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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I stopped and started this, I find with Bill Bryson books - or any travel book that I most enjoy reading about places that I am familiar with. However from Lancashire onwards I really enjoyed this, not just for the comments on the places that Bryson visits but his dry and rather cynical observations on life.
At times the grumpy man act becomes a little much and some of his tone towards parts of the north is a little sneery.
His realisation that he shares a literary agent with Katie Price is very funny and his comment on the Scottish, “That’s the problem with Scotland you never know of somebody is going to donate their bone marrow or nut you.”
The end of the final chapter is very touching and reminds you why we are lucky to live where we do.
At times the grumpy man act becomes a little much and some of his tone towards parts of the north is a little sneery.
His realisation that he shares a literary agent with Katie Price is very funny and his comment on the Scottish, “That’s the problem with Scotland you never know of somebody is going to donate their bone marrow or nut you.”
The end of the final chapter is very touching and reminds you why we are lucky to live where we do.
An affectionate ramble through some of my favourite places and many I am yet to see.
This book is like a love letter to rural England (and, to a lesser degree, Scotland and Wales). I've always enjoyed Bryson's mix of travelogue and history, and he doesn't disappoint here. I laughed out loud a few times (the description of Butlins as a prisoner camp was one moment) - always a good sign in a book. Inspired now to read some of the books he has published in the last 12 years, as I have only read his earlier stuff to date.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
27. The Road to Little Dribbling : Adventures of an American in Britain (Audio) by Bill Bryson
reader: [[Nathan Osgood]]
published: 2015
format: Overdrive digital audio, 14:04
acquired: Library
read: June 6-27
rating: 3½
Mainly a diversion for my commute, as Bryson covers on a bunch of places I'm very unlikely to ever reach. He pushes the humor, playing heavily on the old-man card (Bryson is only in his 60's). Lots of petty things I could criticize on what is a maybe casual effort, but he was entertaining and funny and kept my attention.
Osgood does a good job reading Bryson, managing the nuanced tone.
reader: [[Nathan Osgood]]
published: 2015
format: Overdrive digital audio, 14:04
acquired: Library
read: June 6-27
rating: 3½
Mainly a diversion for my commute, as Bryson covers on a bunch of places I'm very unlikely to ever reach. He pushes the humor, playing heavily on the old-man card (Bryson is only in his 60's). Lots of petty things I could criticize on what is a maybe casual effort, but he was entertaining and funny and kept my attention.
Osgood does a good job reading Bryson, managing the nuanced tone.
3.5 probably. Not my favorite Bryson book. Seems very contrived. Not a single journey, but lots of little trips. Not much random exploration, but going somewhere with a purpose. A pleasant read--it is Bryson after all--but not much more than that.
It did inspire me to get Notes From a Small Island out again, though.
It did inspire me to get Notes From a Small Island out again, though.
This wasn't my favorite Bill Bryson book, but it was okay. Typically he is mostly funny and occasionally angry; I found him to be mostly angry and occasionally funny in this book. He mentions briefly the town I lived in after college and it made me England Homesick. The book was published before the 2016 Brexit referendum and I am curious how his thoughts on Britain have been affected.
About 40% of this book is a vaguely interesting travelogue. Unfortunately, the other 60% is Bryson's attempt at humor, which can be summed up as "Anything created newer than 1986 is terrible and everyone younger than me, not British, or suspiciously different is terrible. ... har har har amirite?" It's not offensive so much as it is incredibly lazy - and kind of sad.
Other reviewers have commented on these points, but I find this older Bill Bryson beyond irritating. His "travelogue" has devolved into "I go to different places, consider everyone else stupid, have a pint, and go to bed." It's unoriginal and uninspiring. Bryson's earlier work has always made me internalize "wow! that's really interesting; I want to see it for myself." Not here.
Further, I think the premise and title of the book is beyond misleading. What's Little Dribbling? What's the point of the "Bryson Line" if it exists only as a beginning point and terminus? Muttering about in Cornwall (!!!) isn't anywhere CLOSE to his self defined travel restriction. Why even mention the darn line if following it is so haphazard? Lastly, if the book is subtitled "Adventures of an American in Britain," shouldn't Bryson attempt to explain where things are? The map at the front of the book is wholly inadequate, with many of the places he listed absent.
Maybe Bryson just got stupid, fat, and lazy. He apparently thinks everyone else is.
Further, I think the premise and title of the book is beyond misleading. What's Little Dribbling? What's the point of the "Bryson Line" if it exists only as a beginning point and terminus? Muttering about in Cornwall (!!!) isn't anywhere CLOSE to his self defined travel restriction. Why even mention the darn line if following it is so haphazard? Lastly, if the book is subtitled "Adventures of an American in Britain," shouldn't Bryson attempt to explain where things are? The map at the front of the book is wholly inadequate, with many of the places he listed absent.
Maybe Bryson just got stupid, fat, and lazy. He apparently thinks everyone else is.
I always enjoy Bill Bryson's books, especially the ones about travel. So I enjoyed this one, too - but it could have done with a bit of editing. There were a few too many curmudgeonly rants, like those about how long it takes Windows to update on his computer, that made me feel like I was watching Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes (never a pleasurable pastime for me). Some sections seemed a bit rambling and tossed-off, and some sentences just needed basic copyediting (like one that used "horde" for "hoard," for example). The book was at its best when analyzing Britain's current social and political situation or offering some well-researched historical context.