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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This fell quite flat for me. I had higher expectations for Bill Bryson. I just felt like the rooms in the home analogy was a bit of a stretch for some of the historical events/discoveries he explored.
Some interesting parts, some not so interesting. Hideously gruesome account of medieval medical practices that I am scarred by. Learned about how tiring the life of a housemaid was in English history. A profoundly white account of history. Would’ve been interesting to have a broader overview of the history of the household across many continents and countries.
—
RAW NOTES TAKEN DURING READING
Who knew that the origins of the corn plant could be so contentious!
Humans and guinea pigs are the only species in the animal kingdom that can’t produce their own vitamin c (but potatoes can!)
Captain cooks years at sea discovery Australia was one of the first expeditions where none of its sailors died or scurvy (less famously known for but one of his more redeeming achievements)
I like that we toured around the rooms of a westernized house to structure the exploration of the history of life at home. I’m not a dates person so sometimes it felt difficult for me to follow the jumping around of dates. But I understand the concept of exploring history by theme rather than chronologically so can’t really complain.
Largely a recount of the western evolution of the home and objects within the home. Not necessarily a flaw of the book, but something to be aware of in case you are not so interested in the UK and US history. I can’t say with certainty that the evolution of the home and its contents differ from culture to culture as I’m not very knowledgeable but I expect it would tell a different story.
Yuck very tempted to skip the chapter on bacteria and rodents in the household. A famous germ pert named is daughter after a germ…dishwashing cloth is one of the most germ filled object in the house… flushing the toilet with the lid open spews millions of germs into the air that last for up to 2 hours …bumblebee bats sound so cute!
Little bit scarred and horrified hearing about the the horrible medical treatments for women and in general STDs and STIs. UMMM the description of a primitive unanethised mastectomy I actually skipped.. no need to hear that
Sometimes the historical topic had no connection with the room we were in?
Some interesting parts, some not so interesting. Hideously gruesome account of medieval medical practices that I am scarred by. Learned about how tiring the life of a housemaid was in English history. A profoundly white account of history. Would’ve been interesting to have a broader overview of the history of the household across many continents and countries.
—
RAW NOTES TAKEN DURING READING
Who knew that the origins of the corn plant could be so contentious!
Humans and guinea pigs are the only species in the animal kingdom that can’t produce their own vitamin c (but potatoes can!)
Captain cooks years at sea discovery Australia was one of the first expeditions where none of its sailors died or scurvy (less famously known for but one of his more redeeming achievements)
I like that we toured around the rooms of a westernized house to structure the exploration of the history of life at home. I’m not a dates person so sometimes it felt difficult for me to follow the jumping around of dates. But I understand the concept of exploring history by theme rather than chronologically so can’t really complain.
Largely a recount of the western evolution of the home and objects within the home. Not necessarily a flaw of the book, but something to be aware of in case you are not so interested in the UK and US history. I can’t say with certainty that the evolution of the home and its contents differ from culture to culture as I’m not very knowledgeable but I expect it would tell a different story.
Yuck very tempted to skip the chapter on bacteria and rodents in the household. A famous germ pert named is daughter after a germ…dishwashing cloth is one of the most germ filled object in the house… flushing the toilet with the lid open spews millions of germs into the air that last for up to 2 hours …bumblebee bats sound so cute!
Little bit scarred and horrified hearing about the the horrible medical treatments for women and in general STDs and STIs. UMMM the description of a primitive unanethised mastectomy I actually skipped.. no need to hear that
Sometimes the historical topic had no connection with the room we were in?
At over 500 pages, this book packs in a lot of information. Bryson chose to present history by going through each room in his current house and relating how history had impacted the room.
As always with Bill, I really enjoyed it and learned all sorts of fascinating tidbits. I especially liked the story of the life of Watson, the famous assistant to Alexander Graham Bell, after he retired rich, including becoming a Shakespearean actor. Unfortunately, I found it a little too exciting for a bedtime read, which was my intent for it. I got too upset about the poor little Victorian children in particular.
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
A very enjoyable, if somewhat meandering read. It wasn't exactly what I expected but it was very interesting.
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
informative
At Home by Bill Bryson covers a wide scope of topics surrounding the home, garden, and the history of how they came to be.
