Lindsey C. (abaisse) reviewed on 7/17/2013 + 21 more book reviews

Bill Bryson grew up in Des Moines and moved to England as a young man, where he has spent the majority of his adult life. His time in England doesn't feature in this book, which focuses solely on his childhood, but it does have a heavy influence on his speaking voice. Bryson reads this audiobook himself, and his native midwestern dialect ("newscaster English," as we linguists like to call it) combined with twenty plus years of British influence has created a spectacularly lovely idiolect. Even if the book itself were not wonderful, which it is, simply listening to Bryson read aloud is an absolute delight. Happily, the book is also excellent. Fans of Bryson's trademark dry wit and outlandish tales told in deadpan fashion will find this book similarly hilarious. I literally laughed out loud many times while listening, sometimes eliciting strange looks from passersby as I listened on my ipod while walking down the street.

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