audiobooks

Bill Bryson really made it big in England after the release of 'Notes from a Small Island', which, however isn't his best book. His best would be either 'The Lost Continent' or this book 'Neither Here Nor There'. I very rarely laugh out loud at TV shows or books. Only 'Frasier' on TV and Bill Bryson in books have this capacity to make me laugh relentlessly. 'Neither here Nor There' is Bryson's story of the reenactment of his student-day travels through Europe some twenty years later. He tries to visit all the places that he visited with Katz (yup, he appears in 'Walk in the Woods' too) in the seventies, as well as Norway to see the northern lights. Bryson's descriptions of situations are hilarious, primarily because he is just a normal guy and you can imagine yourself in the same situation, especially if you have visited any of the countries he visits, but even if you haven't, it is still a delight to read. Another great thing about Bill Bryson is that he is not afraid to be politically incorrect, calling France's population 'Insufferably French' to give just one example. He is also happy to insult a place if he feels it deserves it, something which other travel writers can seem reluctant to do. He of course balances out these criticisms with his entusiasm for so many places and you also learn many interesting facts from his stories such as Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage skins and dentures. Hands up who knew that!!! I can't even begin to do this book justice in my review, all I can say is buy Bill Bryson's books and I promise you will not be dissppointed, they are all a joy to read. Bill seems a lovely guy and, in his words, not mine, 'If he wishes to acknowledge this unsolicited endorsement with a set of luggage or a skiing holiday in the Rockies, let the record show that I am ready to accept it'!!!

In his book "Neither here nor there" Bill Bryson writes about the experiences he made when he was travelling through nearly the whole of Europe, fluent in only one language (which is English).
He starts in Hammerfest, Norway (as far north as you can get in the world by public means of transport, he says), goes to Paris, Brussels, Belgium, Aachen and Cologne in Germany, then on to Amsterdam, Hamburg in Germany again, Copenhagen in Denmark, then onto Sweden (Gothenburg and Stockholm), then down to Rome, then to southern Italy (Naples, Capri and Sorrento), up to the top (Milan, Como), through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Yugoslavia, Sofia in Bulgaria, and finally Istanbul.
As you can see, by reading this book you'll learn a lot about European countries with their different languages, customs, habits and ways of life. But this isn't one of those boring highbrow books, that you can't read without falling asleep - no! - once you start reading you can't stop. Bryson has a unique brand of humour that I personally like very much. He is able to crack jokes about any situation, no matter how hopelessly and unpleasing they might have been.
Especially as an European citizen you'll have a lot of fun because you recognize all the stereotypes that you know either from telling or personal experience. And be prepared for some nasty jokes about your compatriots!
All in all I can highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to get to know European countries in an amusing and interesting way.

after reading "A Walk In the Woods", I was extremely excited to get my paws on another Bryson book. I was dissapointed. "Neither here nor there" has about half the humor, one tenth of the adventure and even less of the overall appeal of "A walk in the woods". It is a book that starts off on a promising note, with a description of his quest to see the northern lights in northern norway in the middle of winter; it had me thinking, 'great, here we go, typical Bryson, doing whacky things that come to him on a whim'. However, as the book progresses it digresses into a mundane journal of the rather ordinary wanderings of a solo traveler. Part of the problem is that he makes very little effort to interact with others. Because of this there is an awful lot of, " I went from the train station, found a hotel, had some dinner, drank a coke, went to bed" kind of "action" that even Brysons astounding propensity for making ordinary situations seem extraordinary cannot save it. One other major flaw it seems is that Brysons trip had no ultimate goal, no purpose. It seems to me that most satisfying travel literature begins with the author expressing a desperate need to find or achieve something, then chronicles the pursuit and struggle to meet those ends, cope with failure, and come to some kind of grand catharsis. My all time favorite, "tales of a female nomad" is the story of a womans need to find something fufilling in her life and in herself after essentially losing the "family woman role" that had come to define her. Her travels are not planned to a T, but she does travel cognisent of purpose/goal/need, and this makes that book very compelling indeed. I am not saying that travel literature must have all of those elements, but at least a little dose of purpose would have gone a long way towards making this book compelling. Do yourself a favor and put the 15 bucks you would spend buying this book in savings toward your own trip to Europe.