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The Road to Little Dribbling
- More Notes From a Small Island
- Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
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The Road to Little Dribbling
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-
One Summer
- America 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 186
One Summer: America, 1927, is the new book by Britain’s favourite writer of narrative nonfiction, Bill Bryson. Narrated by the man himself, One Summer takes you to the summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world forever. In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day, a semi-crazed sculptor with a plan to carve four giant heads into a mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown, and finished it as the most famous man on Earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Summer more or less
- By Cainsy on 17-05-2015
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Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another excellent Bryson book
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-2022
-
Shakespeare
- The World as a Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard: from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable, fun, & informative
- By Ballina Beach on 11-04-2016
-
The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
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Neither Here Nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here Nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
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Journeys in English
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
This highly entertaining BBC Radio 4 series is written and presented by Bill Bryson and based on his best-selling book, Mother Tongue. In it, he romps through the history of Britain to reveal how English became such an infuriatingly complex - but ultimately world-beating - language.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting subject but poorly mastered
- By Rachel C. on 01-03-2021
-
One Summer
- America 1927
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 186
One Summer: America, 1927, is the new book by Britain’s favourite writer of narrative nonfiction, Bill Bryson. Narrated by the man himself, One Summer takes you to the summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world forever. In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day, a semi-crazed sculptor with a plan to carve four giant heads into a mountain called Rushmore, a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and a youthful aviator named Charles Lindbergh who started the summer wholly unknown, and finished it as the most famous man on Earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
A Summer more or less
- By Cainsy on 17-05-2015
-
Notes from a Small Island
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy....
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Another excellent Bryson book
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-2022
-
Shakespeare
- The World as a Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
Shakespeare's life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard: from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Enjoyable, fun, & informative
- By Ballina Beach on 11-04-2016
-
The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection
- Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and More
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes.
-
Neither Here Nor There
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
Bill Bryson's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In Neither Here Nor There he brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
-
Journeys in English
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
This highly entertaining BBC Radio 4 series is written and presented by Bill Bryson and based on his best-selling book, Mother Tongue. In it, he romps through the history of Britain to reveal how English became such an infuriatingly complex - but ultimately world-beating - language.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting subject but poorly mastered
- By Rachel C. on 01-03-2021
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Icons of England
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: David Rintoul, Barnaby Edwards, Ben Eagle, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
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Story4 out of 5 stars 8
This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Perhaps if you’d grown up in UK it’d be ok.
- By Chris Pedder on 13-10-2020
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The Body
- A Guide for Occupants
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 618
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 497
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Story5 out of 5 stars 491
In the best-selling, prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson achieved the seemingly impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe. Now he turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not Bryson’s best
- By Chelsea on 08-10-2019
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Stephen Fry in America
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 51
Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in this audiobook that accompanies his journey for the BBC1 series.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Travel guide with a difference
- By Louise on 06-02-2021
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At Home
- A Short History of Private Life
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Abridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
In At Home, Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating books ever written about the history of the way we live. Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business – eating, sleeping and merely endeavouring to get more comfortable.
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The Rest Is History
- By: Goalhanger Podcasts, Dr Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook
- Narrated by: Dominic Sandbrook, Dr Tom Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
From the chart-topping podcast The Rest is History, a whistle-stop tour through the past – from Alexander the Great to Agatha Christie, the Wars of the Roses to Watergate. The nation’s favourite historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn’t even think to ask. Whether it is sending historical figures to Casa Amor in a series of Love Island, ranking history’s most famous eunuchs and pigeons, or debating the meaning of greatness, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.
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A Walk in the Woods
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 182
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 181
The Appalachian Trail covers 14 states, and over 2,000 miles. It stretches along the East Coast of the United States, from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. It is famous for being the longest continuous footpath in the world. (Compare this with the Pennine Way, which is a mere 250 miles long.) It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I love Bryson narrated Bryson books.
- By Dwayne on 03-05-2016
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Kingdom by the Sea
- A Journey Around the Coast of Britian
- By: Paul Theroux
- Narrated by: Ron Keith
- Length: 14 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2
American-born Paul Theroux had lived in England for 11 years when he realized he'd explored dozens of exotic locations without discovering anything about his adopted home. So, with a knapsack on his back, he set out to explore by walking and by short train trips. The result is a witty, observant and often acerbic look at an ever eccentric assortments of Brits in all shapes and sizes.
