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Reviews
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
calypsogilstrap's review against another edition
2.0
it would be good for teaching style or voice but for the most part I couldn't relate
jeffmauch's review against another edition
5.0
Another gem from Bill Bryson here. While this is only a collection of articles he wrote in a newspaper over the course of 3 years, it's probably best looked at as a collection of humorous short stories. Bryson has a knack for finding the humor in our everyday world and exploiting it, especially when it comes to the everyday things Americans do and say that just don't make sense or add up. Bryson brings an interesting point of view as a native Iowan who spent 20 years living in England. I like that I can read as many stories as I want in a sitting and that since they were newspaper articles, they're at most 4-5 pages. Very few of the stories disappoint and if you don't laugh out loud at least a few times, you may want to question if you truly have a sense of humor. As always, I can't recommend Bill Bryson's works enough and if you haven't given him a try yet, this would be a good one to take for a spin.
lportx's review against another edition
2.0
"Notes from a Big Country" is a series of essays written for a British audience about America. I love Bill Bryson, but this was the first book of his that didn't do it for me.
Originally, he's from Des Moines and wrote the book after returning to the States after 20 years in England. His tone for me was a little off-putting and came off as a person telling his new group of friends how lame his old group of friends were.
Hate to give a Bryson book a bad review, but this one was a chore to get through. It's a little dated since it was written in the mid-'90s. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but it's rather tedious.
Originally, he's from Des Moines and wrote the book after returning to the States after 20 years in England. His tone for me was a little off-putting and came off as a person telling his new group of friends how lame his old group of friends were.
Hate to give a Bryson book a bad review, but this one was a chore to get through. It's a little dated since it was written in the mid-'90s. There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but it's rather tedious.
marther152's review against another edition
3.0
A compilation of his columns from the late 1990s about America so lots of things have changed since this book came out. Bryson always makes me chuckle though and this was a quick fun read.
kelseyrazzledazzle's review against another edition
3.0
Bill Bryson's essay contained lots of humor. I could relate to all of this because I have lived out of the U.S. as well. It was outdated, but a lot has changed since this book was published.
kortirion's review against another edition
3.0
Some interesting essays, and some funny stories, but mostly a lot of complaining and hand-wringing.
emjay24's review against another edition
1.0
Some parts of this book were funny, but mostly it was just boring. I never finished the book, and what i did read, i skimmed through or skipped a lot of it. i just didnt like his writing style. it was dull. and weird too, because i grew up in NH and i felt like he was trying to make NH sound different than it was, like some hokey kitschy place. granted, i grew up in southern NH not up in his town, but ok it is modern times, OF COURSE we locked things. How could we NOT lock things esp our house? and my parents, who still live there, hardly know their neighbors and some not at all. i think he was making everything sound more quaint for his audience. But overall, very boring and i couldnt make myself finish it.
scarletohhara's review against another edition
4.0
Classic Bryson with his very amusing takes on the United States. This book should be savored, read chapter by chapter chuckling and not as a binge-read.