The angriest I've ever been at a book? 😡 | August 2022 Reading Wrap Up

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My Reviews/Videos Mentioned:
🎀 I'm Glad My Mom Died Review: • I'm Glad My Mom Died b...
💨 Don Quixote | What's the Story, Wishbone?: • Don Quixote by Miguel ...
🚗 The Memory of Cotton Review: www.post-gazette.com/ae/books...
⚾ Sho-Time Review: www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-...
🏆 Path Lit by Lighting Review: www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-...
⛹️‍♂️ The Body Review: • The Body by Bill Bryso...
👋 Booktubers Mentioned 👋
Denise ‪@LaRosaReads‬
📚 Books Mentioned 📚
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid: amzn.to/3PQZeTU
In Waves by A.J. Dungo: amzn.to/3wJQNCj
The Blues Walked In by Kathleen George: amzn.to/2Eekh0d
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy: amzn.to/3Pp2jct
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: amzn.to/2UXESO5
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: amzn.to/38zOjNk
The Memory of Cotton by Ann K. Howley: amzn.to/3B1M414
Sho-Time by Jeff Fletcher: amzn.to/3CMnToX
Path Lit by Lightning by David Maraniss: amzn.to/3q1dQEU
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley: amzn.to/3ACLllF
The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson: amzn.to/3kpaV61
A Furious Sky by Eric Jay Dolin: amzn.to/3fejCOB
The Whale by Philip Hoare: amzn.to/3oGSGuZ
Soundings by Doreen Cunningham: amzn.to/3H08PDY
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3 сен 2022

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Комментарии : 153

@r0sie888 Год назад

Since no one has said it, your eye makeup is fantastic. I love how it matched the first book.

@dx4055 Год назад

and the t-shirt 🤩

@springintoreading7225 Год назад

Thanks for enlightening me about Bill Bryson. Your reviews always get me interested in nonfiction. Thank you!

@NeithHecateAddams Год назад

OMG--I have not even gotten into the actual content of the video yet, lol--but I love this shirt + eyeshadow combo. It is everything.

@leeh4343 Год назад

Malibu Rising is still my favourite book of this year and I read it in Jan - I was holding my breath when you started talking about it - phew so glad you liked it! 😆 I love books set in California 🌴🏄‍♀️☀️

@bybeebooks Год назад

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson was a hard go. I put In Waves on my wishlist. Thanks, Olive!

@ChaoticBibliophile Год назад

Great video as always! You reminded me that I wanted to read In Waves 😊 I’m really looking forward to I’m Glad my Mom Died because of you! Hearing you talk about Bryson was very interesting to me cause I remember really liking The Lost Continent when I read it but it’s been so long that I wonder if I may feel differently about it reading it now 🤔

@BookwormAdventureGirl Год назад

Excellent! Malibu Rising and The Paris Apartment are on my TBR. Your conclusions re: Bill Bryson 😡 You sold me on the three reviews you did. They sound right up my alley. 😊💙

@laura__5544 Год назад

Bill Bryson's travel across Europe book was the exact same way. Full of complaining, rudeness, and gross in the way he wrote about women.

@abookolive Год назад

Good to know. I'm officially done with him and his bad attitude.

@wendyhoward2699 Год назад

A great wrap-up. Blessings.

@abookolive Год назад

Thanks Wendy!

@susanspisak65 Год назад

Hi from Pittsburgh, PA. New subscriber here! I’m excited to watch your videos …. I’m getting into more non fiction reads!!!

@saintdonoghue Год назад

Oh my, this was SO wonderful! I had the same reaction to "The Paris Apartment" - I've just kept thinking about it. And hoo boy, now I want to re-read "The Lost Continent" - I hadn't even thought about the element you mention here: that he was probably completely nice when he was face-to-face with all those kindly Iowans. And of course I second the recommendation of "Furious Sky"! Such a book! Extra-interesting in light of the face that 2022 essentially didn't have a hurricane season at all.

@abookolive Год назад

I really wasn't expecting The Paris Apartment to be a "sticky" kind of book! It seemed like a run-of-the-mill thriller, but it was so well done. You never can predict which books stay with you, which is one of hidden pleasures of reading, I think! But oh god, reread The Lost Continent at your own peril.

@myrarucker7953 Год назад

Really thorough. Excellent as always!!

@abookolive Год назад

Thanks so much!

