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This book is a collection of columns that Bryson wrote for a British newspaper upon his return to the US, after living in England for 20 years. In his very humorous way, he makes comparisons between the two countries and many funny observations about various aspects of American life. It provided many laugh-out-loud moments.
It's highly entertaining. I definitely recommend it. This is such a fun read. I read it on my Kindle, and it was formatted well. I was laughing throughout the entirety of the book--I kept getting weird stares from the people near me. If you're an American and you've ever traveled or lived abroad, you'll appreciate this book. It does not have the text-to-speech option, however, but I don't really use that. I just wish more of his books were available for the Kindle.
The short essays are a pleasure to read and are of a good length for busy readers. I'm a huge fan of travel writing and love to live vicariously through other travelers' writing. I identify with his musings on the American way of life as I am an immigrant myself.Although amusing and comedic, Bryson's observations are also quite astute. This book is slightly different from his other works in terms of the subject. In this book, instead of writing about strange lands and travel, he shares what seems like minute observations that he made upon his return to America after being away for 20 years. Some of stories are also simple and relateable things about his family, which I enjoyed very much. If you're into a well-written, funny, touching and relateable short essays about living in America, this is the book for you.
I'm a Stranger Here Myself is a collection of newspaper columns that Bill Bryson wrote about America when he moved back after living in Great Britain for twenty years. There were a couple of instances when I found myself laughing, for example, when he was talking about his mother's cooking and said they had come to think of saran wrap as a gooey topping on the food, but for the most part, I found the book kind of "meh". The articles appear to be written in the mid to late nineties and covers everything from holidays, to playing with the garbage disposal, to airport security, etc.I've heard wonderful things about Bill Bryson's books, specifically, how funny they are. I didn't find this book very funny. I did learn a few things though and probably won't count him out because of this one book. However, if the next book I read by him is along the same lines, I don't think I'll be rushing out to get another one.
The way he pokes fun at the US and some of our Midwestern cultural idiosyncrasies is absolutely refreshing. This is the most hilarious collection of memoirs on America life that I have ever come across. After traveling internationally to India, I had a different perspective on America while returning. He seems to poke fun at everyone equally (small towns, city folk, church, highway system, government, need I go on). This book was exactly what I needed to get a good laugh.If you've ever been out of the USA for an extended period of time --read this for a good laugh
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