Monday, January 05, 2015

Books read in 2015: No. 1 -- A Walk in the Woods

by Bill Bryson

Started: Jan. 1
Finished: Jan. 5

Notes: This non-fiction book is one of a number left to me by my father. It's a look at the history and ecology of the Appalachian Trail, which I've lived around most of my life (and have been on a few times), though to be honest I don't know much about. Apparently the author also writes about his trips down the trail and some of the people and animals he ran into. I'm hoping to learn a few things here, but sometimes I also like to jump into reading material foreign to me because such can spur story ideas.

Mini review: This was actually a darn fun read. Though not as colloquial, it reminded me of Mark Twain's travelogues with all the historical, geographical and biological nuggets mixed in with tales of normal and odd strangers alike met upon the trail. Yes, it makes me want to take to the Appalachian Trail, all 2,000-plus miles of it, but I doubt I'll ever make it there, or at least not all the way.

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I like Bryson's work quite a lot. I only discovered him last year.

Ty said...

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll have to check out some of his other books.