Bill Bryson

I read it recently and enjoyed it, probably also laughed at least twice, but he went on too long with his crotchety act. Seems like he's found a formula and now kind of overdoes it. I liked Notes from a Small Island, his earlier book on travels in Britain, much better. Read it if you haven't.

I am in agreement with Dick. I love Bryson books, but this one is a bit of a recycle. Read Notes from a Small Island too ---either before or after.

And "In a Sunburned Country." Oops, that doesn't belong in the England portion of the forum.

Come to think of it, the crotchetyness did go on a bit much. The only others I'd read are "Thunderbolt Kid" and "1927" and loved them both.

James May despises Bill Bryson.

Listening to it on audio book right now. I am a huge Bill Bryson fan, but am disappointed that he is not the reader this time. I am enjoying it very much. Maybe I am clueless, but who is James May and why is his opinion worth mentioning? His opinion doesn't change mine.

I loved this book, too, jaesbow. He's a bit crotchety in all of his books and I don't think he overdid it here.

Who is James May??? Never heard of him.

I have loved all of the Bill Bryson books but have to agree with other posters. The Road to Little Dribbling was just a tad disappointing, but still worth reading. I don't have an issue with it being a rehash because it's billed as a return trip through England 20 years later so I expected some of that. My absolute favorite is still the Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - one of the funniest, laugh out loud, books I've ever read. I smile just remembering some of the passages.

I have not read the Thunderbolt Kid but I highly recommend 1927. Even thought I noticed two factual mistakes ( don't ask me where--I forgot within days of reading the passages.)

If this is the right one, James May is a "television presenter and journalist". But who he despises is of no interest to me.

James May writes a lot about technology and it's impact on humanity, especially on British humans. Perhaps "despise" was too strong, make it a strong dislike.
Evidently Bryson made some editorial comments about the state of the greenbelts around London. He mentions them in "Little Dribbling". May responded in an OpEd claiming that Bryson is a meddling American who dreams of the England of the fifties.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. His does not impact mine. I'm sure his doesn't impact Bill Bryson, either (or vice versa).

I thought that parts of Notes From a Small Island strayed too far into the "American is angry that Britain has changed since 1930" for my liking, and from reviews it looks like The Road to Little Dribbling is even worse.

Bill has taken on a number of roles in what might loosely be called the 'preservation' industry, in particular being president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

He has said 'When I came here the UK was poorer but much better looked after’, although the only example he gave was having flowers beds in roundabouts. There are still some like that round here.

James May was, until very recently, one of the three presenters of Top Gear, a British TV show which mentioned cars in between Jeremy Clarkson taking pot shots at things and bullying the rest of the presenters and staff, the Hamster (Richard Hammond) trying to stay alive despite some absurd stunts, and Captain Slow (James May) trying to over-complicate everything and get upset.

The show has since fallen apart, both in the Amazon version and the new Chris Evans version (Chris Evans has just quit the show).

Bill Bryson whinges too much about England.

We love to whinge. We don't need others whinging for us.

Aw c'mon Nigel, when you've lived somewhere for over 20 years (whether you're a native or not) you've earned the right to whinge a bit. I agree that sometimes Bill's whingeing is a bit overdone and somewhat obnoxious, but he's so humorous that it's easy to take it with a grain of salt. Many humorists use complaining, or whingeing if you will, as part of their humor. I still love reading his books.

I really enjoyed Bryson's "Notes From A Small Island". Also enjoyed Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" about hiking the Appalachian Trail through the mountains of the eastern U.S. Have just ordered his book "Shakespeare: The World as Stage" from Amazon and hoping it will be a good read.

I'm with Dick. Even though I read a lot of reviews on Amazon before I bought the book, I was shocked at how cranky he has gotten. Sometimes he was downright nasty. Still, I did enjoy most of the book and found he got less cranky towards the end of the book. Or maybe I go more used to his routine!

I have read every other of his books, and loved them all, except for the Shakespeare book (sorry, Rebecca; hopefully you will disagree), which was kind of dull. Bill Bryson is usually very witty and a wonderful observer with a knack for reporting fascinating little facts.

I finally got to read "Road to Little Dribbling." I have to agree that he does complain a lot, although it seems that toward the end he mellows out a bit. My favorite Bryson books are "At Home", which is masterful, and "A Walk in the Woods." "Walk" is about his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, and is wonderful. "At Home" is an amazing look at history, technology, social structure, architecture, and goodness knows what else, in England. He uses his own dwelling as a jumping off point, and it works.

I haven't seen the movie made from "A Walk in the Woods," so I can't comment on it. The Bryson character played by Robert Redford must be at least 30 - 40 years older than Bryson was when he tackled the Trail.