[8RV]⇒ PDF Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson 9780380727506 Books

Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson 9780380727506 Books

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Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson 9780380727506 Books

It has been twenty years since Bill Bryson, a writer originally hailed from a small town in Iowa, fell in love with Great Britain where people are delighted in small pleasures, called strangers “Love,” and orderly wait on lines in public without peevishness. So much so that he has even married one. Now it is high time that Bryson returns to the States along the lines of Odyssey, who returned home in Ithaca twenty years after the decade-long Trojan War and another decade of travails. In retrospection of the memories collected on his beloved adopted homeland, Bryson decides to take a valedictory jaunt around the island small but big enough to nurture him with a wealth of culture and a bounty of humanity. And he does it on public transportation and by hiking along with his trademark razor-sharp wits, intractably keen intelligence, and his usual touchy-feely way of observing people and things that either irk or pique him. All of it comes to fruition in this highly amusing and genially forthright travel memoir.

You will be surprised to find out that the British think that the cereals are their invention. You will be overawed by the ubiquitous hedgegrows dated back to Anglo-Saxon times embroidering on the British landscape. Bryson will also take us for a ride in a London cab driven by an affably jocular cabbie who has to pass the Knowledge Test to memorize almost everywhere in the City of London. But London is not his demarcation of traveling. Bryson will further come along with you to Bournemouth, Exeter, Liverpool, which is his favorite city, Manchester, and even up north to Scotland all by train or coach, and by walking. With his truculent feistiness, irrepressible inquisitiveness, and scintillating sense of humor fabulously ingrained in his choice of the apropos words and jovial descriptions devoid of malice, Bryson is a cool cicerone, and your excursion will never be a bore.

The book seems to be primarily aimed for British readers who might be curious about what a foreigner would think of them and their country as a whole. In that regard, Bryson’s words are predominately British in the sense that the words and expressions he uses in the narrative are familiar to the British. For example, “bank holidays,” “coach,” “lorry,” or “Sainsbury’s” are peculiar to the British ways of life. But this kind of cultural barrier is kindly tackled by Bryson by providing you with glossary of the British terms in the end of the book.

I have read other books by Bryson because of the same reason that induced me to select this book: his story-telling like narration is very appealing to me with his proverbial witticism smeared in every word he employs. He may appear a grumpy American man, but he has a heart to feel and see milk of human kindness in every quotidian thing or nondescript person by using the most appropriate words in wonderfully lucid expressions. There is a charm in his writing that will make you an admirer of his writings, and this book is no exception. It is Bryson’s long love letter to the small island he has fallen for head over heels with sincerity and loyalty with kisses and promise to come back to her.


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Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson 9780380727506 Books Reviews

This is the book that made Bill Bryson's latest publication, "The Road to Little Dribbling," possible. After living in the UK for a number of years, Bryson decided to take a fresh look at his adopted country and travels throughout England, Wales, and Scotland before he relocated his family to the U.S. for a period of time -- and the result is "Notes from a Small Island." This year, with the publication of "Little Dribbling," he goes back to the places he saw in "Notes." Both books are worth the read -- and both give you plenty of laugh-out-load moments, as well as many moments of thoughtful reflection on being human, as well as life in the UK. Having read "Little Dribbling" first, I came at "Notes" with a genuine curiosity about what his original insights would be like -- and how his perspective had changed. In addition to gaining an appreciation of these qualities, it was interesting to see how Bill Bryson had grown as a person and author. All in all a rewarding purchase -- and a great antidote to those times when daily life gets a bit too heavy to handle.
Right. Well this book completely derailed my reading list for the summer. I was supposed to be catching up on Criminal Justice texts and memorizing terms from Barron's Law Dictionary... Instead, I purchased Notes from a Small Island and things went out of control from there. It is literally the first time in my life that reading a book made me laugh out loud and uncontrollably, to TEARS. This gem was highly recommended by English friends as a must-read before I make the move to the UK for my year of study abroad this fall. I obliged. Not even halfway through the book, I decided to order more of his books right away in order to have them ready when I finished with this one. That is how my Bill Bryson binge began. Currently I am on my third book (by order of what arrives in the mail first) called A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Bryson is merciless in his observations of British towns and the British in general, but it's all in the spirit of that endearingly cynical, self-deprecating, quintessential British humour. (see what I did there?!) His way of writing puts you at ease and it's like a cross between travel guide, government & history lesson and stand up comedy, as Bryson loves to go off on barely relevant and hilarious tangents. You never get the sense that he is trying too hard or being pretentious, either. A bonus is the glossary he provides in the back of the book for British words like "dual carriageway" and "naff."

