At Home and Abroad - Bill Bryson at ISU

Yesterday evening, Jonathan and I traveled to Ames to have dinner with my parents and grandparents for my mother's birthday. Then the younger four of us (although my grandparents are forever Young) went to Stephens Auditorium at Iowa State University for a free lecture. The speaker was author and Iowa native Bill Bryson.

Bill Bryson has been a favorite author of mine for many years. I believe the first book I read (and have reread more than once) was A Walk in the Woods, a humorous tale of hiking the Appalachian Trail. Other favorites of mine are At Home: A Short History of Private Life and Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way.

I happened to run into a friend of mine and the five of us sat together. Bill Bryson spoke for an hour, telling who he is and reading passages from several of his books. Following that was a thirty minute Q&A session. We left after that because we drove home that night (got home at midnight), but later there was also a book signing. It would have been really fun to meet him but at that point sleep was more valuable.

Just as his books are funny and informative to read, he was a funny and entertaining speaker. The experience definitely solidifies me as a Bill Bryson fan.

Here is the Iowa State Events page about the event.