Week 5, Part 2

First, Bill Bryson described the possibilities of mountain lions living in New England, and how pointless hunting has led to the extinction of many species of birds. Returning to the story, Bill met Chicken John, who was famous for somehow losing the AT. Before separating, Bill reminded Chicken John that he was walking in the wrong direction.

While hiking, Bill became very, very hot, but he finally came to a Burger King, where he bought a very large Coke. Later, he ran into a man with a handheld called "Enviro Monitor," which could measure eighty values, which were mostly useless.

As Bill was hiking the White Mountains, a mist came and it became cold. He realized that he had forgotten his waterproofs, and he began to worry about hypothermia. As he walked, he was getting cold and wet, and every time he looked at his watch, it read the same time! Bill was sure he was losing his mind, and he described several strange effects hypothermia can have on the brain. When he finally got to a lodge, he realized that his watch was stuck.

Then he came to Mount Washington, where it was so windy that you could sometimes get blown into the air! Bill made a long description of the history of hotels at Mount Washington.


A Walk in the Woods has a pattern for each chapter, it seems. Bryson will start by telling a specific story of someone who was in the same area that Bill is in. This expands into a topic spanning about three or four pages long. When the monologue has finally ended, Bill will return to the story and describe his experience hiking this particular area, and will add various facts, figures, and anecdotes. Finally, he will usually start over again with a topic which will continue until the chapter ends.

Now, I have enjoyed this book without a doubt. Bill’s hiking story will span just enough pages to keep me reading. The problem is that now Katz is gone. Since Bill has been day-hiking, he’s been alone for the most part, and the book is starting to get dull. Chapter 17 was an exception, as the story was fairly entertaining, although it made me feel somewhat queazy (I still feel somewhat lightheaded at the moment, so perhaps it wasn’t the book’s fault). I hope that Bill will hurry up and go home, so the time can speed up to a week per page until Katz joins up with him again.

In a way, though, Katz’s absence has been refreshing. His mouth has been the source of the majority of swearing in A Walk in the Woods. But although Katz f-words have been annoying, you’d think I’d be used to it. I’ve heard worse on the random online forums that I sometimes talk on. Also, Katz’s language isn’t usually presented in a positive light, and the author doesn’t ever stoop to his level of language. Bill prefers to use “goodness” instead (which I actually find more offensive than the f-word, but I won’t go into right that now).

So in general, I miss Katz and hope that his personality re-enters the book very soon.

Week 5, Part 1

I replied to http://ahmfarah.blogspot.com/ and http://hannners.blogspot.com/

Week 4, Part 2

It was raining outside, and Bill was still worried about bears, so they went to a shelter for the night. However, another group of hikers met up with them, and they were loud and obnoxious:
"I've never done this before."
"What--camp in a shelter?"
"No, look through binoculars with my glasses on."
"Oh, I thought you meant camp in a shelter--ha! ha! ha!"
"No, I meant look through binoculars with my glasses on--ha! ha! ha!" (224-225; ch. 12)
They were so annoying that Katz and Bill left the shelter and camped in the rain!

Bill and Katz were picked up by Bill's family and they went home. When Bill got home, he still wanted to camp. He got in his car and drove along the AT to places they were skipping, and he hiked small portions of it. However, he didn't enjoy it much.

Bill reached Centralia. Because there was so much coal under the town, a fire had been burning under it for the last thirty-four years, and he read that it would continue for a thousand years. The town appeared to be completely abandoned, and steam was rising from the ground. He left.

Later, he went to a zinc mill near Palmerton, Pennsylvania. He wanted to see the mountain which had no vegetation thanks to pollution from the mill. He got into trouble with a security guard, but he eventually got away.

In Chapter 15, Bill goes on and on about how mountains are created, and that we are still in an ice age.

Week 4, Part 1

I think the quote that best explains the tone of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods is, "'... trust is such a kind of bedrock part of hiking the AT, you know? I thru-hiked myself in 1987, so I know how much you come to rely on the goodness of strangers. The trail is really all about that, isn't it?'" (242; ch. 13). Although Bill didn't actually say that quote, I think it's important because throughout the book, Bill has been running into many different people, and it has a large impact on him. Sometimes people give him food, keep him company, and give him rides, while others annoy him so much that he gives up his shelter to get away. Without these people, the trail would be very dull. Although nature is fascinating, you need to have someone to share it with.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

If you ask me, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a very interesting book. Jean's condition was very stressful to think about, and I was glad when he started turning his head 90 degrees and humming a tune. Every time I put the book down, I felt a great sense of relief. I can move! I don't think I can ever complain about my body again (not that I usually do).

