Like Bill Byrson, but not Bill Bryson

kylith

My dad's not a big reader, but he does enjoy Bill Bryson books. Since his retirement he has read his way through all of Bryson's books, except for A Short History (it's not his thing), and also McCarthy's Bar and The Road to McCarthy. He's now out of books and I'm out of ideas.

Can anyone recommend an author who's like Bryson, but not Bryson, but not too challenging.

nompere

Bryson has written in so many areas; popular science (A Short History of Nearly Everything), social history (At Home), linguistics (Mother Tongue and Made in America), autobiography (The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid), travel (various), and biography (Shakespeare). There are probably some I've missed.

You'll need to give a better idea of what your father enjoyed, and why A Short History wasn't his thing.

E.T.

Michael Palin's travel books might be worth a try. Bryson's one of my favourite authors - I'd love another travel book by him. I wish he'd write a book about Ireland!

jam_mac_jam

Paul Therouxs travel books are excellent if he likes that aspect of it.

randomguy

I'd say Paul Theroux might be a bit heavy for him, if he's not really into reading and going on the stuff he likes, but you never know.

Maybe Tony Hawks? Around Ireland with a Fridge is along the same lines as McCarthy's Bar, and as funny.
He'd probably like Are You Dave Gorman? as well.
And A Year in Provence, the original one, by Peter Mayle, maybe.

man.about.town

definitely get him a short history of nearly everything, you dont have to be into science to enjoy it, he links it up very well.

randomguy

And I recommended Dave Sedaris to someone else recently - his travel essays are hilarious, so long as your father is modern enough to deal with the fact that he's writing about moving to France with his boyfriend.

Earthhorse

randomguy wrote: »

Maybe Tony Hawks? Around Ireland with a Fridge is along the same lines as McCarthy's Bar, and as funny.
He'd probably like Are You Dave Gorman? as well.

Those are the two suggestions that sprung into my mind as well.

Additionally, I would venture Woody Allen's collected prose. A little different to the above perhaps but very funny all the same.

kylith

nompere wrote: »

Bryson has written in so many areas; popular science (A Short History of Nearly Everything), social history (At Home), linguistics (Mother Tongue and Made in America), autobiography (The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid), travel (various), and biography (Shakespeare). There are probably some I've missed.

You'll need to give a better idea of what your father enjoyed, and why A Short History wasn't his thing.

I should probably have been clearer on that; it's the travel books that he's read and enjoyed.

As for A Short History... simplified as it is it's just too much for him. He can about wrap his head around evolution as explained by David Attenborough, though he probably believes that evolution was put in motion by the Christian God, but get into anything more complex and he's completely lost.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks, I'll send him a selection of things soon.

Randomguy: does Sedaris go into the ins and outs of his relationship or is it more 'and my boyfriend was there too'? Dad's of the generation that thinks that homosexuals have something 'wrong' with them, but would feels sorry for them (and maybe a bit uncomfortable) rather than being a ranting bigot.

randomguy

It's stuff of the PG rather than 18's level.
Reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/Me-Talk-Pretty-One-Day/dp/0316776963

It's about families, and fathers, as well as travel, which might make it a bit more interesting.

ncmc

I adore Bill Bryson's travel books, wish he would return to that genre. The author that sprung to my mind too was Tony Hawks. Round Ireland with a fridge is funny and I really enjoyed A Piano in the Pyrennees, which is about him trying to relocate to a small French village.

chinomel

If he enjoys Bill Bryson then I suggest he will love the books by TOM SHARPE.
They are not travel based but they definitely have the same quirky humour that manages to turn the most normal of situations into a riot.
Over the years I have managed to embarrass my kids by dissolving into laughter while reading these books on the beach and keeping my wife awake at night while laughing in my sleep.
As a starter I suggest you try " The Throwback "
Good Luck.

tawfeeredux

Try French Revolutions by Tim Moore. Very funny.

Coriolanus

You could try a couple of lighter autobiographies. Alan Aldas in particular was a breeze to read and very funny, so similar in that sense to Bryson.

tim_holsters

tawfeeredux wrote: »

Try French Revolutions by Tim Moore. Very funny.

I second this. And also Spanish Steps by the same author, in fact anything by Tim Moore. Guaranteed laughs in all Tim's books.