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Finished the book this past week so here is my opinion of the overall reading experience. I really enjoyed the book. I have been to England and recognized some of the places he mentioned so I had a vivid three dimensional image of the narrative. Even though he is an American he has definitely become a Brit in his cultural, social and humorous observations and I believe a lot of the rude bits were based on more poetic license than reality. That makes for a more entertaining book. A person does not read a Bill Bryson book to read dull facts and boring narrative descriptive passages of the sights and sounds of a place. For me his writing makes me feel like the experience is more real and I could relate very well to what he was talking about. I laughed out loud at some of the names of towns and I am sure not all of them that were mentioned were not simply residing in the author's mind. Sure he might sound rude but I have been a fan of British comedies since I was in college and a lot of people would consider that rude humor but Bryson has it down pat. I am not a fan of audiobooks but if there were an audiobook version of NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND read by John Cleese a la Basil Fawlty I would buy it in a heartbeat!

I enjoyed reading through the book and gave it's dated feel the benefit of the doubt and rated it 4 stars. I did expect a bit more from Bryson and I did find some of the things meant to be funny at the expense of the English his own fault for not preparing. I felt like it was purposefully exaggerated for the sake of the humor, though. I enjoyed getting a feel for other parts of England as I have only visited London and want to go back and see more.

I was really pleased to see this on the Group Reads list, having read it some 15 years ago and remembering very little about it. I have to say, I'm rather surprised at the volume of negativity expressed towards this book by readers on this thread - I found it funny and self-effacing. Granted, as a persona Bryson can be a little grating, but there is a genuine fondness for Britain at the heart of this book, and for me, the description of Edinburgh by night is evocative enough to invoke a glow of pride in my city. I think I'll always have a soft spot for this book!

Mhairi wrote: "I have to say, I'm rather surprised at the volume of negativity expressed towards this book by readers on this thread - I found it funny and self-effacing.

I stretched out on the sofa yesterday and devoured this book. It was a reread but I hadn't read it in over 10 years so it was due. I think that there is a large difference between 'British' and 'American' comedy and Bryson is more 'British' in his approach to humour. He laughs at himself and everything and everyone, something that many people find offensive and rude.



and from the other side of the fence...



I'm a huge fan of that form of comedy myself and tend to find 'American' humour bland and dull - like when they take a series and make a U.S. version of it which they tailor to their audience. In the US I heard they tried to remove scenes from Absolutely Fabulous which involved drinking, drugs and sex; I couldn't imagine what they would have left that would resemble the original show. The title maybe?

The only US t.v series that I can remember being genuinely funny to me (baring cartoons which seem a lot more edgy for some reason) is MASH. And that was probably because it had more elements of 'my' type of humour in it.

Each to their own :-)

How to tell if this book is for you:

Bill Bryson arrives at his hotel amid a torrential downpour.

"I decanted several ounces of water from my sleeve and asked for a single room for two nights.

'Is it raining out?' the reception girl asked brightly as I filled in the registration card between sneezes and pauses to wipe water from my face with the back of my arm.

'No, my ship sank and I had to swim the last seven miles.'"

If that made you laugh out loud, then this book is for you, because that is quintessentially Bill Bryson humor. Two months after I first read it, it still makes me laugh.

After living in the UK for 20 years, Bryson decides to take one last tour of his adopted country before heading home to his native United States. What results is a delightful travelogue of all things British, from lots and lots of tea things to roundabouts and the strange need of all Englishmen to discuss directions for getting some place at great length.

While he comes across as a bit curmudgeonly at times, it is that kind of curmudgeonliness we can appreciate from a distance. His powers of observation and turns of phrase can make you laugh embarrassingly loudly in otherwise quiet rooms.

There's also an interesting bit of foreshadowing here in that Bryson spends a good part of his trip traveling by foot. He also discusses his growing interest in "walking" - or as we call it here in the States, "hiking." Did he know in 1995 that he would someday be writing about his walk along the Appalachian Trail in "A Walk in the Woods"?

The book does slow down a bit as it reaches the end, as if Bryson himself is getting somewhat tired of getting up everyday and heading to look at something new. But his love for the United Kingdom - and its people - comes shining through.

Bill Bryson is an author that has never appealed to me, but that might be partly due to our shared hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, and the fact that he seems to enjoy poking fun at Des Moines, Iowa, and the Midwest. As I've aged, I've realized I can't take that kind of thing personally because he pokes fun at everyone and everything, but this former teenage girl from Des Moines has never quite gotten over his comments about fat women at Merle Hay Mall and their beautiful daughters that are ticking time bombs that will grow up and be fat just like their moms. It just seemed mean. My high school English teacher also always liked to remind us that her younger brother was friends with Bill Bryson. I wasn't impressed then and I'm still not after reading this book. I started reading the book in book form and transferred over to audiobook when my library book came due. I probably would have liked it better if I'd continued it in book form because I just couldn't get past the arrogant tone of Bill Bryson's voice in the audio version. I do get that that's part of his writing style and that is part of his appeal for other readers. It's just not for me. When I saw this book was one of the Group Reads, I thought I'd give him a chance and see if maybe I had outgrown my distaste for this author. While I didn't hate the book, I can't say that I really liked it either. It was just ok. I do think the British are a charming bunch and that was the lovable part of this book.