I'm a Stranger Here Myself
Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away

I'm a stranger here myself - really: was neither born nor raised in the US of A. Therefore, I could certainly relate to some of Bryson's experiences and anecdotes. While most chapters are (at least) somewhat funny and Bryson's prose flows and makes an easy read, I found myself skipping whole pages after a while. Once you get through half the book, you can pretty much guess the rest of the chapters from the first paragraph of each.

Some parts of this book were funny, but mostly it was just boring. I never finished the book, and what i did read, i skimmed through or skipped a lot of it. i just didnt like his writing style. it was dull. and weird too, because i grew up in NH and i felt like he was trying to make NH sound different than it was, like some hokey kitschy place. granted, i grew up in southern NH not up in his town, but ok it is modern times, OF COURSE we locked things. How could we NOT lock things esp our house? ...more Some parts of this book were funny, but mostly it was just boring. I never finished the book, and what i did read, i skimmed through or skipped a lot of it. i just didnt like his writing style. it was dull. and weird too, because i grew up in NH and i felt like he was trying to make NH sound different than it was, like some hokey kitschy place. granted, i grew up in southern NH not up in his town, but ok it is modern times, OF COURSE we locked things. How could we NOT lock things esp our house? and my parents, who still live there, hardly know their neighbors and some not at all. i think he was making everything sound more quaint for his audience. But overall, very boring and i couldnt make myself finish it.

Mr Bryson has the gift! Hilarious descriptions and observations. Reading this gives a new perspective when looking at ourselves. A wonderful read.

Who says you can't go home? Bryson grew up in America, married his English wife and moved to England with her. Now, after 20 years across the pond, he moves back. And that's when things got weird.Coming back to your native land after an absence of many years is a surprisingly unsettling business,......more

When in doubt and/or a funky reading mood, pick a Bill Bryson book - that's my (newest) motto. As much as I'd love to re-read favourite books - if only to reacquaint myself with the story/characters and/or to check if they still thrill me as much, it's difficult to do so, when many unread books are b......more

Bill Bryson is an Anglo-American author of books on travel, science, language and other non-fiction topics. Bill Bryson Bill Bryson, born in Iowa, lived in England for twenty years before returning to the U.S. with his family. This book is a compilation of humorous articles about America that Bryson......more

First think I will say is that this isn't the book I would finish if I didn't have to, for university. I'm not saying that this book isn't good, I'm just saying that this book wasn't for me. Second thing I will say is that I can't believe that I finally finished it. I don't think I've ever needed thi......more

Bill Bryson has become something like my spiritual guide. Taken together, his works form a roadmap for living life as a middle-aged, oversensitive, bookish, misanthropic, curious, and curiously inept man; and I am following his lead into the sunset. This book was particularly relevant for me, beca......more