At Home A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

I really like Bill Bryson and am always glad to see a new book hit the shelves. Despite providing a huge amount of facts and tidbits about his subjects, I don't get bogged down or bored. At Home is more of the same. The book is full of facts about the history of homes and it is his 150 year home in Norfolk England that he uses as his base as he wanders from the attic to the cellar spouting off trivia about fork tines, dining tables, food in the middle ages, diseases, servants, stairs, bed bugs, archeologists, bathing....the list goes on and on. Somehow he does it with such wit and ease that you don't realise the amount of information you are taking in. I liked this book and enjoyed reading it though I have to admit it was not one of my favorites. My favorites are In a Sunburned Country and A Walk in the Woods simply because I get more of Bryson himself...he is a character in these books and not merely the narrator. But even a mediocre Bryson book is really enjoyable and this was a fun read. 2010 512 pages