Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson - Book Report #194

This is a lovely little 50-page book where all the proceeds go to support the Care charity.

CARE invited Bill Bryson to visit Kenya to see what life is like there and how the charity is working to help the people.

I was expecting that it would be dominated by the gloom of deep poverty and it was certainly described.  But then there is the effervescent personality of Bryson himself that can't help but see the quirks of humanity and the good that is all around.

I was happy that he wrote the book in the manner that has won him his dedicated audience.  It is a charming thing to follow a middle-aged and bewildered white guy into a wholly alien situation.

His intelligence, compassion and eye for the humanity of a given situation make this a book to search for and buy.

Recommended.

Bill Bryson's Wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bryson

CARE website - http://care.ca/

Bill Bryson

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson - Book Report #193

On the 20th anniversary of the publication of Notes From A Small Island, Bryson revisits the U.K. by following a path of his creation.

The Bryson Line describes the longest distance between two communities using a ruler.

What I love about Bill Bryson is that his books are less about the locations he visits and more about the people he meets and those that have been influential in the places he chooses to visit.

He is terrific at describing his interactions with the person behind the counter or a fellow tourist.  He also makes the effort to research who a building is named after or how a museum curated the treasures he has come to see.

It's a wonderful way of looking at the world because people are people no mater where they live or when.  Thorough it all there is his biting wit that I find inviting.

The book was lovely.

Bill Bryson

The Bryson Line