I've become a bit of a movement nerd so this was right up my alley. Lots of great info here about how walking can improve our lives and admit the impact of our current sedentary society.

Thank you W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at about 25%. I like the premise of this book, as I myself am an avid hiker and walker. However, it was pretty dry. Lots of facts without a real story to keep me going. I might take this up again if I'm in the mood, but I felt like it was lacking a sense of Story.

<blockquote>You're not built from the soles of your feet up — it's more like your head is a "castle in the air," with scaffolding reaching down to the ground.</blockquote>

I started reading this book in pre-pandemic times, and set it aside to focus on other commitments. When I did pick it up from time to time, it made me angry. Trying to write about it now makes me angry. For all the wrong reasons. But I'll get to that.

In Praise of Walking: The New Science of How We Walk and Why It's Good for Us, by Shane O'Mara, is an informative and even inspiring book. I first heard of it some months ago when I stumbled on an article confirming what I've always felt, ‘It’s a superpower’: how walking makes us healthier, happier and brainier, which excellently summarizes the ideas the book puts forth and may be enough for some readers.

A good portion of the book is very sciencey, exploring the evolutionary necessities and advantages of walking.

<blockquote>We are exceptional walkers, possibly the best walkers of all species. </blockquote>

And then it gets neurosciencey, explaining the brain activity that accompanies this particular form of physical activity, and why it's good for your well-being, bodily and mentally. The subprocesses at work even get a little metaphysical.

<blockquote>But the extra factor that helps us find our way is that humans are good at ruminating on our pasts and imagining alternative futures — a capacity that is probably unique to us. The brain's GPS system taps into this and allows us to engage in mental time travel — via memories, or imagining alternative futures. This is a map of time, rather than space, but it is equally essential. </blockquote>

Walking is a way of being in the community. It is a social and a political act. It can mean to walk with someone and for something. It can be an end in itself.

The greatest achievement of this book is to serve as an argument for city planning to consider pedestrianism and "walkability: cities must be useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting."

<blockquote>A more walkable city, in straight, is a city that benefits us all in so many obvious and occult ways — obvious, because walkability adds to our health and well-being; occult, because walkability has so many hidden benefits for creativity, productivity and enriching our societies.</blockquote>

I was happy to learn that those dirt trails we tread into the grass have a name: desire paths — the beaten path from here to there that eschews poorly planned pavements, betraying the fact they were designed by people who think of public space as ornament, by people who live in suburbs, by people who prefer to drive.

[Unleash my body and my soul to imprint all their desire paths on the world.]

For a meandering view of walkability, see The Guardian's series, Walking the City.

O'Mara notes that Kierkegaard wrote that "Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it." Kierkegaard grappled intensely with the existential despair of life and love; he did not, however, have to contend with the conditions of pandemic lockdown.

I miss walking. I walked to go places, and I walked for pleasure. The city under quarantine was encouraged to get out for some air, some exercise, and suddenly my world was invaded. My private pastime, my secret pleasure, was appropriated by everyone who used to work and dine and drink without taking particular note of their trajectories.

Walking is different now. Avoiding walkers and joggers, people lined up on sidewalks at pharmacies and hardware stores, people on sidewalks stopped to talk with people in their doorways. To maintain physical distance is engaging other brain functions — logistical calculations, risk assessments. Coupled with a general pandemic-onset panic reflex, walking is exhausting. And clearly, there are not enough sidewalks and green spaces for all of us to enjoy as we should.

I want to walk again, let my mind fly.

<blockquote>But mind-wandering is not mere idleness or time-wasting, at least by the common understanding of the term: rather, it is a necessary part of mental housekeeping, allowing us to integrate our past, present and future, interrogate our social lives, and create a large-scale personal narrative. If mind-wandering is idleness, it is a peculiar and active form of idleness — we are behaviourally quiescent, but mentally vigorous.</blockquote>

I do my best critical thinking and emotional processing when walking. I synthesize my reading, I formulate my writing. I find myself, and I own the ground I walk upon.

I really wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get interested enough. It took a couple times before I was able to finish it.

I thought this was a decent book. It explored the various kinds of walking we do, the effects it has on us, and the benefits provided. O'Mara also briefly talks about how this should affect policy changes when it comes to designing walk-able cities. I thought the book was interesting, but the writing itself didn't necessarily jump out at me. It felt often like the science was handed to me, instead of weaving it within a larger context. As such, I didn't rate it higher than this. Still, as someone who loves walking (and walked while reading most of this book!), I thought the book was nice.

This is a fascinating look at a very common activity. O'Mara is a neuroscientist and delves into every aspect of walking. If you are already a walker, you will be uplifted and energized by this book. If you are not, this author will inspire you to take advantage of all the benefits walking gives us. I can't wait until the print version of this is available, because I want to give it as a gift to the many people I know who walk for exercise and personal fulfillment.

For readers who crave an in-depth look from many angles, In Praise of Walking ties together insights from fields like genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary history. Neuroscientist Shane O'Mara reveals how walking affects our brains, our bodies, and even our cities and culture.

A wonderful read a book that will inspire many to put your shoes on get off the couch& take a mind clearing walk. #netgalley#ww.norton.con