“Of all the things I am not very good at, living in the real world is perhaps the most outstanding.”
If you’ve ever found yourself laughing out loud whilst reading a travel memoir, there’s a good chance it was written by Bill Bryson. Known for his wit, curiosity, and sharp observations, Bryson has become one of the most renowned nonfiction writers in the world. Whether he’s hiking the Appalachian Trail, exploring small-town America, or delving into the history of science, his books are as informative as they are entertaining. Yet, with so many titles to choose from, where should you begin? Today at What We Reading, we’re listing the best Bill Bryson books in order, helping you follow his work chronologically or identify the highlights. From classics like A Walk in the Woods to fascinating deep dives like A Short History of Nearly Everything, this Bill Bryson reading order is sure to help you unearth his funniest, smartest, and most memorable works.
The Lost Continent: Travels In Small-Town America (1989)
Kicking off our list of the best Bill Bryson books is the classic story of his return to Des Moines after a decade of living in England. Returning to the land of his youth, the story chronicles his dive of almost 14,000 miles in search of a mythical small town called Amalgam, the kind of trim and sunny place where the films of his youth were set.
Instead, his search led him to Anywhere, USA: a lookalike strip of gas stations, motels, and hamburger outlets populated by lookalike people with a penchant for synthetic fibres. Travelling around thirty-eight of the lower states, united only by their mind-numbingly dreary uniformity, Bryson discovers a continent that he has become a stranger to. The Lost Continent is a classic of travel literature – hilariously, stomach-achingly funny, yet tinged with heartache in a vein that established Bryson as one of the best travel writers of his generation.
A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering America On The Appalachian Trail (1998)
The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America – majestic mountains, silent forests, sparkling lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the best place to go.
And Bill Bryson is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining guides you can hope to have along the journey. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he encounters along the way – as well as a couple of bears. Another classic, A Walk in the Woods, will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).
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Notes From A Small Island (1995)
After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Byrson decided to return to the United States. However, before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had for so long been his home.
Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and all the way back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irrevent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has invented zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie’s Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.
In A Sunburned Country (2000)
It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most infertile, and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents; and yet, Australia teems with life – a large portion of it quite deadly. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in a particularly nasty way than anywhere else.
Ignoring such dangers – and yet curiously obsessed by them – Bill Bryson sets out across Australia and promptly falls in love with the country in his book, In a Sunburned Country. The people are cheery, extroverted, quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging; their cities are clean and safe, and nearly always built on the water; their food is exquisite, their beer ice-cold, and the sun nearly always shines. Life simply doesn’t get much better than this.
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A Short History Of Nearly Everything (2003)
Bill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller; yet, even when he stays safely at home, he is unable to contain his curiosity about the world around him. In his book A Short History of Nearly Everything, he embarks to discover all he can about everything that has happened; from the Big Bang to the rise of civilisation – how we came from there, being nothing at all, to here, being us.
Undoubtedly one of the best Bill Bryson books, A Short History of Nearly Everything serves as an eye-opening journey through time and space, revealing the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid (2006)
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid is another one of the best Bill Bryson books, offering a hilarious and heartfelt account of his childhood in 1950s America. In this witty and nostalgic book, Bryson takes readers on a journey through his formative years in Des Moines, Iowa, weaving humour with sharp observations about mid-century American culture.
Packed with vivid anecdotes and larger-than-life tales, the memoir reveals Bryson’s unique perspective on growing up as a “superhero” kid armed with imagination and curiosity. Fans following a Bill Bryson reading order will find this memoir a whimsical departure from his travelogues, providing a deeper insight into the man behind these iconic nonfiction stories.
At Home: A Short History Of Private Life (2010)
Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. But, one day, he began to consider how little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home.
To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene, the bedroom of sex, death, and sleep, and the kitchen of nutrition, spice, and so on. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our homes, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows of every item of furniture we possess.
The Road To Little Dribbling: More Notes From A Small Island (2015)
Over twenty years prior to the release of The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson toured Britain to celebrate the kindly island that had become his home (see Notes from a Small Island). The hilarious book he wrote about that journey became one of the most beloved books of recent decades.
Now, marking his then-first travel book in fifteen years, Bryson sets out again to unearth the oddities and marvels of Britain with a long-awaited and equally charming journey across the small land that has become his home.
One Summer: America, 1927 (2013)
One Summer: America, 1927 is a standout in the best Bill Bryson books, offering a fascinating snapshot of a pivotal year in American history. In this richly detailed nonfiction work, Bryson explores the people, events, and cultural moments that defined the summer of 1927 – from Charles Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight to the Mississippi River flood and the rise of Babe Ruth.
Through his trademark wit and accessible storytelling, Bryson brings to life the excitement, challenges, and transformations of this vibrant era. One Summer provides a fascinating insight into history beyond Bryson’s travel writing, demonstrating his remarkable ability to turn complex subjects into engaging narratives.
The Body: A Guide For Occupants (2019)
In the bestselling prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson achieved the near-impossible by making the science of our world both understandable and entertaining to millions of people around the globe.
In his successor to the work, Bryson turns his attention inwards to explore the human body, how it functions, and its exceptional ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts and astonishing stories, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological makeup.
Neither Here Nor There: Travels In Europe (1991)
In Neither Here Nor There, Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul, right on the crossroads with Asia. Fluent in at least one language, he retraces his steps as a student twenty years ago.
Whether braving the homicidal motorists of Paris, being robbed by gypsises in Florence, attempting not to order tripe and eyeballs in a German restaurant, window-shopping in the sex shops of the Reeperbahn, or disputing the hotel bill in Copenhagen, Bryson takes in the sights, dissects the culture, and illuminates each place and person with his hilariously caustic observations. He even goes to Liechtenstein.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
