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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I usually enjoy his books, but this one is such a complaining mess.
Not my favorite of Bill's books. It's become pretty dated, which is funny in its way. But this one being piecemeal columns lumped together just doesn't have the flow and joy of his other books.
My least favorite of the Bryson books I have read. Bryson wrote some amusing anecdotes in this book, but it fell a bit short for me, on the whole. The bulk of the problem may be that I am completely familiar with living life here in the United States, so his factoids didn't resonate the way they typically resonate when I read one his books on a subject where I have less knowledge.
One of the few books that had me laughing out loud in public places.
This is not really a standard non-fiction book, but rather a collection of articles Bryson wrote about returning to America after several years living in England.
As such it is a fast, and relatively enjoyable read. Bryson comments about the parts of America he has rediscovered both with joy and with regret with a good mix of critique and funny observations.
As it was published 10 years ago it seemed a little dated, which weakened some of the points he made.
Read it if you have a chance, but he has much better books.
As such it is a fast, and relatively enjoyable read. Bryson comments about the parts of America he has rediscovered both with joy and with regret with a good mix of critique and funny observations.
As it was published 10 years ago it seemed a little dated, which weakened some of the points he made.
Read it if you have a chance, but he has much better books.
A collection of essays by one of the funniest people writing today. Brilliant insights, amazing information, and just laugh out loud writing make for an exceptionally easy and fun to read experience.
Laughed through the entire book. I wish he'd write another one about his observations since he's been back in the States for years.
After living in England for twenty years, Bill Bryson moves back to America, his home country. He finds himself a stranger in his own country. The book is a compilation of articles that he wrote for a newspaper about his experiences in America.
I found it extremely funny and loved his sense of humour. A lot of his sentiments, I could identify with because when you move back into your home country after some years abroad, so many things seem different. The things you enjoyed and cherished might not even be part of your new experiences. The reverse culture shock that is part and parcel of moving back to a place after spending time away from it. Having gotten used to the British way of life and terminology, he struggles to remember/find out the American equivalent of things. His British wife and children, though, seem to love America while he seems to be the one having the most difficult time. Rediscovering America with it’s joys and it’s trials, all the while poking fun at himself and others around him, it was a fun read. I chuckled through the book.
Some of the chapters, though did seem dated, after all , this book was written in 1999. Some chapters about computers for instance remind you that this book is of another time. But for most part, it is Bryson’s style of poking fun at the things he observes that stands out. The sentiments and the humour, I have to say, are timeless. Reading the reviews of the book, I realize that this might be one of his not-so-great books. If that is indeed true, I can’t wait to read his other books.
I found it extremely funny and loved his sense of humour. A lot of his sentiments, I could identify with because when you move back into your home country after some years abroad, so many things seem different. The things you enjoyed and cherished might not even be part of your new experiences. The reverse culture shock that is part and parcel of moving back to a place after spending time away from it. Having gotten used to the British way of life and terminology, he struggles to remember/find out the American equivalent of things. His British wife and children, though, seem to love America while he seems to be the one having the most difficult time. Rediscovering America with it’s joys and it’s trials, all the while poking fun at himself and others around him, it was a fun read. I chuckled through the book.
Some of the chapters, though did seem dated, after all , this book was written in 1999. Some chapters about computers for instance remind you that this book is of another time. But for most part, it is Bryson’s style of poking fun at the things he observes that stands out. The sentiments and the humour, I have to say, are timeless. Reading the reviews of the book, I realize that this might be one of his not-so-great books. If that is indeed true, I can’t wait to read his other books.
My favorite of his books so far - incredibly funny
SUMMARY: After living in Britain for two decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and four children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens--as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They were greeted by a new and improved America that boasts microwave pancakes, twenty-four-hour dental-floss hotlines, and the staunch conviction that ice is not a luxury item. Delivering the brilliant comic musings that are a Bryson hallmark, I'm a Stranger Here Myself recounts his sometimes disconcerting reunion with the land of his birth. The result is a book filled with hysterical scenes of one man's attempt to reacquaint himself with his own country, but it is also an extended if at times bemused love letter to the homeland he has returned to after twenty years away.