Notes on a Bill Bryson

Laura Miller wrote in her review of Bill Bryson's latest book, At Home, that the book is ultimately "a bit pointless, but damn if it isn't a lot of fun all the same."

I've only read two of Bryson's books--Shakespeare and Mother Tongue-- but the assessment sounds fair to me. Bryson has an obvious joy in learning, and he shares this with his readers by presenting facts and histories in ways which are a delight to read. Shakespeare is a biography of William Shakespeare, far more entertaining than any biography has the right to be.

I recall laughing all the way through Mother Tongue, which is surprising when you consider that the subject of the book is the history of the English language. Take this excerpt from the chapter on swearing:

English is unusual in including the impossible and the pleasurable in its litany of profanities. It is a strange and little-noted idiosyncrasy of our tongue that when we wish to express extreme fury we entreat the object of our rage to undertake an anatomical impossibility or, stranger still, to engage in the one activity that is bound to give him more pleasure than almost anything else.

Which reminds me: it's about time I read more of Bill Bryson's books.


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