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The Lost Continent
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
24 posts | 65 read | 26 to read
"I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to." And, as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough, he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him, but it did lure him back. After ten years in England he returned to the land of his youth, and drove almost 14,000 miles in search of a mythical small town called Amalgam, the kind of smiling village where the movies from his youth were set. Instead he drove through a series of horrific burgs, which he renamed Smellville, Fartville, Coleslaw, Coma, and Doldrum. At best his search led him to Anywhere, USA, a lookalike strip of gas stations, motels and hamburger outlets populated by obese and slow-witted hicks with a partiality for synthetic fibres. He discovered a continent that was doubly lost: lost to itself because he found it blighted by greed, pollution, mobile homes and television; lost to him because he had become a foreigner in his own country. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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review
KathyWheeler
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Pickpick

This is the lower end of the pick scale for me, mostly because it seems Bryson made this trip so he could whine and complain. According to him, he‘s never learned anything at a national park; I find that odd as that‘s not been the case for me. I also got tired of his constant denigration of bigger people. Some parts of the book were really funny though, and the things he noticed on his trip were interesting. Started Agatha Christie. #audiowalk

rwmg I enjoyed his UK and Australia memoirs but his other travel books make uncomfortable reading - his disdain for the people he meets is so blatant. The good humour seems less evident. Maybe he feels trapped in trying to reproduce the success of 1y
KathyWheeler @rwmg Maybe I will like Notes from a Small Island better. I read A Walk in the Woods and mostly liked it, but had the same problem with the way he looks down on the people he meets. 1y
21 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Now I‘m following Bill through Nebraska, a state he claims is flatter than Kansas. I lived in Manhattan, KS, for a year, which actually isn‘t flat, but I‘ve never been through much of Nebraska, so I don‘t know if he‘s right. We went to the Mississippi coast today. Someone drew Bubbles, from the Powerpuff Girls,on the sidewalk in the park. 😊#audiowalk

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KathyWheeler
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Bryson is such an exaggerator! You are not suddenly shocked by having to pay when you enter colonial Williamsburg. At least I wasn‘t.😄 We are now in hurricane season, so even though we haven‘t had a hurricane yet, we are starting to get more rain, which I just missed. I‘d just gotten in my car after my walk when it began to rain. #audiowalk

Reggie Yay for perfect timing. 1y
KathyWheeler @Reggie I know! Sometimes, when it looks like it might rain, I‘ll take an umbrella with me, but I hadn‘t done that yesterday. 1y
25 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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I‘m enjoying this book, but, while it is quite funny, I just wish Bryson weren‘t so contemptuous of the South. For the most part, however, it‘s been fun following him on his trip through small town America. #audiowalk

megnews The other thing that doesn‘t sit well is his abhorrence to overweight people. I think he‘s trying to make a point about American excess but it doesn‘t go over well. 1y
megnews Still, I laughed throughout. 1y
19 likes3 comments
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megnews
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Pickpick

Could not stop laughing.
Published in 1990 there are some comments that haven‘t stood the test of time.
Barring those this is a hilarious jaunt through small town America.

Crazeedi I've loved all the books I've read of his!! 1y
dabbe I almost wet my pants quite a few times reading his A WALK IN THE WOODS.
🤣🤣🤣#lovebryson
1y
57 likes1 stack add2 comments
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TheEllieMo
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 208
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain

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Bookwormjillk
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
Bailedbailed

I like Bill Bryson but I just can‘t get over his rural=stupid assumptions in this book. Bail. #BookspinBingo

ValerieAndBooks His snarkiness can be too much sometimes. 4y
audraelizabeth From your review I know I wouldnt like it. 4y
TheAromaofBooks As a rural person, I tend to get puh-retty aggravated at that attitude! 4y
49 likes3 comments
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GoneFishing
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson

As my father always used to tell me, 'You see, son, there's always someone in the world worse off than you.' And I always used to think, So?

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sophierayton
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Pickpick

Bill Bryson, where have you been all my life? I really enjoyed this and plan to read more of his books. So funny and interesting too.

Minervasbutler Neither Here Nor There, (his second I think, about travels in Europe) is my personal favourite. 6y
sophierayton I'm excited to discover as many as I can, I really enjoyed it. 6y
12 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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tome.fries
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Mehso-so

Granted, Bill Bryson is funny. He's snide and judgmental, but comedic tone can only get you so far. His commentary on the towns he passed through were all the same. "This place is too touristy" or "This place isn't touristy enough!" It got old very, very quick.

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toric
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson

I'm now at 85% with an hour and a half left and I have a long car journey tomorrow but at the moment I'm just feeling like I'm fighting a losing battle with my tbr list. For every book I complete I hear about 5 brilliant sounding new ones. Will I ever be able to make a dent?

laurieluna We all feel like that! Just have to go with the flow and read what you can. At least you know you have endless possibilities! 😊 6y
2 likes1 comment
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toric
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Bill is a lot grumpier in this book compared to the others of his that I've read #sadface

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rwmg
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
Pickpick

Entertaining but not his best

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rwmg
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Reading The Lost Continent in Johnny Rockets American style diner

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Chelsibeau
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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#riotgrams day 22 #animalcovers. For a huge animal lover i am seriously lacking in books with animal covers. 😕

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Halechr
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Baths and books 💕

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elkeOriginal
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Awesome #endpapers on this #FolioSociety edition! Map for next #roadtrip?!
#FolioFreaks #roadtripping

GypsyKat Beautiful! 8y
LectricSheep Oh my god they have EVERYTHING!! I want to stage some kind of heist of the folio society printer. 8y
elkeOriginal @LectricSheep Count me in! And YES: everything. I was surprised too! 8y
See All 7 Comments
Sarah83 Oh wow. 😍 I love his books. 😍 8y
LeahBergen Awesome! ❤️ 8y
BoldCityBooks I‘m reading this book now and was hoping for a map of his journey. This is great - thank you for posting this 5 years ago haha!!! 3y
elkeOriginal @BoldCityBooks So happy that Past elkeo could help you out with a map 😉 3y
51 likes1 stack add7 comments
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elkeOriginal
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Not an upscale, fancy #FolioSociety edition - but it's got an endearing 1980s look 😁 that fits the tone perfectly.
I have always loved this title (and Bill!) so love this hardcover, slipcased edition that has added photo sections inside.
Makes me want to go #roadtripping!
Plus I found it on abebooks.com for $15! #WIN
#FolioFreaks

LeahBergen I loved this one (and I also love some of the Folio Society's weirder editions 😂)! 8y
37 likes1 comment
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Tjackson
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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My current obsession is traveling. Since I have never read a Bill Bryson book, I feel it's about time to check this off my list. I'm looking forward to reading about his adventures in small-town America! He has a great sense of humor so I'm sure I will enjoy it immensely.

Julsmarshall Love him! 8y
5 likes1 comment
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8leagueboot
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson
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Let the travel reading begin! #readsontheroad

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GoneFishing
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson

When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a girl called Bobbi and get a job in the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever or you spend your adolescence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can't wait to get out and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job in the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever.

awishman I live in Des Moines now and grew up on a small town in Iowa. That opening always makes me laugh 8y
agoodstoppingpt That first one or two chapters I think was the only part I liked in that book. 8y
49 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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HiddenGemBooks
The Lost Continent | Bill Bryson

I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.

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