Thoughts while reading:
-It was fascinating learning about the Crystal Palace, used as an exhibition hall in Britain, built by the garden Paxton
-I heard of monks and other religious figures making scientific contributions but it was interesting to learn that that ‘tradition’ carried over with vicars and rectors because they had so much free time
-I liked learning about the evolution of the idea of rooms, and how there didn’t used to be designated rooms since furniture was often moved around (so when making a bed, you would actually put down bedding, rather than sleeping in a fixed place, or you would eat off a board rather than a table)
-It was quite fascinating to hear the sheer variety of things people ate in the 1700s, and how Queen Anne was so large she could no longer use stairs and had to be lowered down a hatch
-I feel bad for how servants were treated during the age of servants, even though they laboured so hard
-It’s interesting that despite poor lighting, it didn’t mean people went to bed early. They still liked to stay up by the light of a single candle and read or play or chat. I imagine it must have been quite the stir to see the progression of lighting, but it’s funny that Edison was described as having a vacuum where his conscience should be
-It was entertaining hearing about the development of the dining room, and how food used to be all laid out so guests could chose what the wanted “french style” but when the russian style came along, where each course was brought out one at a time, it changed meal times so that they became very protracted affairs with strict rules of etiquette and different utensils
-It’s funny (and a bit depressing) to keep hearing stories of doctors who are so invested in their own hypotheses that they don’t recognize the right results when it’s in front of them (like the doctor who fed sailors various things to figure out the cause of scurvy)
-I liked hearing about the different trends and discoveries of building materials, and the reception towards them (with things going in and out of fashion, or how materials were affected by the uptake of coal as fuel)
-It was funny hearing about the Gilded Age American architect that didn’t have a license, and didn’t use blueprints, giving workmen vague instructions that resulted in oddities like the house that had a door to the chimney, or one that didn’t have an interior staircase so the inhabitants had to take an outside staircase
-Sad to hear that because of fear of rabies, huge populations of bats were killed, and many are endangered to this day. It was also interesting to learn about the locusts on the west coast of America that were inadvertently killed by farmers digging up their breeding grounds
-I was aware that stairs could be dangerous and having been on some with different levels, it can be unsettling, but I never knew that wallpaper could have been so dangerous because of the chemicals (including arsenic) they were made of, causing people to breathe in poisonous fumes
-I’m disturbed that I had to hear the account of the woman having her breasts surgically removed (due to cancer) in two books by the same author.
-I never considered how the u-bend in the toilet was so important because it prevents odours from coming up the toilet. The vivid accounts of scents from hot days were pretty disgusting
-I feel so bad for how children used to be treated, considering that they were recommending some poor children as young as three to work (and how it was assumed that poor people were prone to idleness, so they kept cutting their rations to ‘motivate’ them)
-I knew a little about fashion history but the idea of crinolines causing woman to constantly knock things over (or blowing upside down like an umbrella) made for an entertaining mental image
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the one about the body. Sometimes, I wish there was a bit more depth to some of the stories, since some of them are quite fascinating and some are less so. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5
Thoughts while reading:
-It was fascinating learning about the Crystal Palace, used as an exhibition hall in Britain, built by the garden Paxton
-I heard of monks and other religious figures making scientific contributions but it was interesting to learn that that ‘tradition’ carried over with vicars and rectors because they had so much free time
-I liked learning about the evolution of the idea of rooms, and how there didn’t used to be designated rooms since furniture was often moved around (so when making a bed, you would actually put down bedding, rather than sleeping in a fixed place, or you would eat off a board rather than a table)
-It was quite fascinating to hear the sheer variety of things people ate in the 1700s, and how Queen Anne was so large she could no longer use stairs and had to be lowered down a hatch
-I feel bad for how servants were treated during the age of servants, even though they laboured so hard
-It’s interesting that despite poor lighting, it didn’t mean people went to bed early. They still liked to stay up by the light of a single candle and read or play or chat. I imagine it must have been quite the stir to see the progression of lighting, but it’s funny that Edison was described as having a vacuum where his conscience should be
-It was entertaining hearing about the development of the dining room, and how food used to be all laid out so guests could chose what the wanted “french style” but when the russian style came along, where each course was brought out one at a time, it changed meal times so that they became very protracted affairs with strict rules of etiquette and different utensils
-It’s funny (and a bit depressing) to keep hearing stories of doctors who are so invested in their own hypotheses that they don’t recognize the right results when it’s in front of them (like the doctor who fed sailors various things to figure out the cause of scurvy)
-I liked hearing about the different trends and discoveries of building materials, and the reception towards them (with things going in and out of fashion, or how materials were affected by the uptake of coal as fuel)
-It was funny hearing about the Gilded Age American architect that didn’t have a license, and didn’t use blueprints, giving workmen vague instructions that resulted in oddities like the house that had a door to the chimney, or one that didn’t have an interior staircase so the inhabitants had to take an outside staircase
-Sad to hear that because of fear of rabies, huge populations of bats were killed, and many are endangered to this day. It was also interesting to learn about the locusts on the west coast of America that were inadvertently killed by farmers digging up their breeding grounds
-I was aware that stairs could be dangerous and having been on some with different levels, it can be unsettling, but I never knew that wallpaper could have been so dangerous because of the chemicals (including arsenic) they were made of, causing people to breathe in poisonous fumes
-I’m disturbed that I had to hear the account of the woman having her breasts surgically removed (due to cancer) in two books by the same author.
-I never considered how the u-bend in the toilet was so important because it prevents odours from coming up the toilet. The vivid accounts of scents from hot days were pretty disgusting
-I feel so bad for how children used to be treated, considering that they were recommending some poor children as young as three to work (and how it was assumed that poor people were prone to idleness, so they kept cutting their rations to ‘motivate’ them)
-I knew a little about fashion history but the idea of crinolines causing woman to constantly knock things over (or blowing upside down like an umbrella) made for an entertaining mental image
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the one about the body. Sometimes, I wish there was a bit more depth to some of the stories, since some of them are quite fascinating and some are less so. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5
A charming history of the Western world, as seen through the everyday objects in our homes. The variety here was great - I especially liked the bit about Victorian cookbooks.
It's a book full of interesting stories but that seem to have little to do with premise of the book. It's has a very disorganized structure and it mostly focus on Victorian times in England.