Scan barcode
bombadalejr's review against another edition
Funny, personal, a book filled with stories you can relate to. Bill Bryson does a wonderful job of capturing his second American experience in a humorous yet self-exposing way.
vortimer's review against another edition
2.0
Somewhat dated - though it shows how much life has changed in the last quarter of a century, and even in the couple of years between the first notes and last.
sarahjaye89's review against another edition
5.0
I am currently reading this book for the second time and I still love it just the same. Even though some aspects (facts and figures, eg) have become somewhat dated, the book as a whole still rings true in today's world. I love Bill Bryson's ability to tackle complicated issues in a simple and straightforward way. His observational style combined with the short essay format of this book really allow the reader to spend a lot of time thinking about the issues that Bryson brings to the surface. He knows when to be funny and when to be serious, and even when I am laughing uncontrollably I still feel like I am learning something.
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed it thoroughly. It's a series of essays, originally written as a weekly column for a British newspaper, on life in the US; no through-line, but plenty of random observations and great story-telling. Some of the essays made me laugh out loud, and one or two giggle uncontrollably -- which is quite something when reading in an airport restaurant.
amylg's review against another edition
I don’t think short stories are for me. Some of these were funny but I kinda lost sight of the point most of the time.
khuizenga's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - some of these essays are so funny I choked, notably the ones where he talks about going on adventures with his family. Others are not funny at all - like the fictitious renting a car or setting up a computer. I actually used to live in the parts of NH he describes here, and that was pretty exciting. A fun quick read.