A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
16 journalers for this copy...
I read this several years ago and love Bill Bryson's books.
A very kind BookCrosser noticed "The Poisonwood Bible" on my wish list and sent me a hard cover copy by airmail as a RABCK. By chance, while I was browsing around our second-hand book store I came across this book which is on her wish list. Sending via Canada Post tomorrow to California.
A very kind BookCrosser noticed "The Poisonwood Bible" on my wish list and sent me a hard cover copy by airmail as a RABCK. By chance, while I was browsing around our second-hand book store I came across this book which is on her wish list. Sending via Canada Post tomorrow to California.
WOW! What a lovely and unexpected surprise! Thank you, Bluenoser, for fulfilling one of my wishes. I love everything I've ever read by Bill Bryson, and just last night I pointed out this book to my hubby at the bookstore and said, "I need that one!". Can't wait to read it. Thanks again!
UPDATE: What a fun book to read! It made me want to put on my hiking boots and head out into the hills. Thanks again!
Sent to BXer DSM as a RABCK 4/7/04.
UPDATE: What a fun book to read! It made me want to put on my hiking boots and head out into the hills. Thanks again!
Sent to BXer DSM as a RABCK 4/7/04.
Arrived today - can't wait to read it!
Marking this book as availabe as I'm going to being reading it tonight as part of my 2004 reading challange! Will be back to post again when finished!
Not only does this book make me want to go hiking - it has made me appreciate the work that has gone into the making AT! One of my goals in life has been to one day backpack through Europe - perhaps I need to reconsider this and maybe hit the ole AT instead! ;o)
What a great book with many laugh out loud moments, and quite a bit of our history thrown in there as well! I LOVED it!
What a great book with many laugh out loud moments, and quite a bit of our history thrown in there as well! I LOVED it!
Journal Entry 6 by DSM at Post Office in Bad Axe, Michigan -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, May 27, 2004
Released on Thursday, May 27, 2004 at Post Office in Bad Axe, Michigan Controlled Releases.
Sending off to EvaLowrain in trade for Gnostic Gospels! Enjoy it!!
Read and Release - that's the game! ;o)
Sending off to EvaLowrain in trade for Gnostic Gospels! Enjoy it!!
Read and Release - that's the game! ;o)
Thanks for sending this! My husband also wants to read it - he's a BCer.
Not a big deal here. Evalowrain is my wife so it's not like this was a miraculous catch. :)
This was a joy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed Bryson's description of the characters and places he met while hiking the AT. His story could have descended into tedious "rocks and trees" rambling, but throughout he keeps the narrative lively. Interspersed with the travel journal, describing what happened and what happened next, he offers a fair amount of history -- natural history and the other kind -- about the lands through which the trail wends. He casts light on the ravages pollution and other rapacious resource management failures are wreaking on the eastern wilderness. Extinctions of both plant and animal species are accelerating at an alarming rate. Habitats are being destroyed. Though the book was written nearly ten years ago, I doubt very much that it has gotten better.
Still, I loved the book. It stoked a desire to strap a pack onto my back and start wandering.
Still, I loved the book. It stoked a desire to strap a pack onto my back and start wandering.
Just recatching this from my hubby. I plan to read it soon.
This is a fantastic, funny read. Bill Bryson manages to intermingle his personal experience with environmental information, humorous anecdotes, poetic passages and introspective ramblings - but, impressively, all without ever boring the reader. Frankly, I was a bit skeptical about reading a book about someone's hiking experience. I mean, I love hiking, but you know, trees and hills, trees and hills isn't exactly exciting material. And if anyone else had written it, I'm not sure I could've finished it. But there's something compelling about a middle-aged man and his recovered alcoholic middle-age buddy tackling the elements, particularly since they hadn't done this sort of thing before. There were passages where I couldn't control my laughing - very bad, considering my baby was trying to sleep in the next room. Anyway, it definitely is in my top five books I've read this year and I'll recommend it to anyone who will listen. Thank you to everyone who shared this book and I'll be passing it on to a good home soon!
PMed bugandbean about this book.
PMed bugandbean about this book.
Off to bugandbean today! Enjoy the adventure!
Also, hi bluenoser! See, I already wound up with one of your books. I'm the one sending Four to Score, btw.
Also, hi bluenoser! See, I already wound up with one of your books. I'm the one sending Four to Score, btw.
Received this today - thanks EvaLowrain! Reading all the entries, I'm popping this one toward the top of the TBR pile! BTW, can anyone explain the strange pock-markings all over the cover? Very mysterious!
I'm glad I bumped this to the top, past many other long-suffering books. I loved it. Unlike other journalers, however, it did not make me want to go hiking. In fact, I've never not wanted to hike so much in my life. Sleeping in tents, thirst, noodles for dinner every night, bears, treacherous terrain, hypothermia - all not my idea of a good time! But I really like reading about it, from the comfort of my own home. Bryson is a great storyteller, and he's brilliant at interweaving history and ecology, plus a few well-deserved jabs at the National Park Service.
