A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Oct 21, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, memoir-and-autobiographical-essays, walk, humor, appalachia

3 stars, bumped up to 4 because he made me laugh so hard.

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Rob McQuay.

This book has its moments. Some moments you kind of chuckle uncomfortably, because he's being an ass and you feel like a jerk for laughing. Some moments are awkward and I wanted to fast forward past (but I didn't). Some moments are informative, some are dull, some are deeply meaningful (his frank discussion with his friend Katz about Katz's struggles with alcoholism was really movin 3 stars, bumped up to 4 because he made me laugh so hard.

I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Rob McQuay.

This book has its moments. Some moments you kind of chuckle uncomfortably, because he's being an ass and you feel like a jerk for laughing. Some moments are awkward and I wanted to fast forward past (but I didn't). Some moments are informative, some are dull, some are deeply meaningful (his frank discussion with his friend Katz about Katz's struggles with alcoholism was really moving). And some moments I laughed so hard that I worried I could no longer drive safely.

At times this was, without a doubt, the funniest audiobook I have listened to. (And if you check my "audio" shelf you'll see that includes works by Tina Fey, David Sedaris, Amy Poehler, and Aziz Ansari, all of whom are generally considered to be quite funny.) When he starts talking about Deliverance while hiking through Georgia, I laughed so hard I nearly had to pull the car over for safety. (You may not find this so funny if you are from Georgia and sick of people talking about Deliverance. I'm from NJ, and I was a little disappointed that he never got around to making fun of NJ.)

Listening to Bryson can often bring to mind that old George Carlin quote: “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” He complains about the trail being too crowded, and too empty; about hikers being too prepared, and unprepared; and oh! don't get him started in annoying electronic devices on the trail!! He wrote this in the 90s, before the ubiquity of the Smartphone - I can only imagine the paroxysms he would experience on the trail today, when most people are packing cell phones and FitBits. Of course, he does all this for effect. I strongly suspect that he is not nearly the curmudgeonly asshole that he pretends to be ; he is probably a fun and pleasant hiking companion to meet on the trail.

Oddly, Bryson is not much of a nature-lover (leading me to wonder why he decided to hike the AT in the first place - did he say? if he did, I missed it). At one point, he meets a man nicknamed "Chicken John" and describes his odd behavior of (brace yourselves) looking intently at the trees. Now, I don't know, I've never hiked very much, but ... isn't looking at the trees part of the appeal? You know, admiring the trees, identifying the different tree species, looking for woodpecker holes or signs of insect infestation, that sort of thing? That's what I do when I go for a walk! I imagine I'd do a lot of it on the AT! This odd lack of interest in the nature he was passing through left me feeling rather unfulfilled. But I'm still giving it 4 stars, because I laughed.

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Apr 12, 2019 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, american-nonfiction, audiobooks, appalachia

I liked this more than my 3 stars would indicate; the problem is that parts of it are dated in some problematic ways. There is a memorable joke about pedophilia - Bryson quotes someone else who shares it as a way to extend an olive branch after a fight - that doesn't feel funny at all in 2019, 20 years after the book was written (and certainly wouldn't have been funny to survivors of abuse when the book was written, but I will acknowledge that their voices unfortunately hadn't entered the public ...more

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May 13, 2009 Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: travel

This was a great book. I've always wanted to hike the AT and was further inspired by Bryson's descriptions. One for the bucket list! But he doesn't sugar-coat anything. It sounds treacherous and dangerous. I love his sarcastic wit and would love to meet his buddy Katz. ...more

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Feb 01, 2008 Jaime rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2007, memoir-travel

I’m starting to become a real Bryson fan. I enjoy his tone and sometimes dry humor, and I enjoy that he sneaks in informative tidbits without you hardly realizing it. Having lived within a half hour of the Appalachian Trail most of my life, I felt an extra connection with this story. My great uncle hiked the trail solo from Maine to Georgia a few years ago at the age of 62, and I feel like this gave me a little insight into what his journey was like. I’ll definitely be consuming more of Bryson’s ...more

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