Quirky and Entertaining snipets of British History

I enjoy most of Bill Bryson's books and this is one of his best. Bryson is an American anglophile who has managed to distil an archetypal British perspective of life into his prose, whilst retaining an outsiders joy in discovering the stories behind many aspects of Britain (that most British simply take for granted). His eloquent, sometimes quaint, use of understated yet colourful language is a delight. In this book, he uses the various rooms of his old house as a device to follow historic threads that interest him. Often, he unearths the antecedents of common terms, or items, or features of the landscape or architecture and sets them into their original context, which is something that anyone could do; but where Bryson excels is in giving his own commentary about why they are so interesting to him. He has a gift of making things interesting and in this case it generally reflects very well on Britain and its history. If you want to hear a miscellany of entertainingly recounted snippets of British history told with subjective verve from someone who loves Britain then buy this book.

23 people found this helpful

More Fact Pact Bryson

I am a lifelong fan of Bill Bryson. His travel books are legendary. However since he has ceased travelling he now writes books such as this and many previously, basically packed with interesting facts and historical anecdotes.

He uses his house here to take us on a journey to each room, then onward to tell us for instance the story of archaeology or the life of the inventor Alexander Graham Bell or the origin of underwear.. see what I mean random, but it has to be said mostly fun.

My only two gripes (and why I did not give it 5 stars) are firstly it is read by the author. He is not a bad reader, but at times tends to drone, I do wish authors would leave reading there books to the people trained to do so. Many of his older books were read by Kerry Shale, and very good they are to.

Secondly he does have a tendency to repeat some items from his earlier books, not sure if this intentional or not, but it is a bit annoying, if like me, you have read all his output.

If this is your first foray into Bryson, I should start with an earlier book, but that is not to say this is a bad book by ant means, but he has done much better.

94 people found this helpful

Excellent

A history book with a difference. A truly enthralling read, taking you on a trip through the history of 'home' plus a whole lot more thrown in for good measure. Loved it and would of happily read another 10 chapters. Brilliant Bryson as always.

14 people found this helpful

A long bombardment of incoherent trivia. Why?

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

There are an incredible amount of positive reviews for this but it really did go completely over my head, so much so that I had to return it. It seems that many diehard Bryson fans have loved it but it definitely wasn't for me.

What will your next listen be?

Made in America by Bill Bryson!

How could the performance have been better?

The material to work with comes over as a long, long list of quiz book answers so I guess the performance couldn't have been any better due to the drivel that had to be read out.

What character would you cut from At Home: A Short History of Private Life?

Any, none?

Any additional comments?

Trivial fact follows interminable trivial fact. What was the point of this?

8 people found this helpful

A fascinating journey

Bill Bryson is a great writer and this is a spell-binding book, but I must agree with Stewart that this would have been very much easier on the ear if read by a professional. Mr Bryson's reading is hurried and his diction nasal and it would have put me off completely if the content hadn't been so wonderful. I kept thinking 'if only Stephen Fry were reading this'. On balance, though, the depth of research and Bryson's wit and compassion compensate.

24 people found this helpful

An absolute thrill...

I must also disagree with the first review. I found the harsh tones of Mr Shale reading '...Nearly Everything' quite annoying and the production meant I was forced to have the volume up louder than I would usually.

Not so with the lovely lilt of Bill Bryson. He bestows such facinating insight into the outwardly mundane subject matter of this book with wit and gentle enthusiasm and it is very difficult to 'put down'.

Highly recommended. If you are reading this, you must be thinking of getting it. My advice? You'll love it.

25 people found this helpful

So enjoyable!

I'm only part-way through listening, but I'm absolutely hooked. I must disagree with a previous reviewer in that I find Bryson's narration much better than the reader of A Short History of Nearly Everything; I love his reading here. Like that book though, this will be one I anticipate returning to re-listen to several times. Wonderful!

12 people found this helpful

Interesting in parts but a bit tedious overall

I’ve read quite a few of Bill Bryson’s books. Mostly I’ve enjoyed them . However this book compared to his travel books I found quite boring. Although it was interspersed with some interesting facts as to the source of some words and customs etc. On the whole it appeared to be a list of facts and figures. I also found this with his other book “A short history of almost everything “
Unfortunately Bill’s dulcet tones didn’t really help improve the experience.

5 people found this helpful

Good but not the best Bryson book

I enjoyed this book, although it isn't the best he's written. Its factual, well referenced and interesting. Its also value for money/credit as it is a decent length. I found the narrator a bit annoying and after huffing and puffing about it for a bit I checked who narrated it only to find out it was Bill Bryson himself! Although I normally love it when the author narrates their own book, in this case I have heard his books read better. He does tend to slur his words, get a bit tongue tied in parts and doesn't speak as energetically as I'd hoped for. William Roberts who narrated a Short History of Nearly Everything (another Bryson book) would have been an improvement. Definately worth getting if you're a Bryson fan.

10 people found this helpful

Interesting Book

This book is an interesting look at our houses and how the things inside it came to be. It may not be everyone's taste but I enjoyed it. If you have a curious mind about history this book is for you.

10 people found this helpful