The fact that it was recommended to me by English and Welsh friends is testament to the authenticity of Bryson's observations and his comedic genius. Seriously recommend this read if you're an Anglophile or just enjoy a good, fun read.
Great book if you love people who love themselves to an extreme. Also a great read if you hate the United States, especially southerners. Perfect for the "open-minded, progressive" types who look down their noses at anyone who doesn't behave and think exactly like themselves. Also, a great gift for anyone who likes books that pretend to be about people doing something, but then are really just about quitting doing that thing before they really get started.

Here's a good example of the writing, "See, the Army Corps of Engineers aren't really good at building. One time this thing that they built broke. Moving on...I like Great Britain because there aren't that many Americans there. See, I really hate myself, so I take it out on all other Americans instead if just looking in the mirror and admitting that I am a sad sack."
It has been twenty years since Bill Bryson, a writer originally hailed from a small town in Iowa, fell in love with Great Britain where people are delighted in small pleasures, called strangers “Love,” and orderly wait on lines in public without peevishness. So much so that he has even married one. Now it is high time that Bryson returns to the States along the lines of Odyssey, who returned home in Ithaca twenty years after the decade-long Trojan War and another decade of travails. In retrospection of the memories collected on his beloved adopted homeland, Bryson decides to take a valedictory jaunt around the island small but big enough to nurture him with a wealth of culture and a bounty of humanity. And he does it on public transportation and by hiking along with his trademark razor-sharp wits, intractably keen intelligence, and his usual touchy-feely way of observing people and things that either irk or pique him. All of it comes to fruition in this highly amusing and genially forthright travel memoir.

You will be surprised to find out that the British think that the cereals are their invention. You will be overawed by the ubiquitous hedgegrows dated back to Anglo-Saxon times embroidering on the British landscape. Bryson will also take us for a ride in a London cab driven by an affably jocular cabbie who has to pass the Knowledge Test to memorize almost everywhere in the City of London. But London is not his demarcation of traveling. Bryson will further come along with you to Bournemouth, Exeter, Liverpool, which is his favorite city, Manchester, and even up north to Scotland all by train or coach, and by walking. With his truculent feistiness, irrepressible inquisitiveness, and scintillating sense of humor fabulously ingrained in his choice of the apropos words and jovial descriptions devoid of malice, Bryson is a cool cicerone, and your excursion will never be a bore.

The book seems to be primarily aimed for British readers who might be curious about what a foreigner would think of them and their country as a whole. In that regard, Bryson’s words are predominately British in the sense that the words and expressions he uses in the narrative are familiar to the British. For example, “bank holidays,” “coach,” “lorry,” or “Sainsbury’s” are peculiar to the British ways of life. But this kind of cultural barrier is kindly tackled by Bryson by providing you with glossary of the British terms in the end of the book.

I have read other books by Bryson because of the same reason that induced me to select this book his story-telling like narration is very appealing to me with his proverbial witticism smeared in every word he employs. He may appear a grumpy American man, but he has a heart to feel and see milk of human kindness in every quotidian thing or nondescript person by using the most appropriate words in wonderfully lucid expressions. There is a charm in his writing that will make you an admirer of his writings, and this book is no exception. It is Bryson’s long love letter to the small island he has fallen for head over heels with sincerity and loyalty with kisses and promise to come back to her.