I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved most of this book. Some of it I found boring or flippant. However, it captured my imagination.


First of all, this book was published in 1999 and I am reading in 2018, 20 years later. Things have changed and I was motivated to find out how. Here are some of my research and comments: (Titles of applicable chapter is in parenthesis.)

1. 9/11 had not happened.
2. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016. 
(Take Me Out to the Ball Game)
3. Airlines don't serve food any more. (Room Service)
4. We now shop by E-tail. (Consuming Pleasures)
5. National Debt is not 22+ trillion it was 4.7 trillon in 1999 
(The Numbers Game)
6. # of registered vehicles  2018-276 million 1999-121 million 
(The Cupholder Revolution)
7. # of people in prison Now 2.3 million 1999 1.6 million
(The War on Drugs)
8. Amtrak has a train that stops in eastern and middle New Hampshire on its way to Boston from Maine and back again.
(The Waste Generation)
9. Global Temperature has increased 1.33 degrees since 1999
It was predicted in 1999 that would increase in a half a century
by 4 degrees and everything would burn up. ((The Waste