See my review of Pollan's 'Gardner's Education.' ( )

In-depth story about building a reading house. At first it was a little tedious but then I got used the the layers of detail It is well-researched and the author had a very comforting voice in the audio versio. ( )

I really enjoyed the idea of this book, probably because it's a dream of most men, to build their own private space. And I really like a lot of other Pollan's work. but this one just didn't click with me. It took me a really long time to finish, mainly because I'd only read a few pages at a time due to lack of interest.

It's a bit more self-involved than his other stuff, but still loaded with the interesting diversions and explorations of related side topics that Pollan is known for. ( )

The author is honest and upfront in the introduction (of this new edition at least) that the book does not teach you anything about construction. It does not. But it also doesn't teach you anything else. It's just the author waxing poetic about relationships, his beliefs, modern architecture, the idea of a house and anything else that was troubling him at the time.

Also who spends 2 years building a hut? I built a workshop behind my house with zero prior experience in about a month. And he had a builder with him the whole time to help! ( )

Michael Pollan’s second book is chronicled in this, his search for a writing refuge. What’s it about? Getting up from the desk and doing physical labor, architecture, history, design, writing, family, woodworking, honesty, weather, accomplishments, philosophy, craft and writing-the-second-book. For a start.

This is a leisurely read, a slow one, to be savored. Extensive chapter endnotes and a bibliography of the many books mentioned are part of the backmatter, and much appreciated for those of us who want to explore more.

The story begins with the pending arrival of a first baby: the recently remodeled home Judith and Michael Pollan share will be too small to accommodate his writing area, her art studio and a nursery. They had a good experience with the architect (even though the delays and finances of remodeling are topics he ‘still won’t discuss’) so he’s engaged to draw up plans for a writing shed.

He recalls the discussions in detail, the back-and-forth of getting to a design that works on the site, that works in a practical way, and that pleases aesthetically. The architect’s character is drawn so well that I feel I know him. The same happens later with the builder, and the battles between those two are constant.

This might seem like a straightforward story – idea, design, build it – but in the telling of the tale, Pollan takes us on a journey through history. He’s a self-described researcher (I could relate to this immediately), someone who turns to books or articles when presented with a question. So he reads in that meandering way one does, getting lost in research and discovery, one volume mentioning another thinker or designer, then that person’s work must be investigated. Pollan shares all of this. An example of how he thinks:

Daydreaming does not enjoy tremendous prestige in our culture, which tends to regard it as unproductive thought. Writers perhaps appreciate its importance better than most, since a fair amount of what they call work consists of little more than daydreaming edited. Yet anyone who reads for pleasure should prize it too, for what is reading a good book but a daydream at second hand? Unlike any other form of thought, daydreaming is its own reward. For regardless of the result (if any), the very process of daydreaming is pleasurable. And, I would guess, is probably a psychological necessity. For isn’t it in our daydreams that we acquire some sense of what we are about?

If I found the first part of the book slow-going, it was because I didn’t accept his rhythm. Once I figured it out and settled in, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It’s not an action story, and if that’s what you want, then stay away from this book.

On the other hand, if you like to wonder, ponder and imagine, then this is for you.
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