book data
4398 ratings, 3.81 average rating, 459 reviews
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published
August 2000
(first published 1998)
by Thorndike Press
binding
Paperback, 458 pages
isbn
0786220031
(isbn13: 9780786220038)
description
In the world of contemporary travel writing, Bill Bryson, the bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods, often emerges as a major contender for...more
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avg 3.81
Read in January, 2001
Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself (Broadway Books, 1999)
At funtrivia.com, one of the (many) ways a quiz can go from a relatively high ranking to "very poor" between the time I start and the time I finish is a factual error that causes me to get a question wrong. Research is a beautiful thing.
Half of me is willing to give Bill Bryson the benefit of the doubt; the other half is ready to excoriate him on what may be a false impression. I'll attempt to keep it reserved.
Bryson's...more
At funtrivia.com, one of the (many) ways a quiz can go from a relatively high ranking to "very poor" between the time I start and the time I finish is a factual error that causes me to get a question wrong. Research is a beautiful thing.
Half of me is willing to give Bill Bryson the benefit of the doubt; the other half is ready to excoriate him on what may be a false impression. I'll attempt to keep it reserved.
Bryson's...more
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Read in August, 2008
Bill Bryson grew up in Iowa, then spent twenty years in England. He has returned to the U.S. with his British wife and children. I'm a Stranger Here is selections from his newspaper column which chronicles his experiences. Some of them are funny, like "Dying Accents" and "The Best American Holiday". Others, particularly anything is which he tries to mock the writing style on instructional booklets, electronics, the government (I'm all for mocking the government, but he...more
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Read in January, 2008
This is the first Bill Bryson book I have read, which, I am told, was a mistake. I know several people who consider Bryson one of their favorite authors and they all seem to agree that this book is not a good "ambassador" for the rest of his work.
This book is a collection of newspaper articles that document his move from England to the United States. Most of them explain his bewilderment toward American culture and customs and often longs for the "simplicity" of the Brit...more
This book is a collection of newspaper articles that document his move from England to the United States. Most of them explain his bewilderment toward American culture and customs and often longs for the "simplicity" of the Brit...more
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I rated this a little lower than other books by Bryson because it shows the constraints of being a collection of newspaper columns, written to a length limit and a deadline. That said, there were some real gems in the mix. The column about re-learning an adult vernacular (spackle? Polyfiller?) was good for a laugh - at the time, I was struggling with the same thing over infants' paraphernalia (diaper? nappy?) because despite having lived in the US for years, I hadn't had to use those words since...more
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I read this several years ago, so I have no idea what it was about. But I do know that I have LOVED every Bill Bryson book that I have ever even seen, let alone read.
I think Bill Bryson is very cool. I'd like him to be my neighbor. He could write stories about me. Like "I have this neighbor who stands in her garden and chats with her plants. She introduces the new ones when they arrive. She asks everybody how they are doing and if they are thirsty. Boy, she sure is a great lady...more
I think Bill Bryson is very cool. I'd like him to be my neighbor. He could write stories about me. Like "I have this neighbor who stands in her garden and chats with her plants. She introduces the new ones when they arrive. She asks everybody how they are doing and if they are thirsty. Boy, she sure is a great lady...more
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Read in January, 2008
This is the first Bill Bryson book I have read and I found it laugh out loud funny. My husband was given it as a christmas gift and when he started reading it kept reading bits out to me because he thought they were so funny. We gave up on that approach and started reading it together and both loved it. Some of that might have been that we have just moved back to Australia from the US and enjoyed the reminders of some of the more quirky aspects of US culture that we miss, and also could relat...more
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Read in February, 2008
my god. i am in love. that combo of common sense, smart ass remarks and intellect i cannot resist. sexy.
not quite done with it, but sure it's a solid 4 star book.
(as opposed to a liquid or gas 4 star book.)
not quite done with it, but sure it's a solid 4 star book.
(as opposed to a liquid or gas 4 star book.)
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I really enjoyed these short stories about what is is like to move back to America after living abroad. Bryson has an eye for detail and is able to see things that others may miss.
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Read in December, 2007
The short newspaper columns that make up this book are good fun when taken in small doses. A good book for bathroom reading.