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Travelling to Work
- Diaries 1988–1998 (Volume 3)
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Travelling to Work is the third volume of Michael Palin's widely acclaimed diaries. After the Python years and a decade of filming, writing and acting, Palin's career takes an unexpected direction into travel, which will shape his working life for the next 25 years. Yet, as the diaries reveal, he remained ferociously busy on a host of other projects throughout this whirlwind period.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I was expecting more
- By Anonymous User on 17-10-2023
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Rambling Man
- My Life on the Road
- By: Billy Connolly
- Narrated by: Billy Connolly
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story5 out of 5 stars 38
In his joyful book, Billy explores this philosophy and how it has shaped him, and he shares hilarious new stories from his lifetime on the road. From riding his trike down America's famous Route 66, building an igloo on an iceberg in the Arctic, playing elephant polo (badly) in Nepal and crashing his motorbike (more than once), to eating witchetty grubs in Australia, being serenaded by a penguin in New Zealand, and swapping secrets in a traditional Sweat Lodge ritual in Canada, Rambling Man is a truly global adventure with the greatest possible travel companion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wisdom
- By Anonymous User on 28-11-2023
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Unruly
- A History of England's Kings and Queens
- By: David Mitchell
- Narrated by: David Mitchell
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 114
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 108
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Story5 out of 5 stars 108
In Unruly, David Mitchell explores how early England's monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects' destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear to us today in their portraits.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant
- By Anonymous User on 29-11-2023
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The Last Charge of the Australian Light Horse
- From the Australian bush to the Battle of Beersheba - an Epic Story of Courage, Resilience and Derring-Do
- By: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Richard Bligh
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 7
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story5 out of 5 stars 7
On 31st October 1917, as the day's light faded, the Australian Light Horse charged against their enemy. Eight hundred men and horses galloped four miles across open country, towards the artillery, rifles and machine guns of the Turks occupying the seemingly unassailable town of Beersheba. What happened in the next hour changed the course of history. This brave battle and the extraordinary adventures that led to it are brought vividly to life by Australia's greatest storyteller, Peter FitzSimons.
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5 out of 5 stars
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LOVED IT
- By Robbie on 25-11-2023
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Erebus: The Story of a Ship
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 144
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 135
In his major new work, Michael Palin - former Monty Python stalwart and much-loved television globe-trotter - brings to life the world and voyages of HMS Erebus, from its construction in the naval dockyards of Pembroke, to the part it played in Ross’s Antarctic expedition of 1839-43, to its abandonment during Franklin’s ill-fated Arctic expedition, and to its final rediscovery on the seabed in Queen Maud Gulf in 2014.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Totally absorbing
- By The Quiet Reader on 14-10-2018
Publisher's Summary
Twenty years ago Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the best-selling travel book ever and was voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.
Now, to mark the 20th anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey around Britain to see what has changed. Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more.
Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.
Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.
Download includes accompanying PDF map of the Bryson Line. Music written and performed by Richard Digance, inspired by The Road to Little Dribbling.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Road to Little Dribbling
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jan
- 22-10-2015
Typical Bryson
U get what u expect from a Bill Bryson book and that is a good thing. It's not quite as sharp or funny as some of his others but still a very enjoyable 12 hours or so
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- larry Redmond
- 04-11-2015
Excellent as usual.
He hasn't written a bad word yet. Same here. As the review requires twenty words, I am now just filling.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Peonyrose
- 01-12-2015
Great story - pity about the reader.
Bryson's written another great book but I find the reader very difficult to listen to - which in the end put in off listening to it. I want William Roberts as a reader for Bryson back.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Andy Crawford
- 06-11-2015
Not bad. Narration was distracting though.
Decent book. Not one of his best by any means but there was some interesting stuff in there.
A bit miffed that out of the almost 14 hours running time he talked about Scotland for less than 1 hour, despite it being (geographically speaking) almost 40% of the journey. Seems pretty disproportionate.
My other main criticism is that the narration was average at best. The attempts at English accents (or, more accurately, accent since they all sounded identical) were very grating. The Scottish one was terrible too, though mercifully not used very much.
Might work for an American audience I guess but I'm presuming most of the readership would be British. Not sure why, with a book of this nature, they would get a guy to narrate who can't do any British accents! Also, as an aside, I think we're all pretty familiar with Bryson's distinctive voice from his TV shows and other appearances, not sure why he wouldn't have just gone to the effort to narrate this himself.
