Archive for May 20th, 2014

I’m A Stranger Here Myself and The Mother Tongue, Both by Bill Bryson

Cover of "The Mother Tongue"

I’m  A Stranger Here Myself and The Mother Tongue, Both by Bill Bryson These eBooks were a treat. .

I’m a Stranger… is a collection of weekly columns Bryson wrote for an English newspaper on his return to America after 20 years. It is so dry and hilarious that I guarantee a delightful read.   He points out ( but kindly)  the glaring inconsistencies in living in the US which a resident would not see.

The Mother Tongue is a short history of how English came to be and how it is still and always will be changing. An easy read it belies the intense scholarship Bryson put into it.  I admit to an interest in where words come from and why they seem to stray from their original meaning.  Every now and then he points  out how a Canadian would say something, and he is right.  The quotes form many “famous” people is especially interesting and often humorous. It seems many US Presidents do not fair too well in this department!

Category: Lifeskills

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