Thank you. For what it's worth, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. Different authors have different writing styles, and different readers have

Thank you. For what it's worth, I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here. Different authors have different writing styles, and different readers have their own preferences. For context, I was an environmental science undergrad, and we read a lot of nature writing like this with very descriptive prose. Aldo Leopold, Barbara Kingsolver, The Overstory, etc. have similar passages. Many/most of my classmates loved those kinds of books. I tried, but could not. In particular, The Overstory is the only book I've ever (tried) to read that was recommended to me by an environmental lawyer, a college teen, an old lady, a grocery store clerk, and a cop – all in the same week or so. It clearly won a place in many people's hearts. But I couldn't read past the third or fourth chapter because it just got so long-winded with descriptions about a chestnut tree. I could see the beauty in it, but I still couldn't bring myself to finish it. (In contrast, I'm now reading a book about AI spaceships... lol. Not exactly Pulitzer material, but a fun read.) There are other nature-adventure writers with different writing styles, like Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, etc.), who uses grade-school language to rapidly advance the plot page by page. Where setup is important, he centers nature scenes from the perspective of a person experiencing it, instead of the Haiku-like out-of-body experience found in most nature writing. I find that much more relatable, personally. Other books, like The Klamath Knot, center nature in the context of mythology juxtaposed with science, using comparisons and contrast to paint an interesting picture, rather than verbose, painterly descriptions. It's fine if people prefer one writing style over another. I loved The Road, but watched the movie first and then read the book. I preferred the movie, personally, but the book was fine too (if depressing). He's not one of my favorite authors, but so what? I have nothing against the man. > Does this matter? I think it's great that there are authors with distinctive styles, even if they're not for me. It's so awesome -- and rare -- when a book can really grab someone's imagination like that, even if that someone isn't me.