A couple weeks ago I was looking around the library for books on the South Seas isands, and I came across this book called “In A Sunburned Country” by Bill Bryson. It looked pretty interesting so I grabbed it.
Well, now I’m hooked on Bill Bryson. I just finished reading his brand-new book “A Short History of Nearly Everything”. It’s the most amazing book I’ve ever read. I don’t like science but oh my God this book is incredible. I learned more from that book than probably all other books I’ve ever read combined. It’s fun to read, and it reads fast and it’s funny.
I never realized how little notice Australia gets until I read “In A Sunburned Country”. Seriously, think about it, especially those of you in the US. When was the last time you heard anything about Australia? Read about it in the paper? Saw something about it on TV? It’s probably been a while.
Just wondering if any other Dopers have read any of Bill’s books, and if so, what do you think?
His earlier books, such as The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America can be hysterically funny, but they also have a more juvenile sense of humor to them. He has matured as a writer and gotten to be a damn good one.
I’ve read almost all of them. I’m a big fan. I read A Walk in the Woods because I’m interested in the Appalacian Trail. I got hooked. He is the perfect combination of humor and information.
I’ve read “Notes from a Small Island” and the one on Australia, and a couple of others I can’t remember especially well. He’s pretty damn funny, but still manages to be incredibly interesting too. A pretty good writer, in my opinion.
I’ve read two of his books and have different opinions on both. I started but didn’t finish The Lost Continent. It seemed to me that he was pretty much just bashing small town America for really no good reason. I guess it could be seen as humor but I saw it as just being mean.
I really enjoyed The Mother Tongue his book about the English language though. It did drag on in places but no more so than most books. Overall it was pretty informative and a good read.
I am looking foward to reading his new book though, the one about science.
Bill Bryson is one of those writers where I don’t bother to check out the reviews or scan the dust cover. I just trust that I’ll enjoy what he’s written and so far that trust hasn’t been portrayed.
Precisely, and especially the South. Being somewhat of a defensive Southerner, it’s been tough for me to pick up anything else. My lip curls in an involuntary sneer. One day I’ll overcome it, I suppose.
He wasn’t bashing small town America, he was bashing the destruction of small town America. With very good reason. He mourned the loss of the town square surrounded by shops run by local people, and the resulting sense of community. Many such towns have been replaced with a 4 or 6-lane highway through a melange of neon signs, fast-food joints and characterless chains. He had praise for the few towns that resisted this destruction, at least in part. His criticism could be devastating. I read the book before visiting Savannah, and on arriving there I instantly knew which hotel he described as “f*** you architecture”.
Being from the UK, I particularly enoyed Notes from a Small Island because although he was poking fun, it was in a tremendously affectionate way.
I’ve read all but 2 of his books. The factual (as opposed to travelogue) ones are equally entertaining and informative.
I think those who are offended by him criticising aspects of the US should try to be a bit less defensive. He mocks and criticises with affection. Read Notes from A Small Island (IIRC the most popular book in the UK between 2000-2) or Down Under, and you’ll see it’s not all sweetness and light in the UK or Australia either - his books reflect his opinions, not anyone else’s. Give him another chance.
I think A Walk in the Woods is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. I brought it with me on vacation one year and four other people staying in the house with me read it before the week was out, intrigued by the laughter it was provoking in others (and amused by the snippets we’d all be reading aloud).
I started with The Mother Tongue. (I once was at a party and we discovered that at least three times the conversation turned to bits from the book.) I’ve become something of an addict, especially after A Walk in the Woods.
I read ‘Notes From a Small Island’ about 6 years ago when I was backpacking around the UK on my own, completely on public transport, just like the book. It was a great companion, and the way he displays such genuine affection for the place without it becoming sentimental drivel is a big achievement. I didn’t find it depressing at all.
Since then I have read all the others, but was a little disappointed with the Australia one (being an Aussie myself). I did enjoy it but it lacked the depth of the others - probably because he hasn’t actually lived there.
I love Bill Bryson. My husband bought me A Walk in the Woods and I was hooked. I’m a Stranger Here Myself, which he wrote when he came back from the US from the UK is really terrific, as is Notes from a Small Island. I agree with amarone’s impressions of *The Lost Continent *–it’s really a lament about how things have changed, and not for the better, in small-town America since he was young.