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Liked It3 of 3 members found this review helpful “One thing I like about Bill Bryson is that he operates under a variety of nonfiction genres. He's done books on linguistics, history, science, and travel. In The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid he tackles a memoir, which is a word I can never reliably spell. Bryson (or his editors) can,...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“I couldn't read this before bed because my giggles shook my husband awake!”
Sandra Carden wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I'm sorry to say I found this disappointing. Perhaps because I could not relate to the life of middle class white America in the midwest in the 50s (having grown up in the Philippines), I did not find much in this book particularly hilarious. Amusing and interesting, but I was for the most part indifferent to most of it. So much was exaggerated that I grew tired of trying to figure out how much of his anecdotes was fact and how much fiction. I like Bryson's writing but if I hadn't been reading this for the tag of the month I would have given up on it a third of the way through.”
annapi wrote this review Sunday, April 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Favorites list humor, biography”
tstan wrote this review Sunday, April 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“The "thunderbolt kid" framework didn't work for me, but I still enjoyed the book--lots of nostagia from growing up in the 1950's. Humorous and poignant with all the background of government involvement in nuclear testing, inventions of the period, etc.”
Judy F wrote this review Wednesday, March 27, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I was disappointed that Bryson was such a bratty kid! I LOVED his Short History of Nearly Everything so we went out and bought a slew of his other books - this was the first of the rest and we both didn't enjoy it that much. YES there were some funny parts, but the bar was set VERY high by the first Bryson book we read. We haven't read the other books yet, but I know we will. A bit disappointing, but with some good parts. ”
Curious wrote this review Thursday, March 14, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I'm not american but I really liked reading this book. It´s funny and gives us a firs person view of a small american town during the 50's. Reading this book made me realize that life was way more simple and better before the big food and shopping companies came and destroyed the small shops. It was also interesting to know how a kid entertained himself (and I think they lived happier that we do now) despite being under the nuclear threat. Well done, Bill Bryson, well done.”
~Galardiel~ The only limit is the one you set to yourself. wrote this review Wednesday, March 20, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great fun. A trip back to childhood.”
Sharon H wrote this review Thursday, February 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a memoir of Bill Bryson's childhood, growing up in the 1950s in rural Iowa.
LibraryCin wrote this review Friday, February 1, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I really enjoyed this. The 1950s were more my parents' era than mine, but it was fun to read about all the events that happened and just general day-to-day stuff. There was a brief section in the middle that I didn't seem to find as funny, but a lot of it was. I think this is probably my favourite by Bryson that I've read so far. I listened to the audio, which also included a really interesting, short interview with Bryson about the book. ”
“Non-stop fun!!!”
Anand wrote this review Tuesday, January 22, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“After a long time, unable to contain my laughter while reading and drawing strange looks from people. The only gripe I have is, he goes into some very graphic and disgusting details at times. ”
danoomistmatiste wrote this review Monday, January 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
