A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

Rating: 5.0

A Walk in the Woods is my third, and favorite thus far, Bill Bryson book. It is laugh out loud funny as Bryson and his unfit and overweight friend Katz attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. Sprinkled in between all the hilarious hiking narrative are generous amounts of anecdotes relating to the trail and it's history. As the publisher says, "Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this fragile and beautiful trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, a lament, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature." I am placing this wonderful travelogue in my 'favorite books' category. It's that good.

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town. - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I love Bill Bryson. He's slightly cynical and quick to voice his (many) disappointments but he's funny. In The Lost Continent Bill travels around America from town to town and details for us readers all his hardships and the occasional bit of pleasure. Bill seems to find something to dislike in many of the towns he travels through but he never loses hope that his next destination will live up to all his expectations. And it sometimes does! I thoroughly enjoyed chuckling my way this travelogue.

Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:

After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - best selling author of The Mother Tongue and Made in America - decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.

"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."

My thoughts:
Bill Bryson is witty, humorous and entertaining. His farewell tour of Britain is charming. He travels from the south of England all the way up to the tip of Scotland on an amusing romp around Britain before he returns to his native soil (Iowa) with his family. I've only visited Britain once but this book really made me nostalgic for it. This is my first Bill Bryson book but I can guarantee it won't be my last!