The Road to Little Dribbling

Adventures of an American in Britain

By: Bill Bryson

Narrated by: Nathan Osgood

Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

A loving and hilarious—if occasionally spiky—valentine to Bill Bryson’s adopted country, Great Britain. Prepare for total joy and multiple episodes of unseemly laughter.

Twenty years ago, Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to discover and celebrate that green and pleasant land. The result was Notes from a Small Island, a true classic and one of the bestselling travel books ever written. Now he has traveled about Britain again, by bus and train and rental car and on foot, to see what has changed—and what hasn’t.

Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis in the south to Cape Wrath in the north, by way of places few travelers ever get to at all, Bryson rediscovers the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly singular country that he both celebrates and, when called for, twits. With his matchless instinct for the funniest and quirkiest and his unerring eye for the idiotic, the bewildering, the appealing, and the ridiculous, he offers acute and perceptive insights into all that is best and worst about Britain today.

Nothing is more entertaining than Bill Bryson on the road—and on a tear. The Road to Little Dribbling reaffirms his stature as a master of the travel narrative—and a really, really funny guy.

©2016 Bill Bryson (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Although he's now entering what he fondly calls his 'dotage,' the 64-year-old Bryson seems merely to have sharpened both his charms and his crotchets. As the title of The Road to Little Dribbling suggests, he remains devoted to Britain's eccentric place names as well as its eccentric pastimes." —Alida Becker, The New York Times Book Review

"[Y]ou could hardly ask for a better guide to Great Britain than Bill Bryson. Bryson’s new book is in most ways a worthy successor and sequel to his classic Notes From A Small Island. Like its predecessor, The Road to Little Dribbling is a travel memoir, combining adventures and observations from his travels around the island nation with recounting of his life there, off and mostly on, over the last four decades. Bryson is such a good writer that even if you don’t especially go in for travel books, he makes reading this book worthwhile."—Nancy Klingener, Miami Herald

"...Bryson’s capacity for wonder at the beauty of his adopted homeland seems to have only grown with time.... Britain is still his home four decades later, a period in which he went from lowly scribe at small-town British papers to best-selling travel writer. But he retains an outsider’s appreciation for a country that first struck him as 'wholly strange ... and yet somehow marvelous.”—Griff Witte, Washington Post

Bryson has gotten a bit too cranky.

I've read almost everything Bryson's written. This one was disappointing. In this book, Bryson complains a lot about a lot of things, many of which shouldn't bother him to the extent they appear to. He also seems a bit out of touch, for example when he asserts that running marathons to raise money for charity is common in England but wholly foreign to Americans. The audio book would have probably been helped if Bryson had read it himself. The man chosen to read in his place is too severe.

Disappointing

I have been a big Bryson fan for many years so awaited this new volume with great anticipation. In my opinion, it did not deliver. First we have a narrator who cannot pronounce some of the place names in the book - Bill Bryson is the best narrator for his own books. More importantly, however, there is something missing in the whole tome of the book. Yes, there are some funny bits, but there is too much complaining and making fun of people for my liking. I got to the end but I won't be listening to it again - and will think twice about buying another Bill Bryson book.

Okay, but lots of complaining

As others have said, spends half of the book complaining about things. As someone considering a trip to Britain, it made me think it would just not be worth the hassle. Too much traffic, all the good stuff is gone, according to Bryson. Why travel if you hate it so much?

Love everything BB.

Loved it all, story, travelogue, humor, voice, as I do all his audible books. Good for every mood. Ready to listen to all of them again.

Not as good as other Bryson titles

I much prefer that Bryson read his own books, those are definitely my favorites. And this book seemed less entertaining overall. Stick with A Brief History of Nearly Everything or his Collector's Edition.

Can't even make it through due to horrible reading

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Whose idea was it to have Nathan Osgood narrate this book? Horrible reading. All humor lost in the narration. I have read every book Bill has written, and was anxiously awaiting this release. Point blank this reading does him a horrible disservice.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nathan Osgood?

Bill is by far the best at reading his own books. PLEASE have him read it.

Disappointed

I miss Bill's narration. This reader did not do the book justice. Find someone else!

Could be a little tedious at times.

I love Bill Bryson . This though could be a bit tedious at times..more funny stories would have made it more enjoyable.

Still my favorite!

Bryson is masterful at not only describing places and people, but his use of language as it relates to his conclusions is a joy to read. He will always be my favorite, both for actual reading and for the audio versions.

Osgood get sa big thumbs-up as well!

WishBryson had narrated it himself

But overall a delightful, and occasionally laugh-out-loud read. Made me want to visit the same places. A nice follow-up to Small Island and Home.