Dear Bill Bryson
Footnotes from a Small Island
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Narrated by:
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Ben Aitken
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By:
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Ben Aitken
About this listen
An irreverent homage to the '95 travel classic, from the author of The Gran Tour.
In 2013, travel writer Ben Aitken decided to follow in the footsteps of his hero - literally - and started a journey around the UK, tracing the trip taken by Bill Bryon in his classic tribute to the British Isles, Notes from a Small Island.
Staying at the same hotels, ordering the same food and even spending the same amount of time in the bath, Aitken's homage - updated and with a new preface for 2022 - is filled with wit, insight and humour.
©2022 Ben Aitken (P)2022 W F HowesListeners also enjoyed...
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"It would be wrong to view this book as just a highly accomplished homage to a personal hero. Aitken's politics, as much as his humour, are firmly in the spotlight, and Dear Bill Bryson achieves more than its title (possibly even its author) intended." (Manchester Review)
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My Twenty-Five Years in Provence
- Reflections on Then and Now
- By: Peter Mayle
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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A celebration of 25 years of Provençal living - of lessons learned and changes observed - with his final book, Peter Mayle has crafted a lasting love letter to his adopted home, marked by his signature warmth, wit, and humor.
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The narrator ruins it for me.
- By Flossiesmommy on 07-05-18
By: Peter Mayle
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Maeve's Times
- In Her Own Words
- By: Maeve Binchy
- Narrated by: Kate Binchy
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity - revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.
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A GLIMPSE THROUGH MAEVE'S LOOKING GLASS
- By jstrfic on 08-08-17
By: Maeve Binchy
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Lord James Harrington and the Winter Mystery
- By: Lynn Florkiewicz
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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1957. Lord James Harrington and his wife, Beth, run a country hotel in the village of Cavendish, deep in the heart of West Sussex. James and Beth are discussing the latest Cavendish Players production, The Devil Incarnate, when their cleaner informs them that farmer Alec Grimes is missing.
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I'm Officially Hooked On Lord Harrington
- By John on 12-18-17
By: Lynn Florkiewicz
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Paris to the Moon
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
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Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-lined boulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking façades around every corner: in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured the American imagination for as long as there have been Americans.
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Wish this wasn't abridged!!
- By Sarah D. on 03-25-17
By: Adam Gopnik
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Flesh Wounds
- By: Richard Glover
- Narrated by: Richard Glover
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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A mother who invented her past, a father who was often absent, a son who wondered if this could really be his family...Richard Glover's favourite dinner-party game is called 'Who's Got the Weirdest Parents?' It's a game he always thinks he'll win. There was his mother, a deluded snob who made up large swathes of her past and who ran away with Richard's English teacher, a Tolkien devotee, nudist and stuffed toy collector.
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Such a Meaningful Reflection
- By Awarenessing on 11-28-15
By: Richard Glover
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How It All Began
- By: Penelope Lively
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true.
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Wonderful and beautifully written
- By Molly-o on 02-15-12
By: Penelope Lively
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Missing Susan
- By: Sharyn McCrumb
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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When Rowan Rover is offered $50,000 to murder a woman on his September Mystery Tour, he is surprised to find himself accepting the offer. The thought of committing murder chills him, until he meets the beautiful Susan Cohen. After days of listening to her nonstop chatter, with insults tossed in every direction, Rowan reaches a startling conclusion: she is someone he would like to kill.
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Anyone who has taken a package tour can relate.
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-30-17
By: Sharyn McCrumb
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Lost on Planet China
- By: J. Maarten Troost
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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When the travel bug bit, J. Maarten Troost took on the world's most populous and intriguing nation. As Troost relates his gonzo adventure - dodging deadly drivers in Shanghai, eating yak in Tibet, deciphering restaurant menus (offering local favorites such as cattle penis with garlic), and visiting with Chairman Mao (still dead) - he reveals a vast, complex country on the brink of transformation that will soon shape the way we all work, live, and think.
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I love Troost but...
- By Abigail on 02-25-09
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Time Pieces
- A Dublin Memoir
- By: John Banville
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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As much about the life of the city as it is about a life lived, sometimes, in the city, John Banville's "quasi-memoir" is as layered, emotionally rich, witty, and unexpected as any of his novels. Born and bred in a small town a train ride away from Dublin, Banville saw the city as a place of enchantment when he was a child, a birthday treat, the place where his beloved, eccentric aunt lived.
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‘loved it!
- By SandyK on 02-24-24
By: John Banville
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44 Scotland Street
- By: Alexander McCall Smith
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The brilliant Alexander McCall Smith became an international sensation with his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels. His award-winning wit, made famous through that series, is fully on display in 44 Scotland Street.
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Smith's answer to Maupin
- By Amazon Customer on 10-23-05
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You'll stop at Europe's most diverting and historic locales and view the Old World through Bryson's tourist eye view in this affectionate, blisteringly insightful, and riotously funny pilgrimage from the frozen wastes of Scandinavia to the chaotic tumult of Istanbul.
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reader beware
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What listeners say about Dear Bill Bryson
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Barbara Richards
- 08-22-24
A Grand Triumph
This book makes me want to go back, across the pond, and visit the UK, again. Aitken goes beyond the famous, phone boxes, and the double-decker buses, to weave an account that may inspire one, to, also, follow, in Bryson's footsteps.
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- Jacob Nance
- 05-24-22
Very nicely done!
I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read (listen to) more books from Ben.
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- A. BAKA
- 06-16-24
Liked it actually
After getting used to the writer’s quirky humour, it is really interesting and a nice overview of UK. Natives will understand more but good for non natives as well
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- susan w
- 01-20-24
Narration distracts from content
The intent was intriguing. I was curious to see what a later journey discovered that was same and different from Bryson's original. However Aitken's speech rhythm, dropping down at the end of each sentence becomes dreary. He does seem depressed by much of his travels. Even enthusiastic reviews have the same down tone. I gave up about two thirds through .
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- John R. Galloway Jr.
- 08-02-23
Not funny, just boring
Sadly, at least with this example, Ben Aitken shows himself to be an even worse narrator than he is an author, and he is not a very good author. I have not listened to Bryson's Notes From A Small Island, but of the ones to which I have listened they make me chukle and Bryson is a decent narrator. I can not recall a single moment of amusement listening to Aitken's 8.5 hrs of droning. The last 2 hrs are a little better but not by much. I did manage to listen to the entire thing so that gets from 1 star up to 2 stars.
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- I. Sherman
- 11-29-23
Nope
I love Bill Bryson’s work; I did NOT love this. While Bryson writes with wit, charm and a sparkle, Aitken comes across as pretentious, negative and easily disappointed by anything and everything. His narration doesn’t make up for it as he delivers a lifeless performance that seems to emphasize his negativity. If you like Bryson, give this a miss.
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