I see that Bill Bryson's At Home: A short history of private life will be out in paperback this week, and as he's a writer I've never read but have long intended to get to know, I wondered if I might start with that book. Notes From A Small Island
- Bryson's view of Britain and the British - also appeals, as does Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language
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According to 'my sources', he is eclectic, wide-ranging, perceptive and very entertaining. Have you read him?
I've only ever read his travel books. They're light reads -- entertaining, frothy and fun. But I wouldn't deliberately go and hunt them out.
Posted by: kimbofo | 22 May 2011 at 09:47 PM
I read his book about Australia, "In a Sunburned Country," and loved it.
Posted by: LauraC | 23 May 2011 at 03:13 AM
I think he is great. I loved Notes from a Small Island and some of his other travel books. He makes me giggle aloud sometimes but he is also very intelligent and learned so Mother Tongue is a fascinating entertaining and informative read. I haven't read At Home but I'd like to. Excellent writer -- go for him, I'd say.
Posted by: Harriet | 23 May 2011 at 07:47 AM
I like his books. I'd start with The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.
Posted by: Barbara | 23 May 2011 at 07:50 AM
I read Notes From a Small Island years ago and enjoyed seeing the UK through his entertaining writing. Haven't returned to him since. Mother Tongue sounds good.
Posted by: Claire | 23 May 2011 at 08:29 AM
I've read a number of his books and have always been entertained. Notes from a Small Island is good, but do also consider reading A Short History of Nearly Everything too.
I'm amazed you haven't read his wonderful (and for me very useful) The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words.
Posted by: Dark Puss | 23 May 2011 at 09:00 AM
Highly recommend "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe". Most people I know who've read him think that A Short History of Nearly Everything is his best.
Posted by: Alex | 23 May 2011 at 10:52 AM
Notes from a Small Island is very enjoyable and his European book Neither Here Nor There made me laugh out loud for quite a while which was a bit embarrassing as I was on a very busy train at the time and fellow passengers clearly thought that I was a sandwich short of a picnic!
Posted by: LizF | 23 May 2011 at 11:54 AM
I loved his childhood memoir 'Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid', very enlightening and entertaining. I am currently reading 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' which I find very impressive. I really like Bryson's writing, it is accessible, entertaining and the Thunderbolt Kid had some laugh-out-loud funny moments.
Posted by: Femke | 23 May 2011 at 12:14 PM
I've read several of his books and like his travel books best, especially his earlier ones about living in England. I started Home and got bogged down, but it might have been me, not him. I liked Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid; we're apparently about the same age and have many similar memories and experiences of growing up in America.
Posted by: Joan Kyler | 23 May 2011 at 01:24 PM
I have read and enjoyed Notes from a Small Island and many of his other books (including one on Shakespeare). I found At Home very readable, brilliantly researched and I would recommend it; I did struggle with the large amount of American history it contained - not being aware of the US 'greats'.
My daughter worked with him on an organ transplant charity and thought that he was lovely.
Posted by: Joules Barham | 23 May 2011 at 03:33 PM
I have At Home waiting for me... I have read, and loved, Mother Tongue and Shakespeare - with a gap of many years between them. Shakespeare was incredibly funny, as well as informative - I think it is the best resource for all the facts that are known about Shakespeare, without any attempt to embroider or overlay with theory.
Posted by: Simon T | 23 May 2011 at 03:35 PM
Our book club read I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away.
He was in England during those 20 years away, and his comparisons of the two cultures is very interesting, as his view of America as a "stranger" in a strange land.
Posted by: Julie Fredericksen | 23 May 2011 at 04:48 PM
Sorry about the grammatical errors (note to self: proofread your comments more carefully).
His comparisons .... are
as IS his view of America ....
Posted by: Julie Fredericksen | 23 May 2011 at 04:51 PM
I too really liked his memoir Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. And his A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is one of the funniest books I have ever read.
Posted by: Susan P. | 24 May 2011 at 01:15 AM
Just don't read Notes From a Small Island in bed unless you want to be nudged in the ribs for laughing out loud; ditto his other travel books as well, especially Down Under. He is a very astute observer of the human condition.
His books on words and science and domesticity are more serious but still a jolly good read.
Posted by: Jill | 24 May 2011 at 02:55 AM
I listened to "At Home" on cd in the car and bored my family and students for WEEKS with fascinating factoids. It was my first Bill Bryson and although his voice might be off-putting for some, I loved the whole experience!
Posted by: Rebecca | 24 May 2011 at 11:10 AM