Monday, August 3, 2009

#52: Notes From a Small Island

Notes From a Small Island is another example of travel writing by Bill Bryson. In this case, after living in England for a number of years and just before returning to his native U.S., he decided to explore everything that the United Kingdom had to offer. He began at the English Channel and traveled to John O'Groats at the tip of Scotland, and visited points in between throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

As with Bryson's other books, he looks at things in a humorous way. He uses trains to travel throughout the country and spends time musing on the vagaries of British Rail. He also spent time commenting on his lodging and the historical sites he visited, as well as the odd sites that attracted him like on all of his other journeys. He makes a special point to marvel about just how old many of the things are in Britain, such as numerous footpaths and hedgerows dating hundreds of years and an abundance of churches and other buildings dating to medieval times. However, in one instance, he went to a decrepit ruin of a house to see a Roman mosaic, only to later find out that it was a replica.

While the book does a great job in describing what it is like to travel through Great Britain, Bryson also serves another purpose. He expresses his appreciation for his adopted land. While he sometimes points out the quirks of the British, he does so in a gentle, rather than mocking way.

While I did not enjoy this book as much as some of Bryson's other work (such as In a Sunburned Country and Thunderbolt Kid, I would recommend it to others, especially if you enjoy travel writing.

#51: The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian is the fifth and final book in the excellent Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. In the story, Percy and his friends and allies have to face Kronos and the Titans in a showdown over Mt. Olympus, conveniently located in New York City. Along with the titans, Percy and his friends must face a variety of monsters, including the powerful Typhon, who is rampaging across the country toward New York and attracting the attention of the Olympians. Percy also has to deal with the disturbing prophecy of his sixteenth year.

I don't want to give away any specifics about this book for people who have not yet read it. It was action packed though, with a very quick moving plot. Many of the familiar characters from other books return. Riordan also delves into areas of mythology which he had previously left unexplored in his other books, including the involvement of some of the minor gods.

I found The Last Olympian to be a satisfying conclusion to a great series. And while it seems to wrap up Percy's story, it does leave the door open for more tales about demigods.