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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Perhaps it's because I've been waiting for so long and so enthusiastically for Bryson's newest, but I was a tad disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I still liked it. It's impossible NOT to like Bryson's work. I just had one major complaint.
He divides his history of private life into chapters named for rooms of the house, the proceeds to either give a related history (as in the bathroom) or stretches the connection in order to discuss a mostly or entirely unrelated subject while still keeping his chapter heading scheme (as in the study). All of it was interesting, but it had a disjointed feel. Transitions were shaky or abrupt, and he didn't cover many things that I thought he should have. Other things he mentioned briefly would have benefited from additional discussion, but were left with one or two sentences.
Additionally, it wasn't a complete history of private life but rather of life (private and public) in Victorian England, with forays into 19th century America and the odd reference to ancient Rome or prehistoric times.
I think that a different title (and indeed subtitle) would have made all the difference in the world when I read this. If you go into At Home expecting a history of all the important changes that happened in Victorian times that essentially changed life from medieval to modern and ignore all of the misleading chapter headings, I think you'll enjoy it a lot more. It may lack the clear organization of his A Short History of Nearly Everything, but it's still an enjoyable trip through Bryson's inquisitive, amusing mind.
He divides his history of private life into chapters named for rooms of the house, the proceeds to either give a related history (as in the bathroom) or stretches the connection in order to discuss a mostly or entirely unrelated subject while still keeping his chapter heading scheme (as in the study). All of it was interesting, but it had a disjointed feel. Transitions were shaky or abrupt, and he didn't cover many things that I thought he should have. Other things he mentioned briefly would have benefited from additional discussion, but were left with one or two sentences.
Additionally, it wasn't a complete history of private life but rather of life (private and public) in Victorian England, with forays into 19th century America and the odd reference to ancient Rome or prehistoric times.
I think that a different title (and indeed subtitle) would have made all the difference in the world when I read this. If you go into At Home expecting a history of all the important changes that happened in Victorian times that essentially changed life from medieval to modern and ignore all of the misleading chapter headings, I think you'll enjoy it a lot more. It may lack the clear organization of his A Short History of Nearly Everything, but it's still an enjoyable trip through Bryson's inquisitive, amusing mind.
Bryson is at his best when he's following tangents and he does that exceedingly well here, going off in unexpected directions and somehow making it connect to the subject at hand. I love interesting tidbits about the world and Bryson knows how to wrap tidbits in informative and funny prose. His dry sense of humor is right up my alley.
The history of ordinary objects and habits shouldn't be so funny, but in this book it was die-laughing funny. Advice to any prospective readers: stay close to a computer while reading this..you'll want to google the hundreds of people, buildings and objects that are mentioned but are, unfortunately, not in our vocabulary.
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
This has all my required elements for good non-fiction: many fascinating but often arcane and/or useless facts organized in a fun way. These nuggets will stand me in good stead when I play "Jeopardy!" :-)
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Have you ever looked around your house and thought about how it all got there? Not how it actually arrived into your dwelling but how both the space itself and everything in it came into being in the shape that it is in now? Bill Bryson had one of those moments and, prolific writer that he is, he set about writing an entire book about it. Now, don't mind his subtitle, it's not really a SHORT history (500+ pages) but it is certainly a wonderfully broad and extensive look at our homes and how they came to be.
I loved it. He has such a knack for making things interesting. He's wonderfully tangential, so we'll be learning about the bedroom and how beds became what they are and all of a sudden we're learning about nearly-extinct bats. But it WORKS, and you follow with him because everything he is teaching you is cleverly written with really just the good bits included. His humorous asides were so entertaining. I loved learning about bricks and stucco, the evolution of toilets, poorhouses, Chippendale furniture, Victorian child-rearing, the origin of such phrases as "room and board," and the spread of diseases from the old world to the new. And I am telling you, he connects it all to the most mundane and yet essential part of our daily lives: our home.
I listened to the entire 16+ hours (I did enjoy the audio, he reads it himself in his delightful British accent) and rarely found my mind wandering (unusual for me and an audio book), sometimes I was actually thoroughly engrossed and other times disgusted. I suppose it is probably worth noting, that it really is centered around British and American homes. There is, of course, world history throughout but it is more thoroughly a history of British homes with a lot of American stuff thrown in. If you're a sucker for probably useless knowledge, I highly recommend this one.
I loved it. He has such a knack for making things interesting. He's wonderfully tangential, so we'll be learning about the bedroom and how beds became what they are and all of a sudden we're learning about nearly-extinct bats. But it WORKS, and you follow with him because everything he is teaching you is cleverly written with really just the good bits included. His humorous asides were so entertaining. I loved learning about bricks and stucco, the evolution of toilets, poorhouses, Chippendale furniture, Victorian child-rearing, the origin of such phrases as "room and board," and the spread of diseases from the old world to the new. And I am telling you, he connects it all to the most mundane and yet essential part of our daily lives: our home.
I listened to the entire 16+ hours (I did enjoy the audio, he reads it himself in his delightful British accent) and rarely found my mind wandering (unusual for me and an audio book), sometimes I was actually thoroughly engrossed and other times disgusted. I suppose it is probably worth noting, that it really is centered around British and American homes. There is, of course, world history throughout but it is more thoroughly a history of British homes with a lot of American stuff thrown in. If you're a sucker for probably useless knowledge, I highly recommend this one.
This book is terrific, chock-full of interesting bits of information about the history of things concerning your home. Bryson delves into minutiae, but comes up with gold. Fascinating study to tell us how things came about, much of the things we take for granted. Am amazed at how much learning is packed into each chapter, yet it is all fun and intriguing. Highly recommended.