Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods

I can't remember which one of my kids recommended that I read Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". I was thinking it was Allen. But it might have been Bryan. And when I found out that Bryson was knighted to the Order of the British Empire for his work as an expert in the English language and his work in that area, it dawned on me that it might even have been Cathryn. But whoever it was, I have to apologize to them. After having it recommended to me so highly, and even having been presented with my own copy of the book, I procrastinated and put off reading it for months. The book sat idle, gathering a thick coating of dust on the headboard of my bed. Today, I cleaned off my dresser, nightstand and headboard, and found it. I placed it on the reading stand beside my la-z-boy chair. Tonight, after watching a couple of DVD episodes of The Office and enjoying those laughs with Dubby and the Bopnopper after Bopnopper's birthday dinner, I picked up Bryson's book. And now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long! It's fantastic, -- right down my alley. Like Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything' and his many other acclaimed books such as Mother Tongue, Made in America, and Dictionary of Troublesome Words, this one too is non-fiction. This one is the tale of his hike on the Appalachian Trail which he started when he was in his early 40's. Hmmm. A middle-aged, out-of-shape old man suddenly gets a burning desire to go hiking in the wilderness. An aging over-the-hill'er feels an inner yearning to experience the forest, the woods, the lure of the trail, the attraction of the summits, the call of the wild. Although not as metaphorically satirical as Pat McManus (author of A Fine and Pleasant Misery and They Shoot Canoes Don't They?), Bryson's humorous accounts of his adventure on the Blue Ridge, in the Shenandoah, and along the rest of the A.T. is every bit as funny and entertaining. His Thurber-ish narrative style reminds me so much of my own adventures, misfortunes, and experiences from my many walks in the wilderness. It's great reading. I love it. To whomever recommended this book to me: Thanks! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get around to it. I admit I've been missing out. Although I'm only 10% of the way through, I can already tell this is one book I'm going to thoroughly enjoy reading and re-reading.