very simple

I had actually started about six different books since I finished the last one, and couldn’t get through any of them. Biographies, fiction, political, etc. Nothing caught my interest for some time (Seriously – I finished Take the Cannoli on May 15, over 3 months ago).

Well, a few weeks ago, I was at the bookstore (again) obsessing in the travel section, when I started looking at the “travel writing” books. And I remembered how much I had liked the last Bill Bryson book that I had read. So…

Besides, Diana had recommended it in comments, so it had to be good, right?

I loved this book. I started it only last week, while on the train to Westchester to visit some friends, and I finished it today (and given that most of my free time is taken up with Italian classes, Italian homework, and actual work, that’s remarkably fast). I’m not exactly what you’d call an adventuresome person, but I have been camping and hiking (not in a long while, but still…), and the sharp detail and wit with which Bryson writes makes you feel like you’re right there. More entertaining still were the honest assessments of others (often crazy people), as well as himself.

And now I know. Next time I’m in a reading slump, pick up another Bryson book.

Tags: books