Anyway, might have been a little harsh here. It's a solid book. Just not up to the standard of his previous offerings.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roderic
- 11-12-2015
Excellent in Every Way
I very much enjoyed this book. The style of Bryson's more critical comments is "necessary brutality", and I enjoyed along with him the fantasy of wreaking a fitting and violent revenge on the irritating.
I enjoyed this return to Britain more for the fact that many of the places he discusses I am quite familiar with.
I invite Bill to return to Australia to do a similar job on our much changed nation.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jennifer
- 03-11-2015
Infortainment
So there's a word that will have Bill's toes curling ... With the expected humour of this author, this listen gives an honest account of Bill's observations. It had me chortling at his observations, nodding sagely in agreement at some of his despairings and every now and then, thinking he was really getting a bit tetchy in his old age. Quite philosophical and thought provoking in many parts. There'll be some locations I'll be sure to include on Bill's recommendation during our first visit to the UK this Christmas. However, I now wonder what my husband and I will be getting ourselves into as we plan to make a journey to Blackpool to catch up with friends from Oz now stationed there with the Air Force ... Fingers crossed we'll get out of there intact. I hope Bill revisits Australia!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bondi Amazon Customer
- 30-05-2022
I’m on a plane soon
I’m a Bryson fan, and let’s face it, who isn’t? The follow up to Notes from a Small Island is engaging, informative, funny and personal.
The deep love for Byrons’ adopted country shines through as does his love of the English countryside.
A plane to England has my name on it - no not Virgin!
Whilst I enjoy Bryson’s narration it could be reasonably said that Nathan Osgood’s narration is Bryson with better international accents.
I loved every minute of this 5 star audio book and was disappointed when it finished.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kirsty
- 13-11-2018
Missing Bill himself, and William Roberts
I enjoyed the book, as I have all of Mr Bryson's, but was sad about the narration. I just feel Mr Osgood does not have the lightness of touch and self deprecation of those books read by Nr Roberts, or by the author himself. The text is up to the usual standard, and the criticisms, observations, and praises are well articulated, but the voice is querulous at times and too heavy handed, if a voice can be that.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-05-2018
Brilliant!
Insightful and says it the way it is. Worth every penny and more. Now onto his next book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Williams
- 20-04-2018
Only Bill Bryson should be narrating his books
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Maybe
What other book might you compare The Road to Little Dribbling to, and why?
All other BB books
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
It wasn't Bill, and I just can't listen to his books narrated by someone else
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
no
Any additional comments?
Bring back Bill!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-05-2022
Loved the book
Very entertaining and informative. Bill Bryson has the nack of saying things without being too crude. Narrator was excellent.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bodie9
- 03-11-2019
Love Bill Bryson!
I have read or listened to almost every Bill Bryson book written. (and I will read The Body: A Guide For Occupants soon) I particularly enjoy his audiobbooks - he brings them to life as no other narrator could.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nitvss
- 14-11-2017
Vintage Bill Bryson!
For those who thought Notes from a Small Island was theor favorite Bryson, you should know he has done a sequel which is even better. Meet the old man Bryson. More caustic wit which couldn't have mature better
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Coleswa
- 13-01-2016
The narrator is brilliant. Loved it!
I am a Bryson fan girl so of course I loved the book but the narrator, Nathan Osgood, made it so much better! I heard and re-heard some parts because they were so impeccable.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jane F. Clifton
- 10-12-2015
In search of the adjective in the sentence
What disappointed you about The Road to Little Dribbling?
Really annoying read.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Chosen a reader who got the style.
How could the performance have been better?
This reader thought he was reading a thriller not a laconic, witty travelogue. It sounded as though he had been handed the book 30 secs before the read - the sentences took him by surprise or, maybe, he just has no idea of the structure of a sentence. So often the emphasis would be on the noun rather than the adjective - greenBELT, roundABOUT. The only saving grace was that he had swotted up on how to pronounce the place names correctly. But the style of the book was, clearly, a complete mystery to him.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Road to Little Dribbling?
No editing, just a producer.
Any additional comments?
Has Bill Bryson heard this audio book?
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Peter Morton
- 17-11-2015
Grave Disappointment
What would have made The Road to Little Dribbling better?
A strong infusion of Bryson's wit and eye for oddity -- from 15 years back.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Certainly - anything by Bryson is worth looking at.
