After a wonderful weekend away, I was anxious to write a post about that, but it is eluding me (too much to say and having difficulty focusing the many words). Instead, I will return to a backlog of books which I have wanted to review.
I am a sucker for any Bill Bryson book. He is incredibly witty and always ensures a good read. His memoir certainly lived up to my expectations. I managed to listen to this book (usually in my husband's car, while running errands solo) and must say that at the beginning I was wishing my boys could listen as well. This is a tale of a boy growing up. It was chock full of boy behavior and boy shenanigans.
However, if I ever share this book with my boys, it will be by reading bits to them from a hard copy. There were a few too many passages I wouldn't want to share with them (his visit to the stripper's tent, beer theft escapades, etc.). Still, I know they'd be rolling on the floor over several of the well-written boyish antics.
There was only one occasion when my ES was in the car with me. That just happened to be a chapter about a friend, of Bryson's, who planned to detonate a bomb filled with confetti on the last day of school, only the bomb exploded in the middle of the night in the boy's bedroom. I think ES almost paused to hear the end before getting out of the car. Almost.
At first, I had a difficult time with the narration, provided by Bryson. I suppose I had an image in my head of what he would look like and sound like and the voice didn't fit. Plus, Bill Bryson lived the first part of his life in the States, growing up in DesMoines, Iowa, then a large chunk in Britain, then another chunk back in the States. Therefore, his narration betrays bits of both speaking styles. However, by the end of the book, I was entirely comfortable with the American-British mix.
I would highly recommend this memoir. For one, it is always refreshing to read about people who grew up in the 50's - a time when life was more innocent and the pleasures seemed robust and real. Beyond that, Bryson is just hilarious.
I was first introduced to his humor when I read I'm a Stranger Here Myself, a book which had been cited in a sermon during CBLI one year (I always jot those things down). I can remember reading it in the library at Littlejohn School in DeKalb during my 15 minute breaks. The librarian wanted to know what I was reading because I couldn't keep from laughing out loud. His writing is just that funny!
The bonus to listening to the audio version, is that it offers up a final interview with the author. The interview was an excellent addendum to the book because you get to hear, firsthand, about the process of writing this funny book. I tried to locate an author interview on-line and found this. However, it really doesn't equal the interview offered at the end of the audio version. If you are looking for a good laugh, you can't go wrong with a book by Bill Bryson!
I am a sucker for any Bill Bryson book. He is incredibly witty and always ensures a good read. His memoir certainly lived up to my expectations. I managed to listen to this book (usually in my husband's car, while running errands solo) and must say that at the beginning I was wishing my boys could listen as well. This is a tale of a boy growing up. It was chock full of boy behavior and boy shenanigans.
However, if I ever share this book with my boys, it will be by reading bits to them from a hard copy. There were a few too many passages I wouldn't want to share with them (his visit to the stripper's tent, beer theft escapades, etc.). Still, I know they'd be rolling on the floor over several of the well-written boyish antics.
There was only one occasion when my ES was in the car with me. That just happened to be a chapter about a friend, of Bryson's, who planned to detonate a bomb filled with confetti on the last day of school, only the bomb exploded in the middle of the night in the boy's bedroom. I think ES almost paused to hear the end before getting out of the car. Almost.
At first, I had a difficult time with the narration, provided by Bryson. I suppose I had an image in my head of what he would look like and sound like and the voice didn't fit. Plus, Bill Bryson lived the first part of his life in the States, growing up in DesMoines, Iowa, then a large chunk in Britain, then another chunk back in the States. Therefore, his narration betrays bits of both speaking styles. However, by the end of the book, I was entirely comfortable with the American-British mix.
I would highly recommend this memoir. For one, it is always refreshing to read about people who grew up in the 50's - a time when life was more innocent and the pleasures seemed robust and real. Beyond that, Bryson is just hilarious.
I was first introduced to his humor when I read I'm a Stranger Here Myself, a book which had been cited in a sermon during CBLI one year (I always jot those things down). I can remember reading it in the library at Littlejohn School in DeKalb during my 15 minute breaks. The librarian wanted to know what I was reading because I couldn't keep from laughing out loud. His writing is just that funny!
The bonus to listening to the audio version, is that it offers up a final interview with the author. The interview was an excellent addendum to the book because you get to hear, firsthand, about the process of writing this funny book. I tried to locate an author interview on-line and found this. However, it really doesn't equal the interview offered at the end of the audio version. If you are looking for a good laugh, you can't go wrong with a book by Bill Bryson!
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