I just finished I'm a Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson. The book is actually a collection of newspaper columns he wrote for a British audience from 1996 to 1998 on the ceaseless hilarity and befuddlement that is living in the United States of America. He is qualified for this job because he was born and raised in the US, then moved to England for 20 years, then came back to the US again. Everything he says is so astute and well observed. Our obsession with cup holders and law suits, our farcical war on drugs, how stupid snow is, the sheer glee of buying diabetes inducing breakfast cereals, what a completely perfect word "Globule" is. It's all in there.
I like Bill Bryson, because he's a nonfiction book nerd and I can really get on board with people like that, but also, he's totally useless at dealing with washing machine repair men, as am I, and he admits that the smell of skunk (from a distance) is actually not that bad. I've been saying that for years! And my husband never lets me forget it. Here he is, every time we smell a skunk from the car, "There's that smell you love so much. Your favorite smell in the world." Oh please.
In 1996 I was 11 years old and thought that The Lost World was a pretty cool movie. Bryson sets me straight on this point and calls to attention the ridiculousness of dinosaurs in downtown San Diego, mostly that at approximately 8pm everyone in an SD suburb is in bed for the night. All of this really puts the date of things in perspective. When Bryson wrote this The Lost World was in theaters, cell phones weren't really a thing, nor the internet, overalls were an acceptable article of clothing to wear in public, and I was convinced that maroon lipstick would always be considered a timeless look. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. Or are they? All of the material for this book was written between 1996 and 1998, so one of the main things I took away from I'm a Stranger was how different and yet how glaringly the same everything was back then as compared to now. I've see overalls cropping up in store windows downtown. And the main political issues he discusses in the book are immigration, gun control, and prison overcrowding via the war on drugs. I don't know about you but those are the three things my facebook newsfeed is currently clogged with. Well those and posters comparing Obama to Hitler. (HITLER!) Seriously, enough already, Obama is not responsible for the slaughter of 11 million of anything. Except perhaps aphids in the White House garden, snuffed with some organic and environmentally responsible soap spray. So please, if you must compare, find a more succinct historical super-villain. Bryson's solutions to problems then (and now) are brief but strike me as effective. Example: Make it a criminal offense to be Newt Gingrich. He admits that this plan of action might not actually solve anything but it would make him feel much better. Agreed.
Not everyone finds Bill Bryson as hilarious as I do. Which is garbage, but whatever. Still, you can't say that he doesn't do his research. So many FACTS and yet its so interesting. Well, to me it's interesting, everyone in my last book club made me fairly aware of how stupid some people think reading non-fiction is. Quote: nonfiction is stupid and I don't waste time with it. To each their own. But nonfiction will always be my first love. And Bill Bryson is, quite simply, the best at it. Learn and laugh (ok, not out loud probably, but smile wryly to yourself) at the same time. He is the male species answer to Mary Roach. I mean, how awesome would it be if they wrote a book together? Or were married? Oh the hilarity that would ensue! Judging by their jacket flap photos it's obvious that they both enjoy a sensible sweater. If that's not a solid foundation to build on I don't know what is. I think we can all agree that it's only a matter of time.
Everyone read this book and then one of you start a company that makes shirts that say "Bill Bryson For President" so I can wear one. Thanks.
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