Any additional comments?
I bow to nobody in my admiration for Bryson. I've read all his books as they came out and there are comic scenes in many of them that made me laugh out loud - a rare thing. To my mind, his 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' is a book I'd like to see put in the hands of every intelligent 14 year old who is interested in how the world got to be the way it is and humans' place in it. Bryson has, or had, a huge gift for making a popular synthesis of history and science. This book is serious disappointment. The witty persona he has cultivated through his career seems to be dissolving in all round grouchiness and moaning about Britain, his adopted homeland. His constant bitching about prices of sandwiches etc does not amuse, coming from someone who must (deservedly) be a rich man. Similarly, his pose of ingenuousness, attractive in earlier books, rings hollow here. Among other things, I simply don't believe Bryson has never heard of the painter Leighton, as he claims! Large chunks of the book, especially the biographical vignettes, have the air of being paraphrased from Wikipedia. Also his regular laments about not being able to recall things that happened 2 weeks ago are disconcerting. I suppose Bryson has reached the stage where his publishers are happy to slap anything he writes between covers and push it out. What a shame. The narrator, though, does a very sound job in the circumstances.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- K Bright
- 13-10-2015
Sarcasm and base humour.
This is the first time ever, that Mr Bryson has disappointed me. Sure the book is an easy read/listen. I found his views rather distasteful at times. Using the word 'vegetable' when referring to a person he'd like to assault was rather poor. His views of the changing culture in Britain were more sarcasm than humour. Far too many sentences related to his behaviour and attitude towards others than necessary. Base and rather vulgar language was unnecessary. After 19 chapters I gave up. About to re-listen to a Walk in the Woods to renew my faith.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- The Reluctant Hermit
- 29-10-2015
I think Bill would rather have stayed at home.
I usually love Bill Bryson's books but was disappointed with this one.It wasn't helped by the narrator who would have been ideal for a crime novel but did not convey the usual cheery,cheeky whimsy we expect from BB. By his tone I felt that he would much rather have stayed at home with his family and not been forced by the need of gathering material to go trailing about the country.He goes on too much about London which was boring and I don't know why he bothered going to Scotland at all. He spent most of the time in a sleeper (well at least he was safe from being "nutted" by the violent population in a sleeper) and it just felt like he couldn't really be bothered.Anyone who doesn't like a tunnocks tea cake is rather odd in my humble, Scottish non violent view.
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39 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Redford
- 27-10-2015
Curl Up and Dye in Grimsby!
I must get a criticism out of the way first - the title, Little Dribbling. Perhaps Bryson's editor thought it was a good title or perhaps Bryson himself did - but it's not. It's not funny but IS mocking which gives an entirely wrong impression of the book - enough to put any half-serious reader off because the book IS funny and ISN'T mocking. It may be justifiably critical in many places, but it's not mocking. Overall it's a deeply affectionate view of England, a place Bryson loves and cares deeply about.
Some readers may find they like the Bill Bryson of Notes on a Small Island better than the Bryson of Little Dribbling. They may find him carping and critical and constantly going on about how stupid people can be, how ugly town centres are, how everything costs too much and how we're surrounded by crass grammatical errors. But a lot has happened since Notes on a Small Island, not least Bryson is 20 years older - his memory is longer and can therefore judge how things have changed, and yes, he's less tolerant. And Britain has changed. Bryson tells the truth, even if it's unpalatable.
So what you get is Britain NOW with its crazy scheme for HS2 to rip through the countryside at unimaginable financial cost to make the journey to Birmingham 20 minutes faster; praise for the hugely improved London Underground and a very funny account (not so funny if you consider the questions he was asked) of his written test for his British citizenship taken in Eastleigh, an occasion for poor Eastleigh to get the Bryson treatment with its interchangeable coffee shops, charity shops and closed-down shops.
There's plenty that Bryson loves - our countryside is the best anywhere, the Lake District (apart from the cars) is idyllic, no landscape in the world is 'more lovely to behold'. He's drawn to the quirky and odd which makes listening constantly interesting and often funny - like the Grimsby hairdressers in the title of this review. Why should we British be more frightened of cows rather than bulls? (Americans wouldn't even BE in a field with either, so it doesn't apply to them). He treats us to a multitude of potted biographies of people he had never heard of - Lord Leighton with his pictures of naked girls; Billy Butlin; the unfortunate Member of Parliament Huskisson, the first person to be killed by a train....