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
Travelers, Nostalgia masochists
This has to be the saddest comedic travelogue I've ever read. Bryson's voice is outstanding -- he's a fun guy, but your traveling with him through a sorrowful place. A Midwestern boy, he goes in pursuit of Americana, traveling from state to state in search of interesting small towns and colorful people -- what he finds is that almost every place is the same, overtaken by chain restaurants and big box stores. In "I'm A Stranger Here Myself," a man who longs to love his homeland finds us...more
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Read in August, 2008
Bill Bryson is always good for a chortle or two...after living in England for nearly 20 years with his British wife and four children, he moves back to America to the quaint college town of Hanover, New Hampshire. He is contacted by a friend back across the pond to write a column for English readers about life in America. This book is a collection of Bryson's columns on that topic - accordingly, they are a bit random and haphazard - but on the bright side, each one is quite short and good to rea...more
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Read in June, 2006
Again, I love Bill Bryson. I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away isn't really a travel diary like many of his other works, but it does deal with the interesting case of culture shock wherein an American returns to his homeland after living in England for 20 years. The book is actually a collection of weekly magazine columns he did at the time, so you get a wide variety of topics for him to jeer and cheer over --everything from junk food to post offices to ...more
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With the exception of “A Short History of Nearly Everything” Bill Bryson basically writes the same book over and over. Each iteration is set in a different milieu and in each he is not as perceptive or funny as he thinks he is, but is still moderately perceptive and funny nonetheless. He is overly fond of himself, but I must admit I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read in spite of this fact. He essentially an overgrown little kid with a flair for words and a personality you can’t keep from lik...more
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Unlike his previous books, I’m a Stranger Here Myself isn’t about a single trip, vacation, or expedition. Instead, it’s a series of short articles, originally written for a British newspaper, that reflect on the American experience.
As always, the manner in which Bryson approaches the subject is unique, particularly because he spent the previous two decades living in England. Having returned, he not only noticed the differences between our two cultures, but he took advantage of the col...more
As always, the manner in which Bryson approaches the subject is unique, particularly because he spent the previous two decades living in England. Having returned, he not only noticed the differences between our two cultures, but he took advantage of the col...more
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I think Bill and I would make good friends, and I certainly won't judge his personality on this book. There's nothing worse than an author who makes jokes for the sake of making jokes, and "I'm a Stranger" is fat with needless hyperbole. The quotes and stories aren't real -- they're clearly exaggerated for the sake of wit, undermining every word of this ridiculous book. Friends have recommended "Stranger" for years, citing its amusing indictment of American consumerism; but B...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Bryson fans, especially non-American ones
This is my second of Bill Bryson's books, and although I quite enjoyed it, there was something about it that was different from Notes from a Small Island and that sat uneasily with me.
Small Island is an affectionate look at the UK, by an American who has lived, loved, worked, and reproduced there, on the eve of his return to his homeland after 20 years away...more
Small Island is an affectionate look at the UK, by an American who has lived, loved, worked, and reproduced there, on the eve of his return to his homeland after 20 years away...more
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Read in May, 2001
Downloaded from Audible.com
Did I say I love Bill Bryson's audiobooks?!!!
Narrator: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, 1999
Length: 5 hours and 58 min.
Publisher's Summary
After living in Britain for 2 decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and 4 children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens - as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They...more
Did I say I love Bill Bryson's audiobooks?!!!
Narrator: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, 1999
Length: 5 hours and 58 min.
Publisher's Summary
After living in Britain for 2 decades, Bill Bryson recently moved back to the United States with his English wife and 4 children (he had read somewhere that nearly 3 million Americans believed they had been abducted by aliens - as he later put it, "it was clear my people needed me"). They...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone who has left the country
Hilarious account of American culture. Bill Bryson is the writer who gave us A Walk In the Woods and A Short History of Nearly Everything.
After leaving America for 20 years, Bill Bryson decides to move to New Hampshire with his British wife and children. When he came back, he soon discovers that America isn't quite how he left it.
He said he re...more
After leaving America for 20 years, Bill Bryson decides to move to New Hampshire with his British wife and children. When he came back, he soon discovers that America isn't quite how he left it.
He said he re...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Sam by:
Alicearecommends it for: Anyone with a sense of humor
This book had me rolling. I had never read a Bill Bryson book before and picked this one up on a recommendation from a friend. Bryson is so witty, it's almost sickening.
The book is a series of articles he wrote for a London newspaper over two years, talking about returning to life in America after living abroad for over 20 years. The things he talks about are everyday things that those of us who have lived in the US all our lives take for granted.
He waxes poetic about the post office ...more
The book is a series of articles he wrote for a London newspaper over two years, talking about returning to life in America after living abroad for over 20 years. The things he talks about are everyday things that those of us who have lived in the US all our lives take for granted.
He waxes poetic about the post office ...more
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