Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I must say this book iw very well researched and is full of interesting facts and trivia that any self respecting history buff would love to know. Th ebook was not a hit with me, however, because the content was not quite what I anticipate. Bryson discusses the history of domestic life and even goes into the architectur eof the home, but I expected a bit more detail about the evolution of 21st century homes (and maybe even mention apartments...) Definitely worth th eread though!
informative
slow-paced
So much information and it sometimes felt like there was no link to the house
Very interesting and informative, though I think by the end of it, Bryson got a little relentlessly dark and pessimistic with his research. That's not a critique, mind you, but given the fact that the last 100 pages is an unending slog of death, misery, poverty, feces, disease, and the like, and then caps with a note that essentially says "welp, thanks to climate change, who knows if we'll even have homes in 50 years LOL!" it certainly does leave a bit of an impression.
But there's a lot of really wonderful stuff in here. A perfect read for people who love anecdotes and little facts and histories and ask questions like "What does 'board' mean when you say 'room and board'?" This book's for you.
But there's a lot of really wonderful stuff in here. A perfect read for people who love anecdotes and little facts and histories and ask questions like "What does 'board' mean when you say 'room and board'?" This book's for you.
funny
reflective
Bryson is a lot like Gaiman in that I keep picking up his books because they seem like they would be interesting, and then I put them down remembering that this is an author who doesn't write for the audience of me. Again, this book didn't really work for me. Bryson is writing a history of the world as it relates to his home, but his digressions were too digression-y, and his view of history is too 1851 (WHICH COMES UP SO MANY TIMES) and Euro-American-centric.
The whole book just read like someone was having too much fun with Wikipedia related topics. I can do my own internet deep dives, thanks.
The whole book just read like someone was having too much fun with Wikipedia related topics. I can do my own internet deep dives, thanks.
Lots of interesting facts, but generally just pasted onto the theme of "At Home". Luckily his writing makes up for it, evening it out to a fun read.
Listened to this and it was a bit more history than I preferred.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Normally I love Bill Bryson's work; he cracks me up and his travels make me want to pack a bag and get on a plane. Normally I can't stop reading a book halfway through; even if I'm not enjoying it I plug through to the end. But it was somewhere in the middle of the Fuse Box chapter that I realized I was not enjoying "At Home" and that I didn't have to suffer all the way through it.
Bryson seems to love doing research and when his odd facts and histories are interspersed throughout a travel memoir, they add an interesting element to the places he's journeying to. When the entire book is one quirky fact after another, for 500 pages about fuse boxes and pantries no less, it starts to drag. Without the journey, there isn't any momentum getting the reader through. I felt like I was inching around his house, getting to know every dust mote and wall joist.
Sadly, At Home will join the short list of books I've never finished - and any dissatisfaction I feel at abandoning it unread is outweighed by the dissatisfaction I was feeling as I plodded through the history of the light bulb.
Bryson seems to love doing research and when his odd facts and histories are interspersed throughout a travel memoir, they add an interesting element to the places he's journeying to. When the entire book is one quirky fact after another, for 500 pages about fuse boxes and pantries no less, it starts to drag. Without the journey, there isn't any momentum getting the reader through. I felt like I was inching around his house, getting to know every dust mote and wall joist.
Sadly, At Home will join the short list of books I've never finished - and any dissatisfaction I feel at abandoning it unread is outweighed by the dissatisfaction I was feeling as I plodded through the history of the light bulb.