So if you want to be thoroughly entertained, laugh out loud, go to parts of Britain you may never have visited, come on board. The narrator is American which underlines the fact that even though Bryson is a British citizen and well-embedded in British society, he's still able to observe in ways we can't.
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26 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 11-10-2015
funny, perceptive and grumpy
I did love it - funny and interesting, but isn't he getting grumpy? I thought of how I embarrassed myself on a train by laughing often at "Neither Here Nor There", many years ago. This is as entertaining. I was able to compare my perceptions of many places with Bill Bryson's, as well as the pros and cons of attitudes in the UK and USA. I enjoyed listening on a tablet whilst flipping to follow his progress on a map.
" The Bryson line" notion was rather pretentious and irrelevant.
He slated aspects of our ways, interspersed with restating often how world beating a view or concept is. He'd receive better responses on his travels by being less snippy. But it's a "must read" for Bryson fans.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- FountainPen
- 14-10-2015
Narration not great
I think this would be better as a physical book as the narrator's clunky pronunciation of British place names throws it off course sometimes. I do enjoy Bryson's books but he can be a bit of a grumpy old man. I'm not sure this added a great deal to his previous book on Britain and it is a bit Southern centric considering it's supposedly based on the premise of travelling from South to North along a specific line Bryson invented.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 24-10-2015
Another great book. Let down by the narrator
What did you like most about The Road to Little Dribbling?
Another great romp through our small island. Entertaining as ever and hopefully have more travel books from the master of wit and story telling.
What did you like best about this story?
The wit and frankness of Bill is as amusing as ever. Saying things we all think.
What didn’t you like about Nathan Osgood’s performance?
Good narrator but really enjoyed William Roberts with the previous books, who is the master narrator of the previous travel books. Why didn't he read this?
Any additional comments?
Bring back William Roberts!
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Bammosan
- 13-10-2015
Sweet and Sourer.
What did you like best about The Road to Little Dribbling? What did you like least?
Best when he intereacts with people. Worst - sorry naration.
Would you be willing to try another book from Bill Bryson? Why or why not?
Always, admire and enjoy his work, just this time has a slightly bitter edge to it. Being a Yorkshireman myself, I can see he has taken on some of the Yorkshire characteristics.
Would you be willing to try another one of Nathan Osgood’s performances?
No, made Bill Bryson sound sour, I don't understand why Bill Bryson uses other narators, when he does it himself you become more empathetic to his point of view. Seems to have a random approach to having himself read his books or use someone else.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
No.
Any additional comments?
Will listen again just to make sure I am not being unfair in assesment.
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- oliver
- 26-10-2015
Bill Bryson is Victor Meldrew
I am sure that the world is no better off after this book. It's disappointing that Bryson thinks that this bile is publishable. Boringly negative.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Peter Mill
- 25-02-2016
Too grumpy
Bill Bryson has become a grumpy old man, and sadly far too much of this book is spent moaning about how rubbish everything is nowadays, and how much better it used to be.
When he's positive about things it's so much more pleasant to listen to. Grumpy is wearing.
Also he spends 80% of the book in the south of England and knocks off Wales and Scotland as an afterthought. Not his best.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colin
- 11-11-2015
Another winner from Bryson
There are few authors so consistently reliable as Bill Bryson, and this, his latest travel book, is another winner. As always he writes with such warmth and clarity it's as if you're right there with him as he experiences surly service, baffling train timetables and indifferent hotel staff, intersperced with magnificent views and undiscovered finds.
A gem of a book
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kaggy
- 09-11-2016
Rambling and grumbling but charming as ever
I confess that I love Bill Bryson. He may be grumpy, and occasionally even unkind, but generally his comments are just and well argued. Most noticeable in this book is the fact he has got a bit older and crankier and his nit-picking about the price of tea, cake and entrance to National Treasures is hilarious. Like in all his other books there are some really funny encounters but one of the things I found most striking is when he describes a perilous situation involving a toddler. It was nail biting but also very moving and is a great example of why he is such an engaging and skilful writer. I may be a long term inhabitant of the UK but Bill has managed to tell me about things I never knew existed and when he does describe things I do know I can’t help recognising and agreeing with his observations.
I enjoyed the narrator and to me he sounded reassuringly like the author, so was a very good choice.
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8 people found this helpful
