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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
I wanted to like this so much more than I did. It was interesting enough to just barely keep my attention, but the book was rambling and very loosely connected to the themes of home and private life, which I found disappointing. There were many little gems of facts and surprising connections, but overall, I ended up wondering if I'd actually learned anything of substance. It was also depressing or disgusting most of the time, though I suppose Bryson can't help is subject matter. I'm hoping the next book of his that I read is better.
informative
slow-paced
I did it! I finished this book before book club tomorrow night! And man, this wasn’t just a non-fiction book, this was a GIANT non-fiction book. In the book/program I’m using to teach my daughter reading there is a picture of a book twice the size of a little girl. When we got to it I pointed to it and said “look! It’s the book Mommy’s reading!”
All that aside, Bryson’s voice was so narrative that I actually didn’t have any trouble reading. A lot of the names sort of got jumbled, but the vignette like stories of whatever it was he felt like talking about at the time made it easy for me to read.
I can’t believe how much junk was in this book. My brain feels over loaded with information, it really does feel like he just shoved them entire history of England and America into my head. It was fun, but don’t expect me to take an exam on everything.
Actually, a lot of it wasn’t fun. Other than the general conclusion that the only reason the human race didn’t die out in the face of so many freaking ways there was to die is probably because they hadn’t come up with a very effective birth control, there were sooooooo many stories about people who would make these awesome contributions to the universe only to get nothing back and try fighting in court and then die a pauper. I had a particularly bad night last week where I had eaten lots of chocolate and practically cried over the White guy who made the cement stuff. I still don’t get what it was about a person that only existed in my life for a couple paragraphs but I also couldn’t stand how helpless he was!
It was fun to see world history from the perspective of a walk through a house. For anyone who likes fun random perspectives on history (like from the view of salt) I would highly recommend this book!
All that aside, Bryson’s voice was so narrative that I actually didn’t have any trouble reading. A lot of the names sort of got jumbled, but the vignette like stories of whatever it was he felt like talking about at the time made it easy for me to read.
I can’t believe how much junk was in this book. My brain feels over loaded with information, it really does feel like he just shoved them entire history of England and America into my head. It was fun, but don’t expect me to take an exam on everything.
Actually, a lot of it wasn’t fun. Other than the general conclusion that the only reason the human race didn’t die out in the face of so many freaking ways there was to die is probably because they hadn’t come up with a very effective birth control, there were sooooooo many stories about people who would make these awesome contributions to the universe only to get nothing back and try fighting in court and then die a pauper. I had a particularly bad night last week where I had eaten lots of chocolate and practically cried over the White guy who made the cement stuff. I still don’t get what it was about a person that only existed in my life for a couple paragraphs but I also couldn’t stand how helpless he was!
It was fun to see world history from the perspective of a walk through a house. For anyone who likes fun random perspectives on history (like from the view of salt) I would highly recommend this book!
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
As always with Bryson his dry wit delvers fascinating history and factoids weaved together in an engaging and thoughtful manner.
Good … for the most part. The facts themselves were interesting, but the organization seemed a little clumsy. In each chapter, he would often wander so much that I had a difficult time relating whatever he was talking about to the purported subject – the attic – for example. A lot of focus is given to the back story of people who invented or introduced home goods without much attention given to the product itself. Overall, it was good, but skimable.
informative
slow-paced