In these dreary days (choose one: weather, economy, waistline), a gentle read is in order, preferably one that takes you to some warm place in your mind.
Here’s one: Geoff Nicholson’s “The Lost Art of Walking.” The title suggests a certain comprehensiveness that you won’t find between the covers. It’s a series of essays, really, about places he’s paced (Los Angeles, New York, London) and eccentricities he’s uncovered. Altogether one of those delightful reads the British do so well.
And he does take you to warm places. Death Valley, for instance:
