This book was terrible! The author rambles way too much instead of giving you facts. There is also way too much theology in this book for a scientific book. I had to read this book for my summer reading list and I loathed every second of it. If you're thinking about reading this book, take this advice. Don't! 

2010-2011 Environmental Science student:
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was a book that left me with polarized impressions. There are parts, such as Dillard’s brilliant description of the dive-bombing mockingbird, that are filled with phenomenal use of sensory details and imagery that left me with vivid, clear mental image of what she was describing. But on the other hand, there were points that tended to drag on to the point of myself needing to take a break to be able to handle the language and digest all of the information. While the negatives of the book, from my standpoint, are the relatively slow pace of the book and the advanced vocabulary, these very same aspects are what have made it a renowned book and kept it in the public eye for so long. I would recommend this book to those students that have an open mind and are willing to trudge through some of the slower points because there are truly great parts and Dillard’s message about the complexities of nature is an important one. 

2002
Wonderfully discursive, meditative - almost a biography of place. Probably better enjoyed in a book, but beautifully read.

Another book that I had to read for my high school English class. This book, above all the other books that I've had to read since freshman year, had to be the worse. I can push myself through a bad book, make it through the end to see what happens or to at least say that I finished it. But with this...with this, I couldn't do it. I honestly thought I was torturing myself. I mean, Dillard's writing style is ok, it doesn't go on my favorites list, and when I had to analyze some of the symbols she had to use I found it a little more enjoyable but that aside I disliked it. I disliked it with ever fiber of my being. It was boring, plotless, confusing, and contained more information about her life then anyone truly ever needed to know. I mean, I honestly could have gone the rest of her life without reading about her cat and what it does in the morning. Or the mating habits of certain animals. It's good if your into that type of writing, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. 

A fluid book of poetic symetrical observation. She has written the most elloquent ramble I have ever read. Flip to a random line... I'll wait......... she is the shit, no?

Read this as a kid - loved it

A walk through the natural world of Tinker Creek and the internal world of the writer; poetic; some of the best writing I have ever seen

Notes from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Given my recent interest in the contemplative life and observing nature, a friend recommended I read Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. It chronicles the author's adventures and observations while living and exploring the Tinker Creek area of Virginia's Roanoake Valley, and won the Pulitzer Prize when published in 1974.
Yet while my copy of Pilgrim is a modest-sized paperback, it took me several months to finish. More poetry than prose, the rich language and imagery made my customary quick reading difficult. Instead, I read in chunks, up to a chapter or two in a sitting but rarely more.
Another reason I split the reading up was to better savor the experience. Reading Pilgrim slowed down my world--after consuming a chapter I was always contemplative myself, and would want to go enjoy the world around me. One chapter I read while eating Indian food alone at our favorite restaurant in Berkeley. I set down the book and spent 10 minutes marveling at the beauty of the water in my glass, before taking off to wander through the woods. I took 2 hours to return the 1/8 mile to our house.
It was fascinating how simply looking more closely at the world could produce such experiences. After all, it's the same world that blurs past as I bike, or ride the bus; the same world that sits outside the window as I work. The richness is so easily ignored; Dillard notes this late in the book, saying "how many days have I learned not to stare at the back of my hand when I could look out at the creek?" (271). As a designer, I'm realizing that experiences can only be half-designed--the other half is the person's own responsibility to engage with and savor the experience.
Within the single theme of watching the world, the book covers a wide range of topics and perspectives. Dillard ranges from cedar trees bursting with light and color to a water bug getting its insides sucked out; from Eskimo folk tales to quantum physics. In many ways the scope, and its focus on discovering some ultimate truths, reminded me of another favorite, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
The writing style is clearly influenced by her process. As described in the afterword, she collected bits from many disparate influences, put them on index cards, then tried to fit them together. Sections jump wildly between tangentially-related topics, but it reinforces the overall theme of chaotic wonder. I enjoyed the structure, actually, as it suggests what a similar collection of my divergent observations and interests might look like.
This is a rare book that I'll keep around, something I do more with poetry than with prose or informational books. Turning to this might keep me from losing sight of the wonders that are all around. It truly is an amazing place.
"My God what a world. There is no accounting for one second of it." (267)
(Full review: http://ryskamp.org/brain/books/notes-from-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek) 

Review: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Book Review: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek This book, told from the perspective of an unnamed narrator who lives next to Tinker Creek, is written in a series of monologues and reflections. Over the course ... Read full review

Review: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Beautifully written, but hard to read without total concentration. Read full review