by Bill Bryson
Hennepin County Library audiobook 11 discs
read by Nathan Osgood
genre: humor, travelogue, history
I may need to read Notes From a Small Island. I'm not familiar with Bryson or his other works.
Aging stuff - funny! Hair growing from nose and ears / humor in stroke warnings . . . .
"If you are too stupid to spell disappointed, even approximately correctly, you are not allowed to take part in public discourse at any level." His sharp response to someone's TripAdvisor review that included a word "d-i-s-s-a-p-o-i-n-t-t-e-d" in describing a restaurant that Bryson himself appreciates a good deal.
Some of his wit is very funny, but at times he sounds like a cranky old guy who is a bit too picky. ("dissapointted" is clearly misspelled, but it is approximately correct . . . )
Marks and Spencer's / food hall / "You're an idiot." / H&M /
clothes / I can't read all my notes, but "funny guy, but also kind of a
jerk" is clear.
John Lennon stories / famous people sitings / I like this part.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and spiritualism . . . interesting stuff. I'd forgotten how prevalent this was at that time.
The internet has "no brains and no feelings - just like an I.T. person." Wow. Harsh.
The Greenway - pros and cons / compare to Denver sprawl. Interesting. I'm curious to learn more.
Gilbert White - never heard of him! The Natural History inspired Darwin.
LOTS of literary references! I feel pretty ignorant.
Silbury Hill - I had to Google it . . . again, interesting things I've never heard of before!
Barrows! Made me think of barrow wights and LOTR.
Lots of history! Tresko / marathon / exclusive / cystic fibrosis / his humanity finally shows! / no longer a thing
Penzance / Admiral Benbow - How funny! I recognized the Admiral Benbow from the Bloody Jack stories. And Ann and I just went to see the Pirates of Penzance last week!
Too negative at times / F-bombs . . . really?!
Parts of this are downright boring.
Who is Jeremy Clarkson and why does Bill Bryson hate him so much? (I Googled him, so now I know he's one of the Top Gear guys . . . but I guess I don't really care why BB hates him. It was interesting to find that most people think this book isn't as good as Notes from a Small Island . . . and that he's too "crotchety" in this one.)
Names of people, places, movies, stores, etc. I've never heard of . . . and stories that go nowhere. Did anyone edit this? Or did he just chuck in everything he thought of?
Dodo story - makes me want to learn more . . . did a museum director really put the last known specimen of one in a bonfire? And there are no physical remains of dodos anywhere?
F-bombs . . . a bit disappointing from someone who takes such pride in his excellent use of the English language
taxes . . . this part was funny! Like him putting a tax on people who text while walking
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