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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
It was lovely to read a Bill Bryson book again – I read Notes on a Small Island several times the most recent being 10 years ago). I find his books laugh out loud funny in places and so informative. I’m always a little embarrassed about how little I know about my country and how few places I’ve visited. In this book Bill decides he is going to follow what he calls the Bryson line which will take him from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath via a few other places in between. My home town gets a brief mention as he is passing through and I wish he’d visited as I think he would have liked it! His observations are amusing and despite having now lived in the UK for many years, he still finds the little oddities that make us British (without offending)!
I'm rounding up to 3 stars simply because it's Bill Bryson. Otherwise, this is just a bunch of ramblings of an extremely pissed off old man who isn't even funny in his nastiness. Some of the things he rants about border on downright offensive, and I got tired of it. It was extremely disappointing.
had to laugh at some of the old grumpy git bits thing but overall enjoyed the latest sequel to notes from a small island an update to the original book as bill travels around Britain again and comparing the 2 britain for good or worse lol
Bryson is egotistical, classist, racist, sexist, etc. The only thing that got me through reading this book was reading it with my lovely friends & getting their commentary on places they've been. I will not be reading another one of Bryson's books.
While this is an amusing travelogue in spots, there's to much old fart whining included that as an old fart I find annoying. Anyone from the generation that brought you Reagan, the rise of the Ignorant (and proud of it!) Right and Moral Minority shouldn't be calling the younger generations stupid. I've also known a fair number of older Brits who would find the thought of 50's Britain being a golden age amusing. Anyone for food rationing? Good for dieters at least!
[author:Sarah Vowell|2122] does this much better with more real history included.
[author:Sarah Vowell|2122] does this much better with more real history included.
Amusing tale of Mr Bryson's further wandering around (I say Britain, but actually it was England with about 10 pages on Scotland) Britain, combining rapture at its beauty with his habitual sardonic comments.
I once had dinner with Bill Bryson. Due to time constraints I had about 30 seconds to down my risotto before I left, which I did. On saying goodbye later he said he'd never seen anyone eat so fast. Not a classic anecdote but at leadt he was polite then. He seems to have lost the knack here. Grumpy and rude, especially to the service industry, he makes his way on a convoluted route north. It's ok, not as funny as other travelbooks and he doesn't do Scotland justice.
I love Bill Bryson, I really do but man did he get grumpy in this book. If you can get past all the grumping there are a few glimmers of the beauty and history that can be found in Great Britain.
So I think the primary lesson of this book is that the main problem with getting old is not, you know, the physical decline, but rather that you remember so many cool things. You're so busy wishing the world was somehow an amalagam of every perfect time and place you remember that you become a giant pain in the ass to everyone around you. Or, at least, that's the problem with Bill Bryson getting old.
What I'm saying is, this book is essentially the monologues of your grandfather who travels a lot and is remarkably cranky.
The funniest part is definitely the first bit, when Bryson is talking about applying for UK citizenship; once he starts traveling, it all becomes a bit samey. Bryson goes to a place! He sees a remarkably pretty thing and talks about how it should all be like this! He goes to another place! He complains about how everything is getting worse and people are so stupid and frankly he cannot even stand it! He goes to a third place, which should be better than it is! Repeat ad nauseam.
And then there's the -- well, I think the ablism is already quite obvious, but let me just slap on a big ol' warning for transphobia, here; he makes one of those deeply unfunny Caitlyn Jenner comments we've all grown so very tired of.
Reading note: ended up reading this one almost solely on my iPad. Very recommended way of doing it; you can google all the stuff he's talking about and see pictures! This enhanced my enjoyment immeasurably.
This is not one of Bryson's best books. Skip unless you're a serious Bryson completist.
What I'm saying is, this book is essentially the monologues of your grandfather who travels a lot and is remarkably cranky.
The funniest part is definitely the first bit, when Bryson is talking about applying for UK citizenship; once he starts traveling, it all becomes a bit samey. Bryson goes to a place! He sees a remarkably pretty thing and talks about how it should all be like this! He goes to another place! He complains about how everything is getting worse and people are so stupid and frankly he cannot even stand it! He goes to a third place, which should be better than it is! Repeat ad nauseam.
And then there's the -- well, I think the ablism is already quite obvious, but let me just slap on a big ol' warning for transphobia, here; he makes one of those deeply unfunny Caitlyn Jenner comments we've all grown so very tired of.
Reading note: ended up reading this one almost solely on my iPad. Very recommended way of doing it; you can google all the stuff he's talking about and see pictures! This enhanced my enjoyment immeasurably.
This is not one of Bryson's best books. Skip unless you're a serious Bryson completist.
Notes from a Small Island was first published 20, yes 20 years ago. In that book he visited place new and revisited old haunts from when he first came to UK in the seventies. His points of view as an outsider were refreshing, fairly blunt and quite frequently very funny. The book came about after his publisher remarked that it might be worth having another look at the country now he was actually a citizen.
He did consider doing a journey between what most people think of as the two furthest points, Lands End and John O’Groats. But a couple of coincidences mean that he starts in Bognor Regis of all places, with the intention of aiming to end at Cape Wrath. He follows a very erratic journey round the country visiting new towns and passing through some of the places he visited in the first book. He unearths a variety of factual nuggets and anecdotes on each place, reminds us of how it once was and is often pretty blunt with his opinions on some of the changes that have taken place. Being older now he is a little more of a curmudgeon too, but it does make for some hilarious encounters with surly and unhelpful staff in hotels, restaurants and the attractions that he visits.
This is a country though that he loves with a passion; he is not afraid to point out the dumb things we do as a country, and he is particularly scathing of mediocrity, be it celebrity and political leaders. But he also celebrates the places we have, the beautiful natural country, the history and culture that stretches back thousands of years. He has even compiled a list of just how long it would take to visit each historic site. But even though he has lived here for years now, this country still has the ability to perplex, madden and more importantly gladden him.
A new Bryson book is always a treat, and this is no exception. Brilliant stuff.
He did consider doing a journey between what most people think of as the two furthest points, Lands End and John O’Groats. But a couple of coincidences mean that he starts in Bognor Regis of all places, with the intention of aiming to end at Cape Wrath. He follows a very erratic journey round the country visiting new towns and passing through some of the places he visited in the first book. He unearths a variety of factual nuggets and anecdotes on each place, reminds us of how it once was and is often pretty blunt with his opinions on some of the changes that have taken place. Being older now he is a little more of a curmudgeon too, but it does make for some hilarious encounters with surly and unhelpful staff in hotels, restaurants and the attractions that he visits.
This is a country though that he loves with a passion; he is not afraid to point out the dumb things we do as a country, and he is particularly scathing of mediocrity, be it celebrity and political leaders. But he also celebrates the places we have, the beautiful natural country, the history and culture that stretches back thousands of years. He has even compiled a list of just how long it would take to visit each historic site. But even though he has lived here for years now, this country still has the ability to perplex, madden and more importantly gladden him.
A new Bryson book is always a treat, and this is no exception. Brilliant stuff.