs it oftentimes left me thinking, "Huh?" In some ways, her writing is brilliant. Her uncanny use of language shows her mental leaps between inanimate thoughts and animate objects. For example, in the sentence, "All those things for which we have no words are lost. The mind—the culture—has two little tools, grammar and lexicon: a decorated sand bucket and a matching shovel." She is also able to weave a common thread of human experience or meaning between seemingly unrelated examples, like the tortured deer at Providencia and the man in the burn ward. Additionally, she takes an apparently ordinary, prosaic event, like visiting a summer cottage, and imbues it with her perceptive worldviews in a very unpretentious way.

But in others, her writing is so convoluted that the audience misses its meaning. Dillard strikes so many comparisons for the simplest things that it can become exhausting. We don't need to read three or four similes about a finch to get some imagery in our heads. Despite the exactitude with which she writes, some sentences are stitched together in ways that simply don't make sense. Her frequent use of latin phrases, such as "ex nihilo," "in abstencia," etc., is simply annoying and a hint of her pretention. Also, too much of God is in the essays, which is a personal preference.

TL;DR: Dillard's writing is not my cup of coffee. While she's clearly talented, these essays came off as too try-hard. I can see why others like her, though.

There was only one essay that truly engaged me. I simply couldn't get into the rest of them.

Sometimes, although the ending might have been somewhat satisfying, it was an arduous struggle for me to reach that point.

I find myself thinking that if I were more religious, perhaps I would have derived greater enjoyment from this whole experience.

Maybe the religious perspective would have given me a different lens through which to view and understand the essays, allowing me to connect with them on a deeper level.

As it stands now, I feel a bit disconnected from most of the works, and I wonder if my lack of religious inclination is contributing to this feeling.

Nonetheless, I will continue to try and find meaning and value in the essays, hoping that with time and further exploration, I might be able to overcome this barrier and truly appreciate the beauty and depth that they potentially hold.

This is a remarkable book of essays that offers a diverse range of writing styles. Some of the essays are reflective, delving deep into the author's thoughts and emotions, while the majority are descriptive, painting vivid pictures in the reader's mind. At times, while reading, one might find oneself thinking, "What on earth is she trying to convey?" However, it is well worth persevering with the reading because there are numerous phrases and paragraphs that are truly golden.

For instance, from "Total Eclipse", the author states, "The mind—the culture—has two little tools, grammar and lexicon: a decorated sand bucket and a matching shovel." This unique and creative comparison provides a fresh perspective on the importance of language and its components.

In "An Expedition to the Pole", the author writes, "It all seems a pit at first, for I have overcome a fiercely anti-Catholic upbringing in order to attend Mass simply and solely to escape Protestant guitars. Why am I here? Who gave these nice Catholics guitars? Why are they not mumbling in Latin and performing superstitious rituals?" This passage not only reveals the author's personal journey but also poses thought-provoking questions about religious traditions and cultural differences.

Another standout excerpt is from "Living Like Weasels", where the author describes a moment of intense connection as, "Our eyes locked, and someone threw away the key....It felled the forest, moved the fields, and drained the pond; the world dismantled and tumbled into that black hole of eyes." The vivid imagery and powerful language used in this description make it truly memorable.

There are many more such精彩的 passages and ideas throughout the book, waiting to be discovered and savored by the reader.

So far, Annie Dillard is my least favorite, but there are still some lovely meditations.

“We are here to witness. There is nothing else to do with those mute materials we do not need. Until Larry teaches his stone to talk, until God changes His mind, or until the pagan gods slip back to their hilltop groves, all we can do with the whole inhuman array is watch it.”

At the age of nine, she was terribly and beautifully fated to change. “She seemed real enough to herself, willful and conscious, but she had to consider the possibility—the likelihood, even—that she was a short-lived phenomenon, a fierce, vanishing thing like a hard shower, or a transitional form like a tadpole or winter bud—not the thing in itself but a running start on the thing—and that she was being borne helplessly and against all her wishes to suicide, to the certain loss of self and all she held dear. Herself and all that she held dear.”

These words make us think deeply about the nature of our existence and the inevitability of change. We are all like that nine-year-old girl, facing the unknown and the inevitable with a mix of fear and wonder. Annie Dillard's writing, though not my favorite, has the power to make us question and reflect on our own lives.

Amazing short stories

offer heart achingly beautiful renderings of fleeting moments within the natural world. The author has a unique talent for描绘 these moments with such vividness and detail that they seem to come alive before your eyes. Her stories are written both with clarity and an impressionistic aura, making them a joy to read.

Treat yourself to the story Total Eclipse to see what I am unable to capably put into words. This story is a masterpiece that takes you on a journey through the wonder and mystery of a solar eclipse. The author's use of language and imagery is truly remarkable, and you will find yourself completely immersed in the story from beginning to end.

Whether you are a fan of short stories or simply looking for a beautiful and inspiring read, these stories are sure to delight and captivate you. So sit back, relax, and let the author's words transport you to another world.