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kpolly 's review for:
I like Bill Bryson. Let me just start it that way.
This one, though, was kind of boring. It started strong. I'd say the first 40 pages were great. I laughed out loud and all that. But, then it degenerated into some really formulaic, well-worn territory. Observations about complicated computer instructions, how his wife forced him onto some exaggerated diet, excessive paperwork can be excessive, etc. Even the overly familiar stuff had decent moments, but what stood out were all the hackneyed jokes and references to how his kids don't like what he likes, blah blah blah. I was surprised.
And, during moments when he would exaggerate a detail or two for effect, like when he said a brand of adult diapers were labeled "Whoa! Dambusters" (which is funny), he followed it up in the next sentence explaining that, no, that's not really what they said. He peppered a lot of the essays with these "just kidding" bits.
Maybe read the first 40 pages, then go read Pure Drivel by Steve Martin. Or a different Bill Bryson book.
This one, though, was kind of boring. It started strong. I'd say the first 40 pages were great. I laughed out loud and all that. But, then it degenerated into some really formulaic, well-worn territory. Observations about complicated computer instructions, how his wife forced him onto some exaggerated diet, excessive paperwork can be excessive, etc. Even the overly familiar stuff had decent moments, but what stood out were all the hackneyed jokes and references to how his kids don't like what he likes, blah blah blah. I was surprised.
And, during moments when he would exaggerate a detail or two for effect, like when he said a brand of adult diapers were labeled "Whoa! Dambusters" (which is funny), he followed it up in the next sentence explaining that, no, that's not really what they said. He peppered a lot of the essays with these "just kidding" bits.
Maybe read the first 40 pages, then go read Pure Drivel by Steve Martin. Or a different Bill Bryson book.