Our Book Of The Month for March is The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane. For our online Book Clubbers we have some questions below for you to get involved with. Either answer in the comments section or use as discussion points at your next Book Club. If you haven’t read the book check out our Lowdown all about it here.
The Old Ways – the blurb
Following the tracks, holloways, drove-roads and sea paths that form part of a vast ancient network of routes criss-crossing the British Isles and beyond, Robert Macfarlane discovers a lost world – a landscape of the feet and the mind, of pilgrimage and ritual, of stories and ghosts; above all of the places and journeys which inspire and inhabit our imaginations.
Discussion Points
The following are written with the presumption you have read The Old Ways. If you haven’t, bookmark the post and come back to answer the questions later.
- What attracted you to reading The Old Ways? Have you read any of Macfarlane’s other books?
- Are you a nature lover in general? Are you a walker? Would being either of the two be an advantage when reading the book or can you come at it cold?
- Have you walked any of the paths that Macfarlane refers to? If so do you agree with his observations?
- Which Chapter/Section did you like the most? Why?
- I read the book in March when Spring is on the doorstep. Do you think you could read the book at anytime of the year or is there a certain season that it lends itself to?
- The book has a short Glossary, a Notes section and a Bibliography. Did you find them helpful? Should the Glossary have been longer? Should there have been more maps/photos?
Get Involved
Feel free to answer as many of the questions as you want. Post your replies below, discuss with us on social media using @BookSocialUK, or pose some questions of your own. If you enjoyed the questions, have a go at last month’s Get Involved: The Memory Police.