Notes from a Small Island

by Bill Bryson

There is something awfully exhilarating about riding on the top of a double-decker. You can see into upstairs windows and peer down on the tops of people’s heads at bus stops (and when they come up the stairs a moment later, you can look at them with a knowing look that says, “I’ve just seen the top of your head”) and there’s the frisson of excitement that comes with careering round a corner or roundabout on the brink of catastrophe. You get an entirely fresh perspective on the world.