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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Bill Bryson forever!!
That's all I've got to say about this one!
That's all I've got to say about this one!
I like grumpy old man but this was a lot. I do like his voice and sharp observations though so I will check out earlier books before he was quite this old and quite this grumpy.
Basically just 376 pages of Bill Bryson yelling, "Get off my lawn!" interspersed with some vaguely witty descriptions of England.
I wanted to like this. I love Bill Bryson and have very fond memories of Notes from a Small Island.
Yet the problem is it just wasn't very good. Either Bryson has gotten less funny (and certainly more cranky and intolerant) or my tastes have changed.
Either way my eyes glazed over and I found myself rolling my eyes more than chuckling or nodding in agreement.
Quite sad.
Yet the problem is it just wasn't very good. Either Bryson has gotten less funny (and certainly more cranky and intolerant) or my tastes have changed.
Either way my eyes glazed over and I found myself rolling my eyes more than chuckling or nodding in agreement.
Quite sad.
Mr Bryson is a grumpy old man, but he makes the world a sunnier place.
Bryson: ahh, what to say about this cross-national treasure? I love him and always get good hearty laughs when reading him. He is getting more curmudgeonly though and sometimes I just want to tell him to shut up, which has never happened before when reading him.
It was a perfect accompaniment to my trip in England. It came in handy, he's almost always right, and I couldn't believe how much I ended up quoting him while there!
It was a perfect accompaniment to my trip in England. It came in handy, he's almost always right, and I couldn't believe how much I ended up quoting him while there!
I have always enjoyed Bryson’s work and his ability to write with humour about the world. But either I’ve forgotten that the humour is largely born out of his pessimism or he’s become very grumpy. I don’t think I’m the audience for this.
I was very happy to discover Bill Bryson had written a sequel to Notes from a small Island . It's laugh out loud funny and my favourite of his travel books; the ones that I have read anyway.
Reading Bryson's books tells you a lot about Bryson himself as well as the country he's writing about. He is observant of course, passionate about lots of issues: environment , grammar and punctuation,what he sees as the general dumbing down of life due to a growing stupidity of the human species. He writes enthusiastically and inspiringly about what he loves, especially the countryside and it's beauty . He has a constant thirst for knowledge and genuine interest in all he encounters making him an authority on many subjects. On the flip side of the many things he loves there are many things that irritate him ,many many things. in fact he writes lists of them on more than one occasion throughout the course of his book. I actually feel I would love to have him as a next door neighbor and can imagine lots of friendly hilarious evenings full of discussion and laughs and going home rather merry!
Bryson undoubtedly does love Britain and it's people, despite our many faults and idiosyncrasies. I think on the whole we are good at laughing at these ourselves. He has a knack of finding the most beautiful and often little known parts of Britain. It's made me determined to walk more and to spend more weekends exploring parts of England I've not been to. His descriptions made me google places to find out more about them. I am in awe at the number of miles a man of over 60 can walk and ashamed of my own lack of fitness. My only big gripe about this book is that half way through Bryson still hadn;t left the south coast.! The northern parts and Scotland felt rushed and there was so much more he could have explored. However I loved the book, it was funny, interesting and inspiring and I recommend it to anyone. If you're not in the habit of reading travel books I would suggest ill Bryson as his books are so much more,
Reading Bryson's books tells you a lot about Bryson himself as well as the country he's writing about. He is observant of course, passionate about lots of issues: environment , grammar and punctuation,what he sees as the general dumbing down of life due to a growing stupidity of the human species. He writes enthusiastically and inspiringly about what he loves, especially the countryside and it's beauty . He has a constant thirst for knowledge and genuine interest in all he encounters making him an authority on many subjects. On the flip side of the many things he loves there are many things that irritate him ,many many things. in fact he writes lists of them on more than one occasion throughout the course of his book. I actually feel I would love to have him as a next door neighbor and can imagine lots of friendly hilarious evenings full of discussion and laughs and going home rather merry!
Bryson undoubtedly does love Britain and it's people, despite our many faults and idiosyncrasies. I think on the whole we are good at laughing at these ourselves. He has a knack of finding the most beautiful and often little known parts of Britain. It's made me determined to walk more and to spend more weekends exploring parts of England I've not been to. His descriptions made me google places to find out more about them. I am in awe at the number of miles a man of over 60 can walk and ashamed of my own lack of fitness. My only big gripe about this book is that half way through Bryson still hadn;t left the south coast.! The northern parts and Scotland felt rushed and there was so much more he could have explored. However I loved the book, it was funny, interesting and inspiring and I recommend it to anyone. If you're not in the habit of reading travel books I would suggest ill Bryson as his books are so much more,