A Walk in the Woods - Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Every December each of my book groups goes to lunch or breakfast instead of meeting and discussing a book as we usually do. Part of the tradition is to bring a gift-wrapped book. Then we do a gift exchange and everyone goes home with a new book. When the book that we brought is opened, we explain why we like the book, and why we gave it. It's very fun, and I now have some books I never would have purchased otherwise that I've really enjoyed.

A Walk in the Woods was one of those Christmas exchange books. I got it a couple of years ago and just now got to reading it. I really enjoyed it. It had many elements that I enjoy in a non-fiction book.

1. It was well written. Bill Bryson has a great vocabulary that is not at all pretentious. He can paint a clear picture with just a few words. And, he kept the story moving right along. Here's the biggest compliment I can give a non-fiction book: it reads like a novel rather than a text book. Perhaps Bill Bryson won't like that, but perhaps he might. At any rate, fiction or non-fiction, I liked the writing.

2. It was informative. I learned a lot about the Appalachian Trail in particular, but also about some of the geography and history of the east coast (which I am woefully under-informed on).

3. It was funny. Not the whole thing, but parts of it. It made me giggle. I laughed right out loud a few times one morning at the gym while I was on the treadmill and reading this book. There are a couple of parts that I still think about and they still make me giggle.

Okay, three elements might not be many elements, but those are the only ones that come to my mind at the moment. The bottom line is, I enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it.