Sunday, November 27, 2011

words on the page: book reviews


For the next several posts, with other topics scattered here and there, I'm going take a stab at reviewing the books I'm reading. It never fails that I want to get some of this stuff down, think it through, yet that rarely happens with the housemates. Our reading preferences go in exactly 4 different directions most days.

And what am I currently reading? Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-town America.


Bill Bryson is one of my all-time favorite authors, a travel-writer who is unique in many ways, but one that always shines through is that he was born and raised in Iowa, fled to England, then came back, in this book, to stumble upon as many small towns in America as possible.

At first glance (through chapter 12): though he is transparent about his stereotypes about the South, it doesn't quite make up for the face that he obviously doesn't spend enough time here to know us. But then again, he didn't set out to become friends with the towns he visited; he never sets out to make friends. It's part of why he's so darn funny.

Despite these stereotypes, he's already got me laughing out loud at inappropriate times, in classic Bryson style - always a good sign.

Stay tuned for more on this book!


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