Bill Bryson
I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away
A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

Renowned travel writer Bryson takes to the Appalachian Trail in this laugh-out-loud travel memoir. After returning to America after 20 years in England, Bryson reconnects with his home country by walking 800 of the AT’s 2100 miles, many of them with his cranky companion Katz, who serves as a brilliant foil to Bryson’s scholarly wit. A superb hiking memoir that skillfully combines laugh-out-loud anecdotes with serious discussions about history, ecology, and wilderness trivia. Droll, witty, entertaining.

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The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way

The Mother Tongue: English And How It Got That Way

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Genre: Nonfiction

From the publisher: "With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries."

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At Home: A Short History of Private Life

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

I love books about cities, architecture, and the way we live. I adore A Pattern Language. I've devoured every book by Jane Jacobs and Witold Rybczynski. But I couldn't make myself care about this one enough to keep turning the pages when there are so many other great books to read. Maybe because I felt like I'd read it all already?

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Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

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From the publisher: "Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame . . . and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle called his befeathered cap 'Macaroni.'"

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Shakespeare: The World as Stage

Shakespeare: The World as Stage

From the Sunday Times: "As an abbreviated tour around the world of Shakespeare, this could hardly be bettered."

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Notes from a Small Island

Notes from a Small Island

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The publisher calls this 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."

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Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

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From the publisher: "In the early seventies, Bill Bryson backpacked across Europe—in search of enlightenment, beer, and women. He was accompanied by an unforgettable sidekick named Stephen Katz (who will be gloriously familiar to readers of Bryson's A Walk in the Woods). Twenty years later, he decided to retrace his journey. The result is the affectionate and riotously funny Neither Here Nor There."

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The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain

The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain

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I'm a Bryson fan. From the publisher: "A loving and hilarious—if occasionally spiky—valentine to Bill Bryson’s adopted country, Great Britain. Prepare for total joy and multiple episodes of unseemly laughter."

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One Summer: America, 1927

One Summer: America, 1927

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From the publisher: "One of the most admired nonfiction writers of our time retells the story of one truly fabulous year in the life of his native country - a fascinating and gripping narrative featuring such outsized American heroes as Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and yes Herbert Hoover, and a gallery of criminals (Al Capone), eccentrics (Shipwreck Kelly), and close-mouthed politicians (Calvin Coolidge). It was the year Americans attempted and accomplished outsized things and came of age in a big, brawling manner. What a country. What a summer. And what a writer to bring it all so vividly alive for us in this best-seller."

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The Body: A Guide for Occupants

The Body: A Guide for Occupants

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I'm a Bryson fan. The Washington Post says, "You will marvel at the brilliance and vast weirdness of your design." In this compulsively readable owner's manual to the mysterious body, written with extraordinary insight, Bill Bryson "takes us on a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body--how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Bryson-esque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular."

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The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America

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I'm a Bryson fan. From the publisher: "Following an urge to rediscover his youth, Bill Bryson left his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that would take him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook. With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. From Times Square to the Mississippi River to Williamsburg, Virginia, Bryson's keen and hilarious search for the perfect American small town is a journey straight into the heart and soul of America."

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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

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From the publisher: "Warm and laugh-out-loud funny, and full of his inimitable, pitch-perfect observations, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is as wondrous a book as Bill Bryson has ever written. It will enchant anyone who has ever been young. Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century—1951—in the middle of the United States—Des Moines, Iowa—in the middle of the largest generation in American history—the baby boomers. Like millions of his generational peers, Bill Bryson grew up with a rich fantasy life as a superhero. In his case, he ran around his house and neighborhood with an old football jersey with a thunderbolt on it and a towel about his neck that served as his cape, leaping tall buildings in a single bound and vanquishing awful evildoers (and morons)—in his head—as 'The Thunderbolt Kid.' He brings us into the life of his loving but eccentric family, including affectionate portraits of his father, a gifted sportswriter for the local paper and dedicated practitioner of isometric exercises, and of his mother, whose job as the home furnishing editor for the same paper left her little time for practicing the domestic arts at home."

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