@myrarucker7953 Год назад

@@abookolive I really love the high level of intelligence. Thank you!!

@abookolive Год назад

@@myrarucker7953 You're too kind! ❤️

@BreeShareeReads Год назад

Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe sounds like an amazing book. Definitely adding to cart

@hollyc4624 Год назад

Same. I just put it on hold at my local library. Sounds great.

@nycgingercat Год назад

HA! I just went to Jim Thorpe town in Pennsylvania yesterday.

@aprilo8797 Год назад

I feel the same about Bryson. I read A Walk in the Woods a few years back and was so offended by the way he spoke (repeatedly) about his traveling companion but also multiple females they encountered that I promised myself never again. I'm stunned his books are popular.

@abookolive Год назад

I agree, there have been things in just about every book of his that I've not liked. I've tried to not let them bother me too much, but the level of mean-spirited energy in The Lost Continent was far too much to overlook and would certainly make those snide comments in his other books stand out all the more to me. It's probably best that I never read a book by him again.

@abbywonder3825 Год назад

Same! I was so disgusted with how he talked about his companion. I haven’t picked up anything else from him because of that

@katewilson592 Год назад

I feel the same way. He seems to be one of those people who make derogatory comments on purpose to be funny...funny? I have quit reading his books also.

@justines9233 Год назад

I DNFed that Bill Bryson book. I was looking for a fun book about different places and people across the US. What I got was a whiny, old guy who just likes to make fun of people, rather than trying to understand anything about their lives, experiences, and environment.

@abookolive Год назад

PRECISELY! I got the sense that he felt superior to each and every person he met and felt entitled to drag them through the mud to make himself feel more sophisticated and "different," even though he grew up in Iowa himself. He's the epitome of "forgetting where you came from."

@irena7777777 Год назад

I don’t think Bill Bryson liked Delaware growing up so it’s not really forgetting where he came from. It’s the opposite

@abookolive Год назад

@@irena7777777 Delaware? He grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. You don't need to like where you came from to remember your roots and stay humble. It's a figure of speech.

@irena7777777 Год назад

@@abookolive Sorry, you’re right. Des Moines. Irrespective of where he comes from, he can write what he wants and has earned that right. If you dislike something from your childhood, is it disrespectful to mention it. Or are female authors the only writers allowed to bitch about things, which many of them do? It’s part of his style. He tries to add humour into his books. I don’t think it’s mean-spirited at all. I do, however, find many popular female authors to be gratuitously coarse, but that, of course, is ok. It’s open season on males, not females, after all.

@abookolive Год назад

@@irena7777777 It has nothing to do with him being a man. He can hate his hometown all he likes. It doesn't give him the right to write about people from that area in such an insulting way. If that's his writing "style," as you claim, then it's fair game for criticism. Have you read the book in question? I'd love for specific examples of what you're referring to in this response. Or perhaps you're just looking to argue because you want to assume I hate men? (I don't.)

@emmapowers1908 Год назад

I have the same turkey vulture stuffed animal! Such an underrated bird

@PageTurnersWithKatja Год назад

Love how you've paired a lot of the books. Glad you enjoyed The Paris Apartment, close to it's release it had a slew of negative reviews I didn't understand.

@abookolive Год назад

I'm surprised to hear The Paris Apartment got a bunch of negative reviews! Do you recall what the complaints about it were?

@PageTurnersWithKatja Год назад

@@abookolive that it was boring!

@abookolive Год назад

@@PageTurnersWithKatja huh...I mean, the beginning is rather slow, so I sort of get that, but that ending is certainly NOT boring lol

@launchedathousand Год назад

I really loved Malibu Rising, the sibling relationships and the complicated relationship they had with their mom, it just felt so nuanced. Also just loved Nina's best friend, I hope her story continues in another book!

@abookolive Год назад

YES! Her best friend was the coolest. So unapologetically herself.

@janelevey3435 Год назад

Wonderful video!

@abookolive Год назад

Glad you liked it!

@janethughes7661 Год назад

A Walk in the Woods has been on my TBR shelf forever but after your review, it’s going in the donation pile. The Paris Apartment sounds like something I would enjoy. I’ll put that title on my TBR for October. Great review! Thank you! And, I hope you win something with all those raffle tickets!

@abookolive Год назад

The Paris Apartment would make a fantastic October read - I hope you enjoy it!

@SarahEverMotionBooks Год назад

Oooooh man! Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods lit me up in a similar fashion. He goes through my hometowns and says some things that felt exactly like that. Smiles on the outside but hateful thoughts inside to put to paper later passive aggressively. I 100% could believe the things you pointed out, a few lines about people were dropped in that same book that made me raise my eyebrows. The transition into that next book cracked me up though, well played. Also, I love your eye makeup, it's stunning.

@abookolive Год назад

Yeah it seems he has a habit of social niceties in person, but then scathing commentary on the page. Sounds fake as hell, but what do I know? 😂💅 Glad I could make you laugh, at least! 😁

@SarahEverMotionBooks Год назад

@@abookolive Seems the same to me so we're in the same boat as far as that opinion! You did indeed! Thank you! 😁

@pookieneese3 Год назад

I also read Malibu Rising in August and I enjoyed it. My only critique of it was, while I loved the flashbacks to the beginning of the Riva family’s origin, and the Riva kids childhood, part 2 dragged on.

@AdyGrafovna Год назад

Good luck with the raffle! My local library had a similar challenge. I won a date night. My husband and I got to go to the local acquatic center and hang out in the pool while we watched a screening of Jaws. We had a great time!

@abookolive Год назад

That date night sounds like SO MUCH FUN! That's a hilarious, yet perfect idea for a screening of Jaws 😂

@arlissbunny Год назад

“Furious” - take a bow. Best BookTube segue ever!

@abookolive Год назад

Figured I needed to lighten the mood a bit 😂

@hollyc4624 Год назад

Thanks for terrific reviews! I despise the pompous, old, white guy thing that several writers like Bryson do. It’s great to hear you point it out. Also, thank you for bringing attention to A Furious Sky. I was ground zero for Hurricane Michael and it was awful. My family has been in Bay County for over 100 years, and despite having weathered many tropical systems/hurricanes over the years, that one was different. It came on quickly and was forecasted poorly. The day before, even the local authorities were only recommending evacuation for flood and storm surge areas. The part that was most dangerous to all of the area, including at least 50 miles inland, was the winds. Both sustained and gusts of 160+ mph for hours. It was like a tornado that planted itself over you. Every tree in my grandmother’s yard fell, two on the house and through the roof, except the spindliest pine. The neighbor’s roof was physically picked up and moved. Trains were blown off the tracks. The area was unrecognizable afterwards. It still hasn’t recovered completely. This is a great book to highlight the reality on the ground during these storms.

@anne-marie339 Год назад

Loved all the segues/transitions between your reviews - which were excellent and thorough as always! I've been wanting to read The Body by Bill Bryson but now after this review - and others - I'm inclined to removing it from my tbr :/ (thankfully no purchases were made!) I went whale watching while on vacation this month and now plan to read Fathoms as a continuation of that experience. So your whale reviews are timely - I especially remember being excited for Soundings when you did a new releases/haul/tbr video of some sort with it included... but I think I'll be focusing on some other books instead

@abookolive Год назад

The Body is just okay, honestly. It has the issues of a lot of microhistories in that it presents too much information about too many different things (parts of the human body, in this case), that it's really difficult to retain anything. In the description box of my review video of The Body, I actually listed out a good number of books that more thoroughly discuss different aspects of the body, if you're interested! I think Fathoms would be a great compliment to the whale watching experience you had! I'm jealous - I've always wanted to do that! How was it?

@anne-marie339 Год назад

@@abookolive It was wonderful - and cold on the open water! We did the 5pm sunset tour so the views were gorgeous. And we saw several different humpbacks a few times and of course, sea lions!

@sorenkrane Год назад

I read Moby Dick earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised with it. All the tangents about the history of whaling were engrossing. And the writing is gorgeous.

@faribareads Год назад

Yup. I loved the cetology chapters

@abookolive Год назад

That's wonderful to hear! I think I'll put that on my classics TBR for next year 😊

@Scottlp2 Год назад

@@abookolive I’m cheating and reading the abridged version to avoid that.

@sandyokey7728 Год назад

I definitely want to read A Furious Sky, having lived in Florida for 26 years and am grateful now to have moved back home to central New York. I haven’t read any Bill Bryson although I have one or two of his books on my shelves. Hmmm, I may just continue to skip over those until my next unhaul. Good luck with the raffle😊

@abookolive Год назад

I think A Furious Sky would really resonate with you, having lived in Florida for so long! I'm pretty far inland here in the Steel City, but when the remnants of a bad hurricane make their way up here sometimes, it makes me shudder to think what the original storm was like 😬

@lisaputnam5538 Год назад

I live in central NY as well, so I love your distinction of using “central” in NY!! 😁

@kdrudolph1 Год назад

Soundings was on my nonfiction November radar but I might be taking it off

@carolynmonahan2488 Год назад

I was surprised at how much I loved and learned from Moby Dick. Have a great read.

@abookolive Год назад

Wonderful to hear!

@jacquelinemcmenamin8204 Год назад

The best book I read in August was The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida 🤩

@LiteraryStoner Год назад

Well, just took off the 3 books of Bill Bryson's that were on my goodreads want to read list. That would drive me mad.

@abookgirl6574 Год назад

I absolutely love watching all of your reviews and wrap ups. But, I have to say, I think I love watching you dracarys a terrible book even more.

@abookolive Год назад

Hah! My cadence of getting this worked up over a book is about one per year, but I seem to make it count each time 🤣

@martharunstheworld 3 месяца назад

Path Lit By Lightening is one of my favorites. I highly recommend you read: Fire On the Track by Roseanna Montillo - it's the history of the first women track stars, runners in the Olympics. It's a non-fiction book, but it's written like a novel. It's really really good!!!

@CuriosityP75 Год назад

Thank you for sharing my opinion about Bill Bryson. So far "A short history of nearly everything" has been the only one I actually enjoyed. I learned some fascinating stuff...like that the white cliffs of Dover and most of England and Great Britain is made from the crushed bones of fish and other sea creatures. I love hiking but I find thru-hiking to be an economically privileged activity. In spite of that, I was looking forward to reading "A walk in the woods" after hearing coworkers talk about how funny it was. I hated that book. As someone who actually enjoys hiking (and who lives in Canada), you never leave your hiking companion behind!!! And Bryson does it repeatedly. There's even one incident when his hiking companion never shows up and Bryson hikes back to find the guy's been injured. Sure, Bryson may enjoy day-hikes in England and America, but he does NOT know how to thru-hike. And it's only the fact that he had the financial capability and the support of his network of friends and family to survive his own idiocy. #end rant I notice that RU-vid no longer allows us to sort videos by oldest to newest so I'm working my way back. I love love love your review on "This is what it sounds like" that I've ordered myself a copy. I love music non-fiction but hadn't heard of this title until you mentioned it. So thank you for making my day!!

@jenniferadam2258 Год назад

Yeah, as someone who grew up on both coasts and then married a midwestern farmer, I was really hoping I would enjoy Bryson's book. I barely made it through one chapter and I will never ever pick up anything else he writes.

@abookolive Год назад

I don't blame you, especially if The Lost Continent was the first book of his you picked up. Some of his other books are far less dominated by his judgements and nastiness, so I wasn't prepared for how foul this book was.

@coffemuse Год назад

And to think I enjoyed Brysons' "At Home"! I wish I hadn't now...

@abookolive Год назад

There are a good number of Bryson books that aren't mean-spirited like The Lost Continent was (or like other travel books of his are, I'm hearing from people in this comments section). I read At Home, The Mother Tongue, and A Short History of Nearly Everything and there was no trace of that side of him in those. I don't think those are bad books at all, but I unfortunately can't "unknow" what I read in The Lost Continent, so I doubt I'll ever be able to enjoy one of his "tame" books ever again.

@ginamarie1920 Год назад

Hello from a fellow Pittsburgh person! I participated in the CPL summer reading challenge as well, however I didn't get any raffle tickets. Huh! Typically I opt to read mysteries and thrillers as audiobooks, and the narrator of The Paris Apartment is one my favorites. My August reads included Ruth Ware's The It Girl, and a good amount of Brit Lit and cosy mysteries. Have a wonderful day!

@abookolive Год назад

A fellow Pittsburger, how wonderful! Pleasure to meet you 😊 Thrillers on audio are definitely a special experience! I need to do that more often (and read thrillers more often, generally).

@LauraR00 Год назад

Thanks for your comments about the Bill Bryson book. The only book I've read by him was Walk in the Woods, and I noticed negative comments about women's appearance and weight and also depictions residents of rural areas as being unsophisticated or dumb. It's such a beloved book that I was surprised to find it there, but apparently, it's a pattern for him.

@abookolive Год назад

Based on a lot of comments on this video, it seems to be an even bigger pattern than I realized, sadly.

@sandeesandwich2180 Год назад

Your review of Bill Bryson makes me think of a book by Clinton Kelly, one of the cohosts of What Not to Wear. (Probably Oh No, She Didn't.) The book starts with an "amusing" anecdote about how he was sitting in an airport and two women came up to him asking if he was Clinton Kelly. He is nasty even about that (along the lines of "of course I'm him! You already knew that or you wouldn't have dared to come up to me!") Then he denigrated their round middle-aged shapes and their total lack of style. He comes across so nice on that show, but this really shows what's going on behind the smile and it is Not Nice. I did also read A Furious Sky last month. I like it, but didn't love it, but that is probably because I knew some of the stories already, so there weren't as many surprises for me. My library also does summer reading challenges, but they track them all online. It's great fun!

@abookolive Год назад

That Clinton Kelly book sounds deeply unpleasant. 😕

@sandeesandwich2180 Год назад

@@abookolive I never got past the first two pages -- fastest DNF ever!

@kaylacurrently Год назад

Thank you! I read A Walk in the Woods by Bryson and was disgusted by the way he talked about every women he encountered. Everyone else always sings his praises but it was college frat level humor.

@abookolive Год назад

Fratty humor is definitely the way to describe Bryson's style, even though he seems to think he's above everyone because he lived overseas.

@deathbylawschooldebt Год назад

Hey Olive! It's Fianna - I felt the same way about The Lost Continent. I also read Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe around the same time and it was just as gross and condescending. Whale books - I had just put those two books on my Goodreads TBR but I am going to remove Soundings. Thanks for the heads up on The Whale. If you want to read a great one on whales try Spying on Whales. Absolutely fascinating.🐳

@Desilou18 Год назад

I have had The Body by Bill Bryson half finished for months thinking i will finish it eventually. Now i am not so sure I will 😅

@abookolive Год назад

Haha! Well, that decision will be up to you, but I'll say that there are a lot better books out there that discuss aspects of the human body - I listed out a bunch of them in the description box of my video review of The Body.

@hasteyebooks Год назад

Oh I definitely get the Bryson rant - I enjoyed Notes on a Small Island (especially as an immigrant to the UK as well) but his recent book The Road to Little Dribbling was garbage.

@abookolive Год назад

Ugh, sorry to hear that about The Road to Little Dribbling. This comments section has been very illuminating regarding his other books, which I suppose is an upside to getting so mad in this video 😂

@v.cackerman8749 Год назад

For the books you felt were companion pieces to each other, do you believe that your opinion of the books would have been slightly altered if you read them in a different order? For example, if you read “In Waves” before “Malibu Rising” do you think you would have looked at “Malibu Rising” differently?

@abookolive Год назад

I don't believe so. The surfing connection would have been there regardless.

@francescathomas3502 Год назад

I never quite knew why I hated Bill Brysons books. I only know that I did not like reading them so I eventually stopped. I have not picked up any of his books for years. At least now I know why!!

@tammyripp998 Год назад

I read Acceptance, a memoir by Emi Nietfeld last month and think you would like it Olive. I couldn't put down, read it in one day.

@abookolive Год назад

I'll make a note of that one, thank you!

@margaretwhittaker7519 Год назад

On the subject of whales, I have a recommendation: Grayson by Lynne Cox. It is the true story of Lynne Cox one morning when a young gray whale started following her toward shore and it became necessary to swim out to keep him from getting to that point of beaching himself. It is beautifully written and gave me such a good, but emotional reaction near the end. I just finished this one last night and was amazed to see the books on whales you've read. Synchronicity?

@amylynnm324 Год назад

This sounds amazing and I just put it on hold at the library-thanks! Her book Swimming to Antarctica is a among my favourites. Cheers!

@helenramsay2085 Год назад

Olive, thank you for what you said about Bill Bryson! I tried reading Notes From a Small Island a couple of years ago but gave up, partly because of all of Bryson's complaining, but mostly because of the way he wrote about overweight people eating. It really turned me off his books!

@abookolive Год назад

That's very disappointing to hear that his judgements are found in his other travel books, but it definitely validates my decision to never read any of his books again.

@sereneadair4941 Год назад

I hated the Paris apartment. By the time it picked up I didn't care anymore.

@abookolive Год назад

Sorry it disappointed you!

@GabriellaAlodia Год назад

I think bill bryson's writing voice is typical british humor. Very dry and straightforward in his own fashion. I never read his older books, but "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is honestly among my favourites 😊 Just an opinion.

@abookolive Год назад

He's American. Grew up in Iowa. I've experienced a decent amount of British humor from watching lots of British TV and brutally insulting people from your home country and acting like the smartest person in the room isn't how I would define it.

@GabriellaAlodia Год назад

@@abookolive yeah but he spent quite a lot of his time being a journalist in the UK. He was even appointed chancellor in Durham University. Maybe his writing is not for everyone, or I simply haven't read enough of his old ones.

@karencamer7723 Год назад

He really embraced British culture and humour and lived most of his adult life in UK. A phenomenal writer and so much tongue in cheek humour. Not meant to be taken seriously.

@abookolive Год назад

@@karencamer7723 Yeah he seems like the kind of guy who would hide behind a "I was just kidding!" defense after being awful to people. How does calling teenage girls "delectable" fit into embracing British humor? I've never been, but maybe everyone's subliminally trying to warn me that it's an island full of creeps, if that's how they think. Have you read the book I spoke about in this video? I've found some of the people sticking up for him haven't experienced the unpleasantness of The Lost Continent to understand what I'm talking about. It's not just one insult and I'm not a particularly sensitive reader. The whole book tears other people down. I'm not supposed to take a WHOLE BOOK of insults to be insulting?

@karencamer7723 Год назад

@@abookolive yes I have read all his books and love everyone of them . These were written thirty odd years ago and obviously don’t appeal to the younger generation. He has retired now to spend more time with his family so sadly no more books

@Nina_DP Год назад

Gah! Olive! How could you do this to me?? I have read two Lucy Foley books (The Guest List, The Hunting Party) and found them both meh-level. I could see the solutions to the mysteries coming a mile away. (I prefer to either figure out mysteries in a way that I can think I'm clever, and not because the writer telegraphed it too obviously, OR to be completely stumped right up to the very end). But your rave (and Steve Donahue's response) has me really tempted. IF you have read her previous works, how would you say The Paris Apartment compares? My TBR is out of control … should I add it or stick to my (non-Bill Bryson level) "never again" guns? 🤷🏻‍♀️

@abookolive Год назад

I've not read Lucy Foley's other books, so unfortunately I can't compare them!

@helencurran6433 Год назад

Ive subscribed! Thanks for the reviews. I loved Soundings by Doreen Cummings. Science, ecology, myths and the love story between humans and whales,Doreen's love for an Inupiaq whale hunter. And the wonderful connection between us all. Female Whales and Women are the only creatures on the planet that go through menopause..who knew! The indigenous word for humpback whale is Mamang ( Fremantle WA)

@LittleMissLion 2 месяца назад

I LOVED Soundings as well. Especially the moment she is singing "She Moved Through the Fair" on the ice and the whale pops up from under the surface. I also related to her struggles to fit in as a mother. I've never felt quite at home with other mothers. Whales, yes.

@melissamybubbles6139 Год назад

I have the same impression of Bill Bryson. I've only read one of his books, but that's enough.

@abookolive Год назад

Which one did you read?

@melissamybubbles6139 Год назад

@@abookolive It might have been the same one you did. It was about starting at his hometown and then traveling around.

@heth300 Год назад

I tried to read Bill Bryson's 'A Walk in the Woods' a few years ago and could not get into it. I ended up turning it in for in-store credit at a used bookstore. His writing style just doesn't appeal to me.

@abookolive Год назад

Totally understandable.

@reaganwiles_art Год назад

I read The Lost Continent about a decade ago totally at random, only knew Bryson as the author of The Walk in the woods book. I did enjoy the read, but you have to understand I grew up on The Simpsons and Family Guy, Comedy Central, all mean comedy all the time in 'Murca. And I also lived in Iowa for several years at one point, though I'm from the east coast and live on the east coast. To tell the truth, I don't remember the book only that it was as you say, I do not decry your aspersions about the book; I think they are well founded. Bryson is an I'm-Smarter-than-All-of-You author.

@abookolive Год назад

Comedy did indeed use to be a lot harsher, so I can see how his humor didn't grate at the time. I definitely agree that he thinks he's smarter than the rest of us - he's welcome to that label if being that "smart" means you treat people like trash, lol.

@bookofdust Год назад

Speaking of Fish Don’t Exist, did you see/read Who Killed Jane Stanford? It never rises to the level of a great narrative true crime nonfiction, but does a deep dive exploring what was touched upon in Miller’s book. I haven’t read the McCurdy book yet, there’s a very long holds for it on Overdrive, but Sarah Polley put out a memoir in essays back in March called Run Towards the Danger. It is amazing and deals deeply with the many brutal traumas she endured and it’s very much about coming to terms with them and moving past it. It’s excellently written and there’s a strong Pittsburgh connection to the lead essay. I hope more people looking for similar works to McCurdy find it. Ironically, her mother really doesn’t appear in the book, as she made a documentary, The Stories We Tell, about her and the complex secret she held. In June I read a memoir of a writer and discovered what a terrible, unpleasant person they are and that I didn’t just actively dislike them, but loathe them. Despite liking what I read by them very much and thinking them a dynamic author, I won’t be reading anymore of their work. As the saying goes, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” It’s something I never thought I would do, but I know is the right response, I don’t want to support them through their books, they really are a monster.

@abookolive Год назад

Who Killed Jane Stanford is on my radar! I was thinking of picking it up in October, actually (because of the true crime element, even if doesn't have a strong narrative, as you suggest here). Run Towards the Danger sounds like something I'd be really interested in reading, so thank you for that recommendation. Of course, I'm dying to know which author made such a bad impression on you...

@bookofdust Год назад

@@abookolive There’s a big clue in the pronouns I use, and they are a recently celebrated YA and adult author, who’s work and background I support, but will not do for this individual who personally comes off as despicable in their own memoir.

@sandeesandwich2180 Год назад

@@bookofdust How are the rest of us going to boycott them if we don't know who they are? 😆😆

@bookofdust Год назад

@@sandeesandwich2180 I don’t really believe in cancel culture and never before thought I would not be able to separate an artist and their work, I still read Michael Dorris and love paintings by Caravaggio, but this really rubbed me the wrong way, and as I said, they are showing themselves for who they are to everyone, so it’s easy to make that choice on your own. But like Olive said, I’ve never been angrier reading a book and I did force myself to finish reading it so I could be sure there was no revelation at the end where the author comes to some self realization about how mega maniacal, self aggrandizing, self involved, money, status and materialistically obsessed they are and how cruelly they treat people. But there was no eleven hour reveal and retraction, so I’m done.

@sandeesandwich2180 Год назад

@@bookofdust There are quite a few artists who I can't separate from their personal opinions. But, like you, I won't mention them here.

@zimtkind2255 Год назад

I just started Soundings and it may be a dnf. I was expecting cool whale stuff, not childcare. 😅 This video has helped me with what to expect. Also, how do you speak so well? Were you an elocution major? Do you use a script? It's really hard to speak without pausing or throwing in umms.

@iansmith4023 Год назад

I enjoyed Bryson's earlier books - especially his 'researched works' (Mother Tongue is excellent and informative e.g.), but I had a tough time getting through his sequel to Small Island - "The road to Little Dribbing'. The first chapter consisted of him sardonically railing against modern life and the horrible people who live it. Ok,fair enough (as someone in their 50s I can sort of see where he was coming from); but chapter two was EXACTLY the same, and on and on. 200 pages of "people today are fat and fatuous;and everything around me is shite" was too much. Imo,in his younger days he was witty and informative. Now,he's old, bitter and disillusioned - and he wants all his readers to know it,in no uncertain terms.

@abookolive Год назад

His researched works are a lot better, I fully admit that. I didn't mind Mother Tongue or A Short History of Nearly Everything when I read them several years ago. I suppose it's good I read those before realizing Bryson had this side to him, because I can never "unknow" it now, sadly...

@KAZHE63 Год назад

Totally agree about BB books- I find him rude and offensive. Used to own two or three and threw them in a Goodwill box.

@abookolive Год назад

That's where mine are going, too.

@nedmerrill5705 Год назад

Hurricane Olive sinks The Lost Continent. 🙂

@zubaerchaudhari8267 Год назад

Hello

@frannook Год назад

You definitely deterred me from reading anything by Bill Bryson :/

@Rorosierose Год назад

Ughhh love you but why did you say that the husband left her for carry Soto that’s now a surprise I don’t get to experience :(

@abookolive Год назад

Apologies, I certainly never intended to spoil anything for you! Nina's husband leaving her is something that's revealed on the second page of the first full chapter - I personally see things that happen in the first 20 pages or so of a novel as set up, so I don't consider those to be spoilers. That's how I base my decisions on what to divulge in a review (written or on this channel). I wanted to mention that bit of plot setup because TJR's new book that just came out is about Carrie Soto (I wanted to let everyone know how the two books connected).

@Rorosierose Год назад

@@abookolive yess I get that don’t worry!! Just one of the most exciting things for me is finding out how they connect and I’m halfway through carry Soto but haven’t read Malibu yet so that would have been exciting but it’s totally okay!!! Your reviews are some of my favorites!! My go to for nonfiction :)) best wishes to you

@abookolive Год назад

@@Rorosierose I totally understand! I hope you enjoy the rest of Carrie Soto and Malibu Rising when you get to it! ❤

@kristinisreading4866 Год назад

I read A Walk in the Woods and liked it, but noted his pretentiousness. But, hearing this review, I’m not interested in other books by him.

@abookolive Год назад

That's exactly how I felt reading A Walk in the Woods and The Body - I noticed that he could pass judgement a little too easily and be a bit rude. I didn't love it about him, but I didn't want to assume the worst about his character. But now, I think I've read enough to get a clear picture. Very disappointing.

@mandybrack1708 Год назад

I’ve previously been a fan of Bill Bryson’s books but I’ve just finished Neither Here Nor There, which is the first of his travel books I’ve read and I was so disappointed. He’s mostly rude and crass and generally insulting of the places he travels too and the people he meets.

@abookolive Год назад

I had read a few of his other books over the years and that nasty side of him isn't prominent in all of them, so, like you, I was shocked by the mean-spirited tone of his earlier travel writing. I'm sad to hear he's also like that in Neither Here Nor There, but now I'm glad that's one of the books I've decided to unhaul from my collection after reading your comment...

@Leebearify Год назад

May I add one more (that I already shared with you) about books that make me angriest I ever was ? The total rip off from Sy Montgomery called "The Hummingbirds". A chapter (at most) to make an entire book? This was totally hanging on the strings of the wonderful Octopus book. I will never forgive Montgomery for ripping off her readers. Bill Bryson probably thought (if he thought at all) that he was being funny. I just dumped ALL of mine, thanks for the tip. I won't be bothered. (I was born in Nebraska) what a jerk. I bet if he were in a serious car accident he would not have objected to my doing his surgery!

@abookolive Год назад

Did you see that Sy Montgomery's publisher did the same thing AGAIN with another chapter of Birdology? It's called "The Hawk's Way" and it came out this spring. I truly, TRULY hope it's the last chapter they're reissuing because it's such a blatant cash grab that it's starting to tarnish my view of Sy as well. I should just read and review Birdology and draw everyone's attention to that book instead 😂

@Leebearify Год назад

@@abookolive I really wish you would write something to draw attention to this cash grab. Actually, I did see something on Hawks way and the person said something to the effect that there was almost nothing to it. As a reader I want to have somewhere to complain. I have already told everyone I know about Sy's money grab and Hummingbirds. I wonder if I were to write to Steve if he would help us to get this noticed?

@NeithHecateAddams Год назад

I am so, so glad you have pointed that out about Bill Bryson. WTF, I have a book I need to go unhaul. In place of Bill Bryson and for people who care about fatphobia and all of its implications, I really recommend the nonfiction book "Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fatphobia" by Sabrina Strings. There is far more to fatphobia than most people realize.

@gabriellef3351 Год назад

Ive read enough of his books to believe he doesn't like fat people

@abookolive Год назад

It seems as though that's the only conclusion once you see it repeated in book after book...

@wanderjas Год назад

I just got The Body, now I'm thinking whether to read it 🥲

@abookolive Год назад

The Body is tame in comparison to The Lost Continent, so if you want to read it, don't let me talk you out of it! But I will say this: there are so many other science books about different parts of the human body that are *so* much better than his book. I listed a bunch of them in the description box of my review video of The Body, if you're interested.