I believe including a good amount of non fiction into our reading is so important and worthwhile. One area that I particularly enjoy to read about is health and wellbeing. Subsequently, I was excited to come across Movement Matters: Essays on Movement Science, Movement Ecology, and the Nature of Movement by Katy Bowman. This book looks at the sedentary lifestyle (revolving mostly around convenience) that a large part of our society has adopted, what effect this has on us, and ideas on how to improve this problem. In a series of essays, Bowman looks at the mechanics behind movement and being sedentary. She largely focuses on the link between movement and our environment – not only how our surroundings impacts our movement but also how our movement impacts our surroundings, including nature and communities far away from us.

This book was interesting and thought-provoking. It had quite a light-hearted approach to some important topics, which definitely makes this book less intimidating and overwhelming to readers. I particularly found the section about how movement and our interaction with our environment impacts our bones, and I liked the way Bowman explained this and the analogies she used.

I listened to this book on audiobook, which is narrated by Bowman. I always love to have the author read their book, and this definitely was a bonus.

For me, the book did not cover information that seemed new. As I’ve mentioned, I do read a fair amount of health related content, and I have worked as a nurse, so maybe I came to this book with more knowledge than some readers. However, I feel like it was described as a book that was more scientific and bringing groundbreaking information to the field. I also had come to this book in the hope it would be quite motivating and inspiring. I lead quite a sedentary life due to my health conditions and I thought this book might give me encouragement and new scientific reasons to keep driving me towards my goal of incorporating more movement into my life. Although it reiterated the importance of movement, I don’t think that is a new concept to anyone.

That being said, I do highly recommend this book, particularly to people who want to ease into the topics covered. It definitely is an interesting, relevant and important book, and it is well researched and written. If you’re after a book that is a great introduction or review of up-to-date knowledge regarding movement and lifestyle, I am sure you will find that this is a useful book. I gave it 3/5 stars.

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3 Comments on Movement Matters – Book Review

  1. Sounds like an interesting read/listen but lacking in oomph. Like you, I think I would have expected something new, fresh, encouraging from it, especially given the increasing impetus on sedentary lifestyles and health in the media lately.

    • Yes it was a bit of a shame. But other people on Goodreads seem to have learned from it so don’t let me deter you! It is a good book, I just thought it’d have a little more – oomph, as you say!!

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