Jo and I have had a nice day today. We decided not to listen to any news at all. Jo had a video chat with her sister in England. We sat on the deck enjoying the fresh air. I got a fair bit of reading in and we caught up on some TV shows. At the moment she's watching a remake of The Sound of Music and I'm in the den listening to the songs as I write this.
I have been enjoying myself on Twitter since I joined up a few weeks back. But I fear it's been a bit too liberating. I've been doing a lot of shouting, not just, but a fair bit. And it's caught up with me. I logged on yesterday to discover that one of my posts was deemed not suitable for Twitter guidelines. So I'm waiting for them to review my sit before I will be allowed to post there again. I tried to delete the post but it ended up being impossible for me due to not having a mobile phone. LOL. My parents would be shocked me, being a rabble rouser and all that. I think my Dad would probably have scolded me somewhat. Sorry folks, imagine me causing problems this late in my life. 😈😜😎
So on that note, let's take a look at my author for today.
Bill's Favorite Authors - Bill Bryson
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| Bill Bryson |
"A very interesting read. A book full of facts and history of everything from clothing, sex, treatment of children and the poor, discoveries and inventions. All told from the perspective of the various rooms of a house in Norfolk. Bill Bryson has a flair for story-telling; the pages flow easily and comfortably. Nice little anecdotes to keep the story fresh and just an all-over interesting historical perspective. Well-written and enjoyable to read. (4 stars)"
"I found this to be a very interesting overview of almost every type of science, geology, archeology, physics, chemistry, zoology, etc. And yet, Mr. Bryson managed to make them all interesting and readable. It's impossible not to be somewhat technical, but still, he was able to intersperse interesting stories, highlight interesting personalities to keep you reading. This was the first Bryson book that I've read and it makes me want to read others now. My wife has enjoyed his travel books, so I have a nice mixture from which to pick.
I also liked how this book's coverage reminded me of other books I'd read, The Quantum Ten, by Sheilla Jones, Krakatoa, by Simon Winchester. Excellent book and highly recommended." (4 stars)"
"Over the past few years I've read and enjoyed a few of Bill Bryson's excellent novels; At Home, One Summer, A Short History of Nearly Everything, etc. I like his wit and intelligence and the varied information that he imparts and his enjoyable, readable manner of doing so. The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island was published in 2015 and could be considered as a sequel to his previous Notes from a Small Island (I haven't read that yet, my wife Jo has).
In Notes, he journeyed throughout Great Britain, talking about the localities, the history, culture, etc. In The Road to Little Dribbling, Bryson revisits this previous journey, this time trying to take a look at locales he missed on his previous journey, starting in southern England, Bognor Regis and ending on the most northern point of Scotland, Cape Wrath.
As per all of the other books I've read, it's a meandering journey, crisscrossing England and Wales until his final dash to Cape Wrath. Bryson is getting more crusty and irascible as he gets older, but then again who isn't. He does spend a fair amount of time deriding 'stupidity' and being gently turned away from conversations that might turn cranky, either by his wife or friends taking him by the elbow or by having the conversations with his inner voice.
In each locale, he finds bits of history or science or just interesting tidbits that add to the richness of his journey. At one point he wanders into a discussion of two books that discuss how the English motorway numbering system works and doesn't work, or how the various districts of London are numbered and, once again, how it works and doesn't work and how it confuses even long-time residents. It might seem a boring subject, but Bryson has a way of making it interesting, touching lightly on it to impart information and making it humorous to make you enjoy discovering those facts.
I've always had an interest in Great Britain, having spent some time traveling throughout during the course of my military career. My wife, like Bryson's, is English so I spent a lot of time reading her excerpts to see what she thought, which added to my enjoyment. All in all, the journey was fun and informative and continued my enjoyment of reading and following Bryson's unique perspective and writing. (4.5 stars)"
"I've enjoyed all of the Bill Bryson books I've read so far and Shakespeare: The World as Stage. Bryson has a unique way of making history, science or whatever his topic interesting. His books are always accessible and readable and he adds a nice touch of dry humor to his topics.
One thing about his short history of Shakespeare, I will say, is that it was one of his more straight-forward stories and with a bit less of his humor. The main point of his biography is that there is very little actually known about the life of Shakespeare. He wrote in a time when records weren't always kept, unless you were involved in some way with the law. Birth records and such are about all that might have been available.
Still, Bryson researched his information and manages to provide an interesting story of what is perceived as Shakespeare's life. I found this especially interesting as I had recently read a book by Anthony Burgess, which is a fictional account of various events of Shakespeare's life (or maybe more correctly, semi-autobiographical) and I enjoyed comparing the two. In fact, Bryson refers to Burgess' story, Nothing Like the Sun, in Bryson's book.
All in all, while not my favorite Bryson story, it was still interesting and told me more about Shakespeare than I already knew and it provided a nice, quick entertaining read. Very enjoyable. (3 stars)"
"I was introduced to Bill Bryson by my wife when she was reading his travel books. I've read a few now and do enjoy his style of writing. One Summer: America 1927 highlights a specific period of time in American history, focusing on a number of the important public figures of the time. Charles Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic, Babe Ruth's run at his home run record, Al Capone's rise in Chicago, etc. It was interesting to see that time in history, having said that, considering the intolerance of the time, I don't know that I would have wanted to live there then. You have Sacco and Vanzetti's trial for murder; were they really guilty? It didn't seem to matter because there were Italians. You have the popularity of the Eugenics ideas; e.g. the strong race concept. You have the rising popularity of the Ku Klux Klan. It was definitely a tumultuous time and a time of great discoveries. Fascinating read. (4 stars)"
"A fun, entertaining quick read; another of Bill Bryson's excellent travel adventures. This one finds Bill travelling around Europe; Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, etc. His humor is sometimes coarse, but not enough to turn you off. He has a nice way of passing on information about the various countries he visits. You learn something but have fun doing it. All in all, very enjoyable and I'm glad I finally read it. (4 stars)"
So there you go, some reading ideas for your weekend. A complete listing of his works can be found at this link.
Enjoy your weekend.
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