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smidge_the_goblin's review against another edition
2.0
Hmmmmm, what can I say about this book? It's simply a collection of "vacations gone wrong" or travel blunders. Living overseas right now I thought it would make for an amusing read. The cover alone made the book interesting enough to pick up and the introduction and first few chapters were pretty amusing but the last half sorta fizzled out for me. However, the author admits from the start that it's a compilation of stories from different people with different writing styles and that stories that appeal to one won't likely appeal to all. Some of the authors were fantastic, but 2/3 of them seemed to be more interested in seeing how many obscure words they could use to describe their travel blunders than actually recounting them in an easy to follow and amusing way. All in all the book was "ok". Could have been a lot better but then again it could have really sucked.
mo_haus's review
3.0
There's No Toilet Paper... on the Road Less Taken is a compilation of short stories edited by Doug Lansky. Among the contributors is Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the Woods. These short stories are full of humor and misadventure that come when you leave home. It was a decent read. Some of the stories were so so, while some had me cracking up. It was the perfect book to read in the car on our recent road trip to Canada.
Read full review here.
Read full review here.
livinglifeforte's review
3.0
collection from various travelers... some stories are good; some aren't so good
kenderwolf's review
3.0
Finished this one up today. I've been reading it in bits and pieces (which it is perfect for) and it proved a nice break from some of the heavier subject matter I've been working my way through. Though only a few made me laugh out loud, I enjoyed the read. There weren't any disaster stories which I was happy about as those always just make me feel badly for the person. "Misadventures" is a good word for a lot of the stories in here and they all prove as good reminders that you never know quite what you're getting yourself in to when you leave home!
leahingermany's review against another edition
5.0
This book contains hilarious accounts of misfortunes, misunderstandings, and whatnot while traveling the globe. Some are funnier than others, but they'll all make you smile.
eric_sparks's review against another edition
3.0
I was hoping the stories were going to be funnier than they were. Overall this is a good collection of travel stories, just not as humorous as I was expecting.
kairosdreaming's review
3.0
Ok, so I have to admit this one was better than some of the others put out in the series (Sand in My Bra, Whose Panties are These, etc.) but it still wasn't the greatest collection of travel stories out there. It was kind of hit and miss with the stories. They were either really good, or not so good at all.
Don't be misled by the name, this book is just a collection of short stories on the humors of travel. Its not about someone lacking toilet paper. These stories were written by various authors, some well known travel authors like Bill Bryson, others from people I have never heard of. They could range in location and a couple took place in the United States but the majority were over in Europe and Asia. Some were about the perils of travel in a foreign country, others about avoiding land mines in the desert. A particular favorite of mine took place on a luxury cruise ship where the author had difficulty with target shooting. But I had a lot of least favorites as well, like the story about what a new ride the author thinks should be at Disney, a bus ride in a developing country. It just kind of fell flat.
As said before this book had its ups and downs. There were more downs than ups, or at least flat lines though. But the few funny ones really did make the difference and I even giggled out loud for a couple of them. You could tell the regular humor writers apart from the others. Bill Bryson for example had some of the better narratives and having read some of his books I think he kept to the same tone as what he uses in them. The ones I didn't care for as much just seemed to illicit that feeling when someone tells a terrible joke and nervous laughter echos through the room. It just isn't comfortable. The stories are pretty mild and I think they'd be appropriate for just about anyone. There is a tad bit of adult humor but nothing too overwhelming.
Not bad but not awesome either. This was an overall average travel book. The stories were short so time passed quickly and I can see someone taking this along to the beach for some light reading.
There's No Toilet Paper
Copyright 2005
184 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Don't be misled by the name, this book is just a collection of short stories on the humors of travel. Its not about someone lacking toilet paper. These stories were written by various authors, some well known travel authors like Bill Bryson, others from people I have never heard of. They could range in location and a couple took place in the United States but the majority were over in Europe and Asia. Some were about the perils of travel in a foreign country, others about avoiding land mines in the desert. A particular favorite of mine took place on a luxury cruise ship where the author had difficulty with target shooting. But I had a lot of least favorites as well, like the story about what a new ride the author thinks should be at Disney, a bus ride in a developing country. It just kind of fell flat.
As said before this book had its ups and downs. There were more downs than ups, or at least flat lines though. But the few funny ones really did make the difference and I even giggled out loud for a couple of them. You could tell the regular humor writers apart from the others. Bill Bryson for example had some of the better narratives and having read some of his books I think he kept to the same tone as what he uses in them. The ones I didn't care for as much just seemed to illicit that feeling when someone tells a terrible joke and nervous laughter echos through the room. It just isn't comfortable. The stories are pretty mild and I think they'd be appropriate for just about anyone. There is a tad bit of adult humor but nothing too overwhelming.
Not bad but not awesome either. This was an overall average travel book. The stories were short so time passed quickly and I can see someone taking this along to the beach for some light reading.
There's No Toilet Paper
Copyright 2005
184 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2011
More of my reviews can be found at ifithaswords.blogspot.com
benevolentreader242's review
5.0
Great stories from travelers around the world. I loved reading stories of lands I haven't been to and relating to lands I have. I would recommend to anyone looking for something to smile about.
nferre's review
4.0
It might be a good omen that my first book of 2009 is a series of short stories called “There’s No Toilet Paper…..[b:on the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573] Less Traveled.”
From Peru to India, from Italy to Virgeenee, in a few short pages, I got a very good idea of the humor and adventure (or misadventure depending on the case) of some well heeled travelers. Most of the short stories were taken from the authors’ various books, and true to form, there were a couple that I really enjoyed, like Dave Barry’s account of taking the family to London as a tax write off. There were also a couple that just didn’t do it for me, Bill Bryson, just a bit too ascerbic for my taste, and the late David Foster, a bit too long winded. Riding a bus in a third world country, came across as a bit presumptuous and holier-than-thou, while talking to a looney policeman in Iquitos Peru, seemed to be spot on. The best part of these short stories is that if you really like them, you can always buy the book they were taken from and if you don’t, you are done in a matter of 4 pages or so.
This volume also included some old, but very good cartoons taken from The New Yorker and other publications, which were great.
From Peru to India, from Italy to Virgeenee, in a few short pages, I got a very good idea of the humor and adventure (or misadventure depending on the case) of some well heeled travelers. Most of the short stories were taken from the authors’ various books, and true to form, there were a couple that I really enjoyed, like Dave Barry’s account of taking the family to London as a tax write off. There were also a couple that just didn’t do it for me, Bill Bryson, just a bit too ascerbic for my taste, and the late David Foster, a bit too long winded. Riding a bus in a third world country, came across as a bit presumptuous and holier-than-thou, while talking to a looney policeman in Iquitos Peru, seemed to be spot on. The best part of these short stories is that if you really like them, you can always buy the book they were taken from and if you don’t, you are done in a matter of 4 pages or so.
This volume also included some old, but very good cartoons taken from The New Yorker and other publications, which were great.