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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Another excellent book by Bill Bryson. I'm not quite sure what I find so enjoyable about his writing. He has an excellent eye for a good anecdote, and retells telling and intricate details extremely well. He also has a talent for writing prose that is exceedingly easy to float through without any noticeable effort.
In this book he essentially manages to tell human history through a short journey around his own house (which, it transpires, is in Norfolk). Fascinating.
In this book he essentially manages to tell human history through a short journey around his own house (which, it transpires, is in Norfolk). Fascinating.
This book is amazing. You learn so much about so many things. I love Bryson. One of his best.
So, so interesting and engagingly written. I'm trying to add more nonfiction, particularly history, to my repertoire and this fit the bill beautifully. Bryson is a top-notch writer and I will seek out some of his other books. The thing that kept me from giving this five stars was that it wasn't quite what I was expecting. There is a TON of information here, meticulously sourced and expertly woven together. Bryson debunks popular myths and presents such a vast number of facts that there's something for everyone. But I was thinking there would be more about how each room was used and how furniture and appliances were developed and utilized. It also focuses heavily on England in the 18th and 19th centuries and I was hoping for more details about American and the 20th century. I imagine that would fill another several volumes. The author goes off in detailed tangents which are nonetheless quite enjoyable to read. My only caveat is not to read the last chapters while eating. Bryson goes into detail about sewage systems (or lack thereof) and working/living conditions in slums during the industrial revolution. Fascinating and unpleasant, to say the least.
So entertaining! Full of history and facts that I didn't know I wanted to know.
Loved this book. Packed with information about the tiniest details of everyday life, which he manages to expand to and make connections to the wider world. Fascinating compilation of history, science, technology and domesticity.
A fascinating mishmash of history seen through the lens of a home.
It was a long book but typical Bill Bryson very detailed and very entertaining.
I would read a section put it down and come back to it a few days or a few weeks later. It was the history of rooms in a home - with lots of information that I wanted to think about more before moving on.
I would read a section put it down and come back to it a few days or a few weeks later. It was the history of rooms in a home - with lots of information that I wanted to think about more before moving on.
I'm calling this one done. I read the first 225 pages, and then started to skip over the topics that didn't interest me. I think I probably read about 65% of the whole.
I found the conceit of using the rooms in Bryson's house to tell the history of private life to be extremely annoying. Some chapters were interesting: the kitchen, where he talked about the history of food markets, etc.
But some chapters were wasted in my opinion - for example, the study. I thought this would be about the history of printing, or publishing, or book collecting, but no. Since Bryson uses his study as a storage room and only goes in there to check mouse traps, the chapter is about the history of household pests: mice, rats, bugs, etc.
Some of it was interesting, but the framing device was a poor choice, in my opinion.
I found the conceit of using the rooms in Bryson's house to tell the history of private life to be extremely annoying. Some chapters were interesting: the kitchen, where he talked about the history of food markets, etc.
But some chapters were wasted in my opinion - for example, the study. I thought this would be about the history of printing, or publishing, or book collecting, but no. Since Bryson uses his study as a storage room and only goes in there to check mouse traps, the chapter is about the history of household pests: mice, rats, bugs, etc.
Some of it was interesting, but the framing device was a poor choice, in my opinion.
A very engaging history of just about everything connected to home, house and private life. Rambling, but a very entertaining read, well actually a "listen" as I read the audio version narrated by Bryson. His pronunciations are at time stilted and awkward, but easily over-looked. Bits of trivia from the book keep popping up in conversation!
