I listened to the audio version of the book, and was thouroughly entertained during the entire reading.
The book really gave great word descriptions of the scenery and during the 5 days it took me to listen to
the book, I visited the Internet to look into further information on the trail, and on places of interest, such
as Centralia, Pa. and Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Thus I was not only greatly entertained by the
book, but also educated on areas that up until then, I was not aware of. My thanks to the author and the
makers of the audio book for many hours of relaxing driving and a good educational experience.

Bill Bryson's humor was hilariously funny. This is a light read you'll get through in one day. I highly recommend it!

I loved Bryson's droll sense of humor throughout this book. He describes the situations he encounters during his "walk in the woods" and some of the bizarre characters in hilarious detail.

The book was worth the price just for pages 132 and 133 where his walking partner encounters Beulah and her gigantic underpants. I laughed until the tears rolled down my face.

He also has a strong grasp on serious issues facing our national parks, forests and decline of so many wildlife species. Parts of it made me very aware of our dwindling resources. It was a real eye opener. For anyone that has ever camped or done much hiking this book will bring it all back to life.

I recommend this one if you want a fast and enjoyable read.

great book,i felt that i was along on the trail. i told my wife about the book and stated that i would love to try parts of the trail, she brought me back to earth when she reminded me that i have severe heart trouble , diabetes and am too fat and out of shape.maybe i will do it anyway

I really enjoyed this book. I don't know what age group this book is aimed at but try not to use swear words as much.

Dried noodles! That’s basically what the hikers Bill Bryson, and his friend Steven Katz, had left to eat after their first full day of their hike on the Appalachian Trail. Both were out of shape before taking on their hike, but Katz even more so. During the halfway point of their first day, Katz saw fit to ‘fling’ stuff out of his pack in order to ease his load; much of it was food stuff. But, hey, it felt good to ‘fling’ it. This is Bryson’s first-hand account of their experience, and at first it was hilarious. He started us out with the reason why – because it’s there and because he’s reacquainting himself with America after spending 20 years in England. Then, he basically takes us with him as he’s shopping for the supplies he would need. In many respects, he was clueless, but it was enjoyable for the reader. The entire trail is over 2,100 miles long from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. As each day progresses, you can see their fitness level improve. They seem able to walk further each day taking it all in stride. However, occasionally, they do look for opportunities to go off the AT for the comfort of restaurants and motels.

At the beginning, I was all in. It was funny and light-hearted and very enjoyable. As they are walking the trail, he tosses in some history and facts of the trail which was quite interesting. I loved his characterization of other hikers. I didn’t realize when I first began reading that he was eventually going to delve more into political and controversial aspects. There was a whole dissertation about the failings of the US Forestry; a part about tree science; and even his views on evolution. I rated A Walk in the Woods at 3.5 out of 5.

Often hilariously funny and occasionally frighteningly serious. His descriptions are vivid without being tedious. Read it in one day! Highly recommend.

My book group is reading this book for a discussion next month. Do you have any ideas about discussion questions that you could share re A Walk in the Woods???Thank you! rchalstad@aol.com
Response from BookBrowse: Click here to visit http://www.bookbrowse.com/readersguides/index.cfm - here you'll find advice on writing your own reading guide questions.