Recent Reads

I'm on a Bill Bryson spree, a run down of what I have listened to and what's coming:

1. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, read by the author. I liked this book so much that I'm making everyone in the book club read it for our February meeting. Wonder if guys still wonder around the house bottomless in middle America?

2. A Walk in the Woods -- a perfect companion for highway 17 commute. I listened to this book a few years ago and it always brings me a great deal of interest in the Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Carolinas, Maine, and of course the Appalachian Trail itself. Bill's family is from South Carolina, but something about visiting relatives makes me hesitate a trip east; and Henry is not quite ready for a hike in the woods yet.

3. Neither Here Nor There, read by the author. His tour in Europe as an adult, with many reference to his earlier travels and his travel companion and high school buddy, Stephen Katz, who was also in the other two books above.

4. Sunburned Country, have the book in the car and yet to be listened to. Another one I listened to a few years ago, a fun travel log of Aussie land. (Larrisa, I'd love to hear what you think of this book.)

5. Notes from a Small Island. Waiting to get the book from the library.

Also listened to recently:

1. Marley and Me, by John Grogan. A memoir about a dog and his people. Every dog person has a book like this, and it's always a sad ending. Interesting enough Grogan's favorite author is Bill Bryson.

2. The Jane Austen Book Club. Just finished it this morning, a fiction about a Jane Austen book club (what else!). Not terribly well written, but I might just start reading Austen again. I've read some of them in high school, in Chinese, so it's worthwhile to do it over in English.

Which brings me to some books waiting to be listened to:
1. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
2. Dean and Me, by Jerry Lewis. Bill took me to see Rat Pack over the holidays so I picked up this book in the library the other day, good chance to get to know a bit about Dean Martin and his days.