I'm going to be on the lookout for his other books, and will be releasing this one in some way soon.
I'm going to be on the lookout for his other books, and will be releasing this one in some way soon.
Thanks bugandbean! This is already a well-traveled book. Great! Just like DSM said, "Read and Release - that's the game!"
Wanna hear a secret? I have already read this book. But I loved it so much (and I'm such a BC nerd) that I wanted a copy on my own shelf. I have big plans for it, don't worry. I think I'm going to try and reread it (at the expense of Mt. TBR of course!) and I'll try to convince MrBish to read it. Then I will find something really cool to do with it. Maybe a bookring. I'm just so exited to have a copy in my hot little hands!
There is something about it that made me laugh. There are indentations in the front cover of the book. After close inspection, it looks like someone wrote with a ballpoint pen on a piece of paper with the book behind. But when I first saw them, they looked like teethmarks! Considering the cover picture of the bear, I thought it was pretty funny! That would have been a fun idea for the publisher too. To make a cover that looks like it has been chewed by a bear. Hee!
Wanna hear a secret? I have already read this book. But I loved it so much (and I'm such a BC nerd) that I wanted a copy on my own shelf. I have big plans for it, don't worry. I think I'm going to try and reread it (at the expense of Mt. TBR of course!) and I'll try to convince MrBish to read it. Then I will find something really cool to do with it. Maybe a bookring. I'm just so exited to have a copy in my hot little hands!
There is something about it that made me laugh. There are indentations in the front cover of the book. After close inspection, it looks like someone wrote with a ballpoint pen on a piece of paper with the book behind. But when I first saw them, they looked like teethmarks! Considering the cover picture of the bear, I thought it was pretty funny! That would have been a fun idea for the publisher too. To make a cover that looks like it has been chewed by a bear. Hee!
Because I love this book and I want other people to love it too, I'm going to send it traveling in a ring! I am into low stress bookcrossing, so please don't feel like you have to rush. If you need to keep the book more than a few weeks, please just make a journal entry to let us know when you'll be able to finish and pass it on. Enjoy!
Here is the list. I may do some rearranging as the book travels, but I will always do my best to honor shipping preferences.
-- WelshHelen - UK (pref UK/Europe)
-- Alvhyttan - Sweden (pref Europe)
-- em64 - Finland (INT)
-- thegoaliegirl
-- kbgoffe - Oregon (US/Can)
-- raralovestoread (US)
-- Guinneth - New Hampshire
-- Angelfirestar - Nebraska
-- Niksu - Finland (INT)
-- menalima - Portugal (Eur)
-- lesezeichen - Germany (INT)
...and back to me!
Here is the list. I may do some rearranging as the book travels, but I will always do my best to honor shipping preferences.
-- WelshHelen - UK (pref UK/Europe)
-- Alvhyttan - Sweden (pref Europe)
-- em64 - Finland (INT)
-- thegoaliegirl
-- kbgoffe - Oregon (US/Can)
-- raralovestoread (US)
-- Guinneth - New Hampshire
-- Angelfirestar - Nebraska
-- Niksu - Finland (INT)
-- menalima - Portugal (Eur)
-- lesezeichen - Germany (INT)
...and back to me!
Journal Entry 17 by mlbish at bookring in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Released 18 yrs ago (2/21/2006 UTC) at bookring in bookring, Bookring -- Controlled Releases
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
And it's off! A Walk in the Woods is going to take A Swim Across the Pond. I hope you enjoy it, WelshHelen.
And it's off! A Walk in the Woods is going to take A Swim Across the Pond. I hope you enjoy it, WelshHelen.
Arrived safely today. Thank you, mlbish. Would you believe, someone gave me a copy a couple of weeks ago, so I'll post this one straight on to Alvhyttan so as to move the ring quickly :-) Thanks again.
Arrived safely today. Thank you, mlbish. Would you believe, someone gave me a copy a couple of weeks ago, so I'll post this one straight on to Alvhyttan so as to move the ring quickly :-) Thanks again.
Posted to Alvhyttan today.
This book arrived here yesterday. Thanks’ for sending it WelshHelen and thanks’ for organizing this ring mlbish.I’m looking forward to read this book and my hubby would like to take a look in it too.
Maybe this book will go with us on a walk in the Swedish woods.
I really would like to start reading it NOW, but I have too many bookring books here; it has to wait. So I am really glad you made that note in the journal, mlbish, that you are “into low stress bookcrossing”.
It might take about five weeks before I can send this to the next person on the list. Hope that is OK.
I will make a note in this journal when something happens to this book during it’s stay here in Sweden.
Today “A Walk in the Woods” took a rest in a Swedish meadow and got attacked by a wild animal. (Click on the pics)
This book has now been on a short hike along Svartån (The Black River) near Örebro, Sweden.Had too many bookraybooks here when this book arrived, but I'm reading it now and I like it!
In about 1½-2 weeks it will be sent on to the next participant on the list.
In this picture you can see my hiking partner in life (my hubby). He is carrying ”A Walk in the Woods” in his backpack during a walk we had in the Swedish woods, at a nature reserve near our home. He had some thoughts about reading this book, but that wasn’t necessary because I was so excited about what I was reading that I told him all during our meals, during our trips with the car, during our hikes and when he wanted to go to sleep.As you understand I really liked this book. It was both an informative and a funny read. And I am very impressed by Bryson and his friend, hiking this trail without that much of preparation. It gives hope. Maybe even I will be able to walk a short part of the Appalachian Trail some day.
I will send this book to em64 tomorrow.
Perfect timing - finished a ring book yesterday evening and this one arrived today. And it is a national holiday tomorrow (Midsummer's Eve) so I'll have a long weekend and time to read.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. It was not only funny, it also gave me a lot of information about the history of the AT, just a perfect mix. It was almost if I had been hiking with Bryson and Katz along the AT. I became interested enough to search for pics of the Trail in the internet and it looks just amazing. I was very amused when I found on the official site updates about floods in Delaware Water Gap or warnings about crowdedness at certain times - both mentioned by Bryson.
Have pm'd thegoaliegirl and waiting for her address.
Have pm'd thegoaliegirl and waiting for her address.
The book will continue its journey; it will be mailed today to thegoaliegirlie in the US. Happy Reading!
This book arrived today. Have two books ahead of it (one I'm reading at work, the other at home)... But I should get to it soon. Can't wait to read it!
I absolutely loved this book. Finished it a few days ago. Reading it made me want to consider walking the trail myself, but I doubt that would ever happen. I did do 7 miles of coastal mountain trails in Italy one hot day, but that was without a heavy pack. The book was funny and well written and thouroughly enjoyable. Having read Neither here nor there first, I knew who Katz was. :) Thanks for sharing this book.
kbgoffe has asked to be skipped, so I will send to raralovestoread once I get their addy.
kbgoffe has asked to be skipped, so I will send to raralovestoread once I get their addy.
Mailed to raralovestoread today. Was out of town this weekend, or I'd have sent it sooner.
This book arrived in the mail today. I will start reading it tonight. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoyed this book. I've never been hiking and don't have an interest in doing so, but Bryson is such an engaging storyteller that I was thoroughly engrossed in the book. This is the first book I've read by Bill Bryson, and I would definitely like to read others. Thanks for sharing, mlbish!
Today I mailed this book to Guinneth in New Hampshire. Enjoy!
Received this today - thank you! I'm in the middle of another ring book and will start this as soon as I finish that. :)
I finished this book yesterday on vacation, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. I literally could not put it down - what a terrific read! I love how Bryson interspersed his personal experiences on the trail with bits of history and environmental fact.
Mailed to Angelfirestar today. Enjoy!
Del. conf.# 0305 0830 0001 2072 5802
Del. conf.# 0305 0830 0001 2072 5802
Just recieved. Will read ASAP.
Interesting in spots. But it had a tendency to drag. Longer read than I thought it would be.
Sorry for the delay. It will be sent soon.
Sorry for the delay. It will be sent soon.
Journal Entry 39 by AngelfireStar at Via Mail in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Nebraska USA on Friday, November 10, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (11/10/2006 UTC) at Via Mail in -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings, Nebraska USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
sent to Niksu
sorry for the delay
sent to Niksu
sorry for the delay
The book is in Finland again! Will start reading right away. Thanks AngelfireStar for sending.
I finished this yesterday and liked a lot. Even me who likes to think "why walk when you can run" started to see walking in a different light. I do have hiking boots already so never know what the next summer brings.
It was interesting to read how Bryson's and Katz's relationship changed during the hike. I was quite sure they don't get along at all. You would think that you need to know the hiking partner quite well to enjoy that kind of trip.
Thanks for sharing this great book. Menalima has asked to be skipped so it's on its way to Germany.
It was interesting to read how Bryson's and Katz's relationship changed during the hike. I was quite sure they don't get along at all. You would think that you need to know the hiking partner quite well to enjoy that kind of trip.
Thanks for sharing this great book. Menalima has asked to be skipped so it's on its way to Germany.
Journal Entry 42 by lesezeichen from Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Sunday, December 3, 2006
The book has arrived and I'm looking forward to reading it, thanks to everyone!
Journal Entry 43 by lesezeichen from Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany on Saturday, December 9, 2006
I enjoyed this book. If you like travelling, nature, geography and hiking it is of course very interesting to follow the "adventures" of Bill and his friend, especially as hiking the Appalachian trail seems to be a far cry from the kind of walking we usually do in Europe with a pub around the corner for lunch and a hot shower and a nice restaurant awaiting you in the evening. I also liked the way Bryson interwove anecdotes about the history of the trail and its most famous exploits, the states they were crossing and his criticism of the way the National Parks are run. Having said that I am not so keen on his famous humour which I find a bit condescending most of the time (but I still had to smile here and there) ;-) A good book.
