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Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson) by [Bill Bryson]

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Bill Bryson

Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson) Kindle Edition

by Bill Bryson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. 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; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and Gardeners' Question Time. Notes from a Small Island was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published, and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain, going on to sell over two million copies.

Length: 322 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Product description

From the Back Cover

Before New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson wrote The Road to Little Dribbling, he took this delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation of Great Britain, which has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Book Description

Bill Bryson's hilarious tour of his adopted country- the book that was voted the nation's favourite book on modern Britain in a World Book Day BBC poll. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

ly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain--which is to say, all of it. Every last bit of it, good and bad--old churches, country lanes, people saying 'Mustn't grumble' and 'I'm terribly sorry but,' people apologizing to me when I conk them with a careless elbow, milk in bottles, beans on toast, haymaking in June, seaside piers, Ordinance Survey maps, tea and crumpets, summer showers and foggy winter evenings--every bit of it."

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as The Mother Tongue and Made in America, decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland--and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed h --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Astute and funny ... an amusing guide to the U.K.'s foibles, as well as a tribute to its enchantment.' (New York Times Book Review) --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

When The Lost Continent was published in 1989, Bill Bryson’s savagely funny account of his journey back to his roots in small-town U.S.A. took the reading public by a storm of guffaws. It was followed by Neither Here Nor There, in which Bryson applied his unique brand of wry humour to the foibles of Continental Europe and the Europeans.

From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Not a book that should be read in public, for fear of emitting loud snorts (The Times)

Laugh-out-loud funny (The Good Book Guide)

Splendid... What's enjoyable is that there's as much of Bryson in here as there is of Britain (Sunday Telegraph)

Bryson is funny because he is not afraid to give completely of himself (Daily Express)

Astute and funny...a tribute to [Britain's] enchantments by an unabashed anglophile. (New York Times) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ASIN : B003ATPQ7U
Publisher : Transworld Digital; New Ed edition (2 March 2010)
Language : English
File size : 1685 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 322 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 53,147 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 17 in British Travel
- 98 in Travel Essays & Travelogues
- 147 in Travel Writing

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2,073 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		64%
4 star		21%
3 star		9%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Laura T

Much like the UK itself: funny, interesting, strange

Reviewed in Australia on 19 September 2017

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I could read Bill Bryson's travel tales forever. Something about his endless enthusiasm for the oddities of people and places, his sense of humour, and his unique insights on history and culture. Notes from a small island is a very interesting read, whether you've visited the UK or not. Also, in the modern age of Trip Advisor, Google and other technologies to make travel plans, reading about Bryson's misadventures and spontaneous detours is excellent.

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lori sa

Bryson at his best

Reviewed in Australia on 7 May 2017

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Bryson provides an informative insight into places across the UK, the well-known and not so well known, pulling out important and irrelevant facts that create both humour and wonder?

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Robert Terracall

Not his best book but still well worth reading

Reviewed in Australia on 18 April 2016

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Not his best book but still well worth reading. Brysons style is quite different and his turn of phrase unique.

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Cyd Ross

Grest read while travelling in UK.

Reviewed in Australia on 4 May 2016

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Loved it. Read while travelling in UK which added interest for me.

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Peter Williamson

I think Bryson is a very funny man. His sense of humour is Australian in ...

Reviewed in Australia on 5 December 2015

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I think Bryson is a very funny man. His sense of humour is Australian in it's dryness and unexpected-ness (if that's a word). His prose describing the things that he finds attractive and/or interesting and/or frustrating is very eloquent. As is his prose when he describes something that he finds particularly ugly or inexplicable. I have read 3 of his books now and will definitely be reading more.

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winnedreamer

I kept loosing interest as I read

Reviewed in Australia on 9 October 2015

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I think you would have to be familiar with England to understand all the places and humour in this book.

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Helen D

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 13 September 2015

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Very informative and laugh out loud funny. Enjoyed it immensely.

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Shirley Richardson

Pretty much a laugh on every page as well a

Reviewed in Australia on 8 January 2016

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Bill Bryson always gives you a value for money. Pretty much a laugh on every page as well a travelogue

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Top reviews from other countries

Rich

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2018

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I appreciate that Bill Bryson has a huge following and I've come to him very late. I really enjoy travelogues, and with his reputation and the cover blurb, I was expecting a hilarious and fascinating read. Sadly, for me, it was neither of those things. I didn't find his writing particularly engaging and I'm afraid to say I didn't laugh once. I also found many of his anecdotes exaggerated to the point of them losing credibility. Overall it was an easy read and quite interesting, but I'm sad to say I shan't be reading any more of his work, though I had such high hopes.

23 people found this helpful

Kathryn

Surprisingly disappointed!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Really looking forward to, finally, reading this much lauded book. Whilst it was enjoyable reading about the British idiosyncrasies and towns I haven't visited, I found the author's writing quite repetitive - using the same descriptive phrases. I also really disliked his intrusive political comments (they didn't add anything to a book about the British character) and, having assumed him to be a rather pleasant, amusing chap, found him to be unnecessarily vulgar, quite rude to people and generally unpleasant. I was really surprised as I don't usually get to form an opinion of an author via their writing. Obviously, as the book has had such glowing reports, I've missed something!

17 people found this helpful

Jack Haslam

Great Britain seen through the honest eyes of a foreigner who really loves the place.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2018

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I was first introduced to Bill Bryson by a close friend who presented me with a copy of "The Lost Continent" for my birthday. I read it, loved it and never stopped laughing. So I immediately bought several more of his books and have just completed "Notes from a small island". It really is a fantastic account of Britain as Britain really is, and for Brits of my age Bryson describes exactly what we grew up with. He has an incisive mind and an eye for detail plus an innate sense of humour that together produce a vivid insight into real life that is often critical, invariably affectionate and always presented with a fantastic sense of humour. I loved every page of this book and can strongly recommend it to true Brits everywhere. I look forward to reading many more of Bill Bryson's books.

14 people found this helpful

Bluecashmere.

Sadly mediocre.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2020

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This is my first acquaintance with Bill Bryson, and while it might not be the last, I found this disappointing in the light of the author's popularity. What is lightly amusing at first soon palls. The droll, but rather schoolboy level of humour and the thread of anti-intellectualism - the crass Wordsworth reference stands out - become increasingly tiresome. Much of the observation is facile and stereotyped. Few will have travelled so extensively acoss the UK, but they will find little that is enlightening about those areas they are familiar with. There are a few nuggets of generally unknown facts, but overall I found the book at best shallow. Certainly there are no in-depths insights into the British character to be found here. It may be that as some reviewers suggest we don't encounter Bryson at his best here. Time will tell.

6 people found this helpful

MR TI RUDNY

Funny, but not recommended as a gift

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2019

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This book is very funny and reading it (once you have been to the UK and you understand what the author is talking about) is absolutely hilarious. With a wit and pun the author accurately describes the British culture and various places.
The big downside for me though is the common use of profane, vulgar language. I wanted to give this book to a friend as a gift, but reading swear words on every page is a no-no.
Is it really so difficult to use humour without swearing?

6 people found this helpful

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