A Walk in the Woods

I am an avid reader. I have been since I can remember. My mom said when I was a baby and she was pregnant with my sister, I would bring her book after book after book to read to me. She would be so dead tired and sick, but she would never turn me down on a book...it was the best way to entertain me. I would say things haven't changed too much.

One of my favorite books is A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Whether you like to read or not, you should definitely read this one. It is one of the most hilarious books I have ever read...I'm talking laugh-out-loud, read-it-to-whoever-you're-with-so-they-can-laugh-too kind of funny. Plus, it's very informative, sort of like a super interesting textbook.

Bill Bryson has written 10+ books, all creative non-fiction, autobiography style. All the one's I have read are excellent, but I think A Walk in the Woods is my favorite. It's about Bryson's experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail with an old friend named Katz. He details the events of the adventure, which are all so day-to-day you feel he may be writing your own observations and experiences. Plus, he details the history of the trail through rich imagery, interesting anecdotes, and witty humor. By the end of the book you feel not only entertained, but intellectually enlightened.

I'm telling you, there is no book more likely to be enjoyed by so broad an audience as this one. Go to the library and borrow it. Read it. Revel in it. You won't regret it.

Here is an except of one particularly funny part if you're not convinced...scroll down, second book on the list. (Though I would encourage you to skip it and read the entire book instead so it doesn't ruin the surprise!) And here is the book cover:

And just for fun, here's an assignment I did for a class a few semesters ago where we had to imitate the writing style of a favorite author. My imitations: 

• "The sun spread across the dewy hills like an epidemic, blinding every concave dip with its brightness, fevering every rounded peak with its heat."
• "I looked up into the great expanse of stalwart trunk and steady limb, nimble branch and translucent leaf, squinting at the small flickers of sunlight that filtered through the frenzied boughs as the wind tousled them."
• "The ground sucked at our worn boots as we slogged through the steamy sludge, beating away maddening mosquitoes with our dirt streaked fists and breathing heavily the muggy air."