Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, FRSis a best-selling Anglo-American author of books on travel, the English language, science, and other non-fiction topics. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to America between 1995 and 2003. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth8 December 1951
CityDes Moines, IA
CountryUnited States of America
appreciation
Much as I resented having to grow up in Des Moines, it gave me a real appreciation for every place in the world that's not Des Moines.
arrive familiar understood
I've never quite understood that feeling: that you arrive in a strange place, yet you want to have nothing but familiar experiences.
cannot
I sometimes think I cannot write another passage about a disappointing meal ever again, because I've done it so many times.
area human money people
In any area of human endeavour, there is going to be mediocrity. You're going to find people who get money that they shouldn't get.
comic device family hang instinct interest largely life pertinent
I've been writing all these books that have been largely autobiographical and yet, really, they don't tell you anything about me. I just use my life story as a kind of device on which to hang comic observations. It's not my interest or instinct to tell the world anything pertinent about myself or my family.
britain fantastic human list suit
I could give you a long list of things I like about Britain, but essentially what it comes down to is that I feel about Britain the same way I feel about my wife. I'm crazy about my wife - we just kind of suit each other. I wouldn't say that she's the most fantastic human being that's ever lived, but she is for me.
depressing excited future gets nobody
Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.
coffee beer shining
The food is excellent. The beer is cold. The sun nearly always shines. There is coffee on every corner. Life doesn’t get much better than this.
clever believe cities
Because we humans are big and clever enough to produce and utilize antibiotics and disinfectants, it is easy to convince ourselves that we have banished bacteria to the fringes of existence. Don't you believe it. Bacteria may not build cities or have interesting social lives, but they will be here when the Sun explodes. This is their planet, and we are on it only because they allow us to be.
hot men seem travelers wear wearing
Yes, U.S. travelers dress better. The British are always so conspicuous in hot climates. They don't seem to wear shorts. American men seem to be comfortable wearing hot-weather clothing.
abandoning attempt comforts eagerly fly futile home largely left lost money odd quantities strange time tourism vast
What an odd thing tourism is. You fly off to a strange land, eagerly abandoning all the comforts of home, and then expend vast quantities of time and money in a largely futile attempt to recapture the comforts that you wouldn't have lost if you hadn't left home in the first place.
couples found occasion permanent presented themselves third
Up to a third of bundling couples found themselves presented with a permanent souvenir of the occasion
achievement best call far fate living nightmare providence supreme universe whatever wish worst
We have been chosen, ... by fate or providence or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is. It's an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe's supreme achievement and its worst nightmare simultaneously.
boat fresh gets help honored immigrant invited less national run seriously taking
I am taking this very seriously and I am honored to be appointed. It's not every day that an immigrant more or less fresh off the boat gets invited to help run a national institution.