Neither Here Nor There

[BigRay]

I just wanted to post a note here about a book I just finished recently called "Neither Here Nor There" by Bill Bryson.

If you don't know him, Bill Bryson is an American who fell in love with Europe on his first backpacking trip in 1972. Shortly after that, he decided to go to London and ended up getting married and living in London for the next 20 years or so.

During this time, he didn't really get many opportunities to explore "the continent" that had enthralled him so much during his first visit. So he decided to go on another European backpacking trip, and this time he wrote a book about it.

It's not a guidebook by any means, but just relates some amusing anecdotes he experienced in each of the places during his trip. He alternates between being in awe at what he is seeing and being downright pissed off at some things he can't comprehend. The result was that I found it to be an extremely funny book that had me laughing out loud at times.

He did go back to the States for a while after that (early 90s, I believe) but has sinced returned to England. He has other travel-related books out, too. Another good one is "Notes from a Big Country" about adjusting to life in America after being in England for so long. Other books deal with life in England, small town America, Australia, and I think he even has one out about Africa.

If you get a chance, I would highly recommend him. You won't be disappointed!

Ray

[LHR02]

He's a real favorite of mine Ray....if you liked NHNT I really suggest you pick up Notes From a Small Island about his 'road trip through Britain prior to returning to the US. He is a very witty travel writer and has a great ear and eye.

[cnlneenan2]

That's so funny, I had absolutely no idea Bill Bryson wrote books about backpacking. A friend of mine, about a month ago, recommended a book by him called "A Brief History of Nearly Everything". As it turns out, this is a very interesting and funny book, considering it's basis. Basically, this book takes all the major studies of science (geology, astronomy, biology, etc.) and then takes a candid and layperson view of who pioneered and discovered the major ideas and how they did it. Not only is it really cool to get an easier understanding (not just that but an incredibly interesting one!) of these topics, but you hear about all the funny stories that surprising led to things you would have never imagined.

It probably isn't near as narrative or humorous than the one you mentioned, Ray, but this is highly recommended for any learners out there who don't mind reading at a level that falls right between a novel and a textbook.

You probably see now what I mean when I mentioned my surprise at reading of these books he also wrote.

[BigRay]

He also has a few books on the English language, one of them called "The Mother Tongue" that goes on about the language and words and is supposed to be really funny.

Ging, I have the book you mentioned and got about half-way through before I put it down. It was written great, but having never properly done England, I felt a lot it was going over my head and switched to NHNT instead. But I agree completely, he has a great eye and ear and captures the small things in a hilarious way.

Ray