The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America

Author: Bill Bryson (The Mother Tongue, A Short History of Nearly Everything)

Synopsis: Nonfictional. The author returns to the States after several years away as a writer in England, and compiles his observations about small-town life.

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"I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to."

Everything you need to know about this book is contained in these first two lines: It makes fun of small towns, mercilessly but good-naturedly. The author has firsthand experience with what he's discussing. Des Moines is a crummy place to grow up.

The writing is delightful, usually falling into one of three categories - Bryson's childhood experiences in the Midwest, present-day detailed narration on areas in which he stops to explore, and (most commonly) general cracks about the nuances of everyday life in a place that no one wants to live except the people who already live there. Not merely a joke book, this reads sometimes almost as a vacation/tourist guide, covering museums and historical landmarks no matter how trite they seem to outsiders (or is that the point?). If the reader is not from a small town, or is for some reason not already enjoying the book, perhaps they can identify with the intermittent flashbacks of the author's vacationing youth with his droll, travelphilic and knowledge-hungry father, from whom he clearly gets much of his traveling [mannerisms] and spirit whether or not he wants to admit it.

Admittedly, most of the small-town jokes have been done before, but Bryson successfully revives them with freshness and wit. I was thrilled to reach the section on Ohio, my home state, and realize not only that everything he says is true, but also (surprisingly) that they are digs I hadn't heard before - or at least not from his particular standpoint. Whether or not you chalk it up to his foreign station, he does a good job with a subject that has potential to be worn out.

Like any of Bryson's books, The Lost Continent is heartily amusing and chuckle-inducing, as well as effectively researched and absolutely true.... Or maybe the reader can judge that last part for themselves.

DO READ IF: you live in a small town in America and make fun of it at every opportunity (prepare to be entertained).

DO NOT READ IF: you live in a small town in America and love it (prepare to be offended).

The Mother Tongue: English & How it Got That Way

Author: Bill Bryson (The Lost Continent, Shakespeare, A Walk in the Woods)

Length: A hefty 245 pages, but this book isn't the sort that needs to be read all at once.

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Having recently read both Shakespeare and A Walk in the Woods, I thought I'd continue on my Bill Bryson streak and try something else. I've always had an interest in linguistics, and considering I'm about fifteen years behind on this book, it seemed like a good time to pick it up.

Bryson books are always a perfect blend of light-reading entertainment and his classic English-influenced dry humor, with interesting nuggets of information tucked in here and there. After finishing The Mother Tongue, I dazzled my family for weeks with such gems as, "Did you know that there are 50 different words for 'snow' in Eskimo?" I also learned a few choice expletives in Japanese and Norwegian.

The book is equal parts historical study, informational resource, and amusing easy-read. One great additional aspect of The Mother Tongue is that it studies not so much the intricacies of the English language itself (although there is a great deal of that), but English in comparison to other languages of the world -- that is, what sets it apart.

The author, who is American but lived in England for 20 years, is speaking from a very interesting perspective. As a result, we get a large chunk of lecture on the differences between American English, British English, and Australian English, as well as the variance within the British Isles, always peppered with Bryson's dry wit.

Whether you decide to take A Mother Tongue seriously, or tote it in your beach bag as a vacation read, you will not be disappointed. A guilty pleasure for the intelligent person, I highly recommend this book to anyone who speaks English... or doesn't.

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DO READ IF: you consider yourself smart but not pretentious.

DO NOT READ IF: you are looking for a straight-jacketed dissertation on linguistics.