I'm not sure what inspired Jean to write this book. Perhaps he was trying to show that people should be allowed to die if their only other option is to remain in locked-in syndrome. Or the opposite: Jean could be trying to show that no matter how the body is damaged, the human mind is still free.

Whatever the case, the author must have had a very strong will to write the book, because he did so by blinking his eye. It's hard to imagine how frustrating it must have been to blink on the wrong letter, and having no way to say, "Oops!" Even if Claude was reciting the alphabet slowly, I have a feeling that you've blinked a couple times without purposely doing so, and it was most likely the same for Jean. I assume that his eye would start to hurt after a page or two. Also, what if he wanted to go back and change something? Or if he didn't think of an idea instantly, wouldn't Claude just keep on going? "U, L, O, M, D..." Yep. Very frustrating stuff.

I found Jean's dream to be interesting. It's often surprising how much sense dreams make when you remember them. In his dream, Jean was functioning normally, but when the situation became dangerous, he suddenly couldn't move or talk. It really shows that no matter how high the butterfly can fly, it still bangs into the diving bell.

Now that Mr. Hatten has brought up three unimaginably terrible situations, would you rather: a: be stuck on the top floor of a burning skyscraper, b: be stuck in a dark submarine at the bottom of the sea, or c: have locked-in syndrome with an messed-up face?

Week 3, Part 2

My opinion of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods has been usually fairly high. Bill has been trying throughout the book to give the message that the beauties of nature are slowly disappearing thanks to Americans. I think he does a good job of conveying that, but at the same time, he tends to go on and on. The story of hiking with Katz has been both interesting and humorous, and it stops you from putting the book down. At the start of most chapters, Bill will explain a specific topic relating to nature, which he will continue monologuing about until you want to skip ahead. His arguments are always convincing, but I think he needs to know his limits.

Another factor worth noting is that Bryson never censors anything. Katz swears to the point that even Mrs. Wangensteen wouldn't read it aloud (Maybe). I find this somewhat strange, because unlike movies or comic books, the author doesn't need to use annoying bleeps or $*@^%$s: "Katz swore." Perhaps Bill just enjoys surprising the reader. Whatever the case, I find many statements in the book offensive, and I wish Bryson would be slightly more omitting.

Similarly, he goes into the most gruesome details of stories that he read, or simply something that Katz added. This goes to the point at which I will avoid providing an example to keep myself from feeling queazy, at the possible risk of Mr. Hatten docking points.

On a more positive note, Bill has a wonderful sense of humor. He is very witty, and he adds comic relief to moments that would otherwise be very depressing. Humor is definitely what sets this book aside from dozens of other hiking books, and what most likely won the title "New York Times Bestseller."

As reassuring as it is to know that this is non-fiction, I have a hard time picturing many of the events in the book occurring in real life. Examples of this are when Stephen Katz was chased by a "600 pound" man, when he and Bill got a ride stuffed in the back of a drunk couple's car, and when Katz stayed completely calm and casual during the night when a bear was staring in their direction. Although all of these occurrences are certainly possible, the events create an atmosphere similar to Seinfeld.

Overall, A Walk in the Woods is a very balanced and interesting book, and I look forward to continue reading it! I think that it is about to get more interesting, as Bryson just spotted the staring bear eyes that had been waiting on the cover up until now.

Week 3, Part 1

1) Bill and Katz were covered in mud, it was raining constantly, and they felt awful. They decided to go to Gatlinburg, which is a city near the Smokey Mountains. There they got clean and they ate good food, although it cost a lot. Bill gave many figures showing how everything in America is new and tacky.

While Katz was buying bootlaces, Bill saw a map of the AT. The map was four feet long, and they had only gone about two inches. Instead of getting upset, they felt happy; if the Appalachian Trail was really that long, they wouldn't need to walk the entire way.

Bill decided that they could skip to Virginia. They called a cab driver, and they rented a car, in which they drove to Virginia.

Throughout Chapter Nine, the author went on and on about all of the people who had walked the entire trail, ranging from an overweight person to a blind man.

2) According to biblio.com, Bill Bryson was born on December 8, 1951 in Des Moines, Iowa. Starting in 1972, he hiked around Europe, first by himself and later with Stephen Katz (not his real name). He worked at a psychiatric hospital where he met and married a nurse named Cynthia.

He went to the United States to complete his college degree and then returned to England in 1977. He became the chief copy editor of the business section of The Times. His book Notes from a Small Island was voted as the book that best sums up the British identity. He has also written books on science and the English language.

http://www.randomhouse.com/anchor/catalog/results.pperl?authorid=3633
http://www.biblio.com/authors/669/Bill_Bryson_Biography.html