I few years ago I'd read
Into The Wild, and really liked it. It's a moving and sympathetic portrait of a young man whose story would have been easy to dismiss or scoff at in a less understanding treatment. Now I've just (finally) read
Into Thin Air, which is moving, harrowing, and heartbreaking well beyond my expectations. Strongly recommended.
JK's "Under the Banner of Heaven" is very interesting, add to the pile. The NPR interview with him detailing interviews with Mormon extremist was very uncomfortable to hear. You would enjoy Bill Bryson's "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" being a yank living in London for a few years now. The book compares living in the US before and after living in UK for a while. Ironically my copy was bought in a Gatwick airport bookstore so many words are spelled funny, all kinds of extra U's and S-Z replacements.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI've read a lot of Bryson's books. I may have read that one. He was a long-time UK resident. Notes From A Small Island is a fantastic earlier book on life in the UK.
His Troublesome Words is heartily recommended for anyone who likes to write, or even read.
I am still wading through "History of the World", sizable topic. I prefer BB's earlier collections, "Notes" was good, favorite was "Sunburned Country." I just completed his work on Bill Shakespear, I do enjoy how he switches from humor essays to serious writing, an enviable skill.
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