Welcome to Litsy!

Had this on my shelf for a long time. Picked it up to read because of the #ToyCover prompt. It's such a hoot! Such fun reminders of growing up in the1950s as he did: No novocaine dentist, Sky King on Saturday TV, Chuckles candy (always gave my mom the black one), Fels-Naptha soap (which I still use on poison ivy), Jello "salads", "circular-spoke stitching" Maidenform bra ads, and a hilarious story about bleaching Lincoln Logs.
#NewYearNewBooks

4⭐️ I first read this about 10 years ago and I remember really loving it. Now, seeking an audiobook to keep me company during a boring work project, I found this from the library and thought it would hit the spot. I was right! It‘s about childhood in Iowa in the 50‘s and what that looked like from the author‘s vantage point, so if you‘re looking for a fast-paced, hard-researched memoir, look elsewhere. For a funny look into the past, it‘s a win.

Another solid trip down memory lane with a fair few belly laughs and dollops of nostalgia. I've gotta say that it's not his best though. At times he forces through the involvement of the eponymous Thunderbolt Kid and I was surprised at how dated some of his ideas already felt (yes, I know it's about the 50's, but you can tell the book is also a product of its own decade). It's definitely worth a read, but not one I'll return to, unlike his others.

"Theirs truly was a match made in heaven, for no one could burn food like my mother or eat it like my dad."

Sometimes these were car trips to places like Sioux City or Burlington, but at least once a summer we boarded a big silver plane—a huge event in those days—and lumbered through the summery skies, up among the fleecy clouds, to St. Louis or Chicago or Detroit to take in a home stand. It was a kind of working #holiday for my dad. #QuotsyMay19

Very funny memoir of growing up in idyllic small town America. Captures an era that defined a nation's memory and will never be recreated.

It was cute!

I laughed so hard my sides hurt when Mr. Bryson described how his dad did isometrics for exercise.

I read this for the #ReadHarderChallenge of a book within 100 miles. I like Bill Bryson, and it was interesting reading about Des Moines, but I wasn‘t extremely interested. I like his humor and descriptions, but I wouldn‘t have picked this up without the challenge. Which, I suppose, is the whole point of the challenge!

I didn't LOVE everything about this book. For the first 100 pages I was like, "my dad would love this book. I should tell him to read it!" Then I got to some parts that I even at 28 years old made me blush and I would be mortified if my Dad read them and then thought, "Why would Amy think I'd enjoy this??". So, that said, 5/5 stars from me and maybe just a brief mention to my dad that he *may* find it amusing. Then again, maybe not.

I am LOVING this book!! I found a new favorite author 🤓

I love how covers of books differ so much for the same title! The left cover is the one I bought, clearly the superior cover 🤓

My overflowing LFL! 📚📚📚I left it for two weeks and I came back to so many books. It makes me happy that people are sharing their books with the neighborhood ❤️ #someoneelsereading #fallintoreading

Things I liked about this book: a couple antidotes, the little historical tidbits, and the newspaper blurbs at the beginning of each chapter. I thought the snark was over the top (this coming from a usual fan of snark). When I read memoirs, I like to read stories of struggle and adversity or of travel and adventure. This was just a story of his childhood in upper middle class white American in the 50s.

Bill Bryson is my favorite #spacecadet! #characters2017 @LibrarianRyan

#giveawaythetruth @Liberty My favorite memoir is by my favorite author, Bill Bryson! I even named my dog, Bryson 😁

How do you know an audio book is worthy of your time? Glad you asked! Well you find that while listening to it on the way to dropping off the kids to school that they are belly laughing to it with you. Word of warning not ment for youngish ears.

This book (in the childhood memory parts) made me nearly pee myself with laughter. #funfridayphoto

I read a whole slew of Bill Bryson's travel books back in college, all in a rush, starting--of course--with A Walk in the Woods. Recently, someone in my memoir group said that if I enjoyed Bryson, I HAD to read this. A fascinating look at Iowa in the 1950s, I'm now convinced that Bill Bryson can make ANY topic delightful.

Reading between sessions. This book just keeps getting funnier and funnier.

This entire passage on the phrase "chaise longue" made me crack up because it's pretty much the same reaction I had when reading about it in my e-galley of You're Saying It Wrong.

A wonderful memoir that makes growing up in 1950s middle America sound like a blast. It's hilarious, and listening to the audio book read by the author adds a whole other level to the enjoyment. I highly recommend it.

I've been really enjoying this audiobook while driving over the last week or so. Very funny look at what life was like growing up in middle America in the 1950s.