• The Road to Little Dribbling

  • Adventures of an American in Britain
  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
  • Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (1,578 ratings)

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The Road to Little Dribbling  By  cover art

The Road to Little Dribbling

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
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Editorial reviews

"We have a tradition in this country of literary teddy bears - John Betjeman and Alan Bennett among them - whose cutting critiques of the absurdities and hypocrisies of the British people are carried out with such wit and good humour that they become national treasures. Bill Bryson is American but is now firmly established in the British teddy bear pantheon." (Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express)

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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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

What listeners say about The Road to Little Dribbling

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

No Bryson?? Alas, another disappointed fan

Bryson without Bryson's voice doesn't work for me. As others have already detailed, his unique voice is essential in conveying the tone of his work. As a long-time fan, I just clicked on "Buy" as soon at this book was released without listening to a sample or paying attention to the narrator. That's my fault for "assuming". This one is being returned for credit. If reissued with Bill Bryson narrating I'll most likely purchase anew. Sorry Bill. I really tried but it just doesn't play properly without your narration.

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109 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Bryson should narrate! No question about it!

I've just started listening, and this reader is okay. But Bill is great at narrating his own work, and I was fully expecting that I'd hear his voice. I never expected for a moment to hear someone else. We need another version with a Bryson narration.

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64 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Too much snark, not enough heart

Would you listen to The Road to Little Dribbling again? Why?

I had to tap out with two hours remaining. Bryson's travel narratives have always included a level of snark, but he overspiced the soup this time, I'm afraid. I get enough of the "grumpy old Boomer" act from my parents, thanks.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

A bit more of the heart and humor found in A Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country. Also, the completely unnecessary and transphobic swipe at Caitlyn Jenner should never have made it through editing. Say what you will about her as a person (and I don't hold her in any esteem in that regard), but there's no call for labeling her "Bruce Jenner in drag."

What does Nathan Osgood bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Osgood's reading was excellent, and really helped elevate the material. He has a masterful command of the various regional British accents, and that was put to excellent use as the narrative moved about the island.

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39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Oh Bill, why?

I love Bill Bryson and have listened to all of his books. Most, unlike this one, are narrated by Bryson himself in his mild, sleepy tones. Maybe it's the different narrator (who does a fine job) or maybe it's the decades that have passed since his earlier tours through Britain, but I found this book to be more "grumpy old fart" than bemused traveller. He wraps up the book with a loving tribute to his adopted home, but so much of what has gone before this chapter is whiny, condescending, and smug. He loves Britain but hates its shopkeepers and hourly wage workers, its politicians, publicans and hoteliers. In fact the only Britains he seems to like are well-educated immigrants like himself. I hope he will cheer the heck up in future and write more great reads like his earlier travelogues and At Home.

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37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

What a dissapointment!!

What disappointed you about The Road to Little Dribbling?

I love Bill Bryson and have bought all his audio books and listened to most of them many times. First of all this book isn't narrated by him, strike 1. Next he he spends half his time complaining about things and the other half talking about what he wrote in Notes from a small Island, or talking about previous works, thanking people or endorsing products. He even admits at the beginning he practically wrote this book just for the money. He said he wouldn't visit previous places from Notes from a Small Island, but he did or else talked about it endlessly.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I don't know yet.

What didn’t you like about Nathan Osgood’s performance?

He's okay, but I was expecting Bill Bryson.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There were moments with some of his old charm but overall I found myself thrinking about other things for most of the book and I can't really remember any place he talked about, mostly because he didn't talk about the places.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book, even after reading some negative reviews. I just couldn't. So glad I got it through Audible and can return it and didn't spend a lot of money on a physical book that was far far less than I expected.

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly delightful

For the good of mankind, Bill Bryson needs to be permanently chained to his desk and forced to write non-stop for the rest of his life. While this might sound cruel, the benefit to mankind would far outweigh any such concerns. The only exception would be when he is travelling for his writing, and even then I think the desk should go with him just to remind him what's up.

The Road to Little Dribbling is the latest book from a man who has yet to write a bad one, and is bristling with the sort of excellence that I, and his many fans, have come to expect. Hilarious, insightful and interesting, The Road To Little Dribbling is highly recommended.

There have been some negative reviews for the book, but these can be quickly and thoroughly discounted. Yes, this is not Notes From A Small Island, and 20 years on who could expect it to be? Bryson now travels mostly in short bursts, not the long stretches of solitary sojourns of his youth. This does change the tone of the book, but once you accept that it is as delightful as anything he's written.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Classic Bill Bryson, but would be better if author narrated

This narrator has a much edgier/sarcastic tone than the author, which makes the funny bits not as funny . His voice is somewhat unpleasantly gravelly. I was able to listen, but wish the author did the narration.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Another disappointed fan

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

I've always loved Notes from a Small Island, Neither Here nor There and A Walk in the Woods. Bill Bryson has a unique voice. This book isn't his best work. It's poorly structured, repetitive but also occasionally laugh out loud funny and entertaining.

If you’ve listened to books by Bill Bryson before, how does this one compare?

Better than In a Sunburned Country but otherwise not his best travel writing.

What three words best describe Nathan Osgood’s voice?

I wish Bill Bryson had narrated the book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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When did Bryson become a cranky old man?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed several of his books including "A Walk in the Woods" and "In a Sunburned Country". For some reason ole Bill has turned into a nasty, short on patience old man, he just gripes constantly, especially about young folks he deals with. For god's sake do some soul searching Bill!

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Very Disappointing

What would have made The Road to Little Dribbling better?

The narrator was dreadful. Bill Bryson makes a point of the importance of language and grammar but the narrator repeatedly mispronounced words. Moreover, the narrator's stab at American regional accents was clumsy. I had the feeling that the author was 'mailing it in.' It seemed that many of the rants were over-long and forced -- and probably padded.

Would you ever listen to anything by Bill Bryson again?

Yes. I have read (not listened to) many of Bill Bryson's works and generally enjoyed them.

Would you be willing to try another one of Nathan Osgood’s performances?

No.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There were parts that were pleasant and insightful but they were overwhelmed by the rest.

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18 people found this helpful