 2008-10-31 - Entertaining all the way thru...
This is the first book by Bryson I picked up and I could hardly put it down before finishing it. It flows very well, is full of historical facts and great imagery of Bryson's journey along the AT.
 2008-10-30 - Grammer mistakes galore!
I loved this book but I'll be darned if there wasn't at least one mistake in the translation to the kindle version every few pages. One or two misplaced commas I can deal with but not the thirty+ mistakes that I alone found. It became distracting after awhile and it is obvious no one proofreads these Kindle versions before they are uploaded for folks to buy.
C'mon Amazon, if you want this Kindle thing to succeed, you're going to have to at least give these things a once-over.
Otherwise, loved the book. Great story and appreciated the author's humour.
 2008-10-12 - Waste of time, Misleading, Huge disappointment.............
This guy is a looser! I applaud him for "attempting" the AT trail, but come on! He did not do even half of it. This book is for people who will never venture down a trail of any kind! I have done my fair share of mountaineering and hiking; I would never fathom writing about my failed attempt to "walk" a trail. If I was getting paid to "hike" something like the AT trail, I sure in the hell would finish it.
The only funny part for me was Mary Ellen! The more I read the more I agree with her opinion. She met the guy? As far as Kat, I like this guy. He seems to be a good guy that went out of his element to try something new!
Conclusion: Publisher should get their money back, Bill should have to go walk the whole trail over start to finish and he should have to do it with Mary Ellen!
Save your money & time.
Other recommendation: "No short cut's to the top" by Ed Viestures Great read, just makes you feel great about life!
No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
2008-10-08 - A Long, Slow Walk To Nowhere ...
Some things we never seem to learn, like judging a book by its cover. In this instance, the cover of "A Walk In The Woods" looks inviting enough, even exciting, with the picture of a bear staring you down.
False advertising.
If "A Walk In The Woods" had been a TV show, it would have been named Seinfeld, but without the humor, because it is truly a book about nothing. Two guys decide to walk the Appalachian Train for different reasons. However, they don't actually hike together, they don't meet a lot of compelling other people and they never see a bear, or a bobcat either. Huh?
Instead, the reader is subjected to lengthy prose about the stark glories and occasional majesty of the AT, the shelter accommodations for hikers, or lack thereof, and a pile of pages filled with administrivia about the history of the trail.
Yikes! Our reluctant heroes did not even reach their destination, or come close ("a detail").
So, what did we learn from this reading experience? Not much, although it did addle my brain in regard to my neighbor who has contracted every conceivable disease, some very serious, in his pursuit of walking sections of the AT. But, he has probably already read this book and given it a 5 star rating.
2008-10-07 - Typical witty, funny, entertaining and educational fare from Bryson
I will admit right off the bat to being a big Bill Bryson fan. My only disappointment when it comes to him is that he hasn't written more. I am trying to catch up on some of his previous works so I read a walk in the woods. Needless to say you will not be disappointed by this work. Bryson does a great job of telling the story of his own adventure along the Appalachian Trail while also finding time to mix in stories of the trail's history and peripheral events along the trail, without getting sidetracked or lost on some tangent.
The writing is clear and clever and full of loads of interesting facts and phrases that make Bill Bryson such a joy to read. This book is ideal, not just for those who enjoy reading about the Appalachian Trail but also for those who enjoy reading good writing and witty literature.
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