A review by meliaraastair
The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America, by Bill Bryson
4.0
I’ve read a couple of other books by Bill Bryson. I’m A Stranger Here Myself, about Bill Bryson’s return to America after years away and the ridiculousness of American society, had me laughing out loud the whole time. I keep buying copies and gifting it to family members. A Walk in the Woods made me want to walk the Appalachian trail, and In a Sunburned Country made me want to avoid visiting Australia – but only because of all the deadly creatures there. Although I really disliked The Road to Little Dribbling. It felt like he was trying too hard to be funny and most of the book was incredibly dry.
This book was I believe Bryson’s first travel writing. It’s an entertaining glimpse of small town America as he drives from Des Moines through the South, Northeast, and back to Des Moines, then in spring sets out for Southern California, then loops through Yellowstone on his way back to Des Moines. Some parts were quite dry and reminded me of The Road to Little Dribbling. I think the difference was since this book is set in America, I’ve been in most of these small towns or ones similar to them in the same region of the country. This book reminded me of many long road trips with both my family and my husband and made me want to start planning the next one!
If you enjoy travel writing or other books by Bill Bryson, or enjoy a good old classic American road trip, you’ll probably enjoy this one! Also since this was written in 1989, prices are highly entertaining…I wish hotel rooms were still 20-30 dollars!
I’d give this a 7.5 out of 10 for enjoyment and 3.5 of 5 for readability. It’s got a great pace of a just a few pages per location at most, but there were some dry spots.
For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!
This book was I believe Bryson’s first travel writing. It’s an entertaining glimpse of small town America as he drives from Des Moines through the South, Northeast, and back to Des Moines, then in spring sets out for Southern California, then loops through Yellowstone on his way back to Des Moines. Some parts were quite dry and reminded me of The Road to Little Dribbling. I think the difference was since this book is set in America, I’ve been in most of these small towns or ones similar to them in the same region of the country. This book reminded me of many long road trips with both my family and my husband and made me want to start planning the next one!
If you enjoy travel writing or other books by Bill Bryson, or enjoy a good old classic American road trip, you’ll probably enjoy this one! Also since this was written in 1989, prices are highly entertaining…I wish hotel rooms were still 20-30 dollars!
I’d give this a 7.5 out of 10 for enjoyment and 3.5 of 5 for readability. It’s got a great pace of a just a few pages per location at most, but there were some dry spots.
For more reviews, check out bedroopedbookworms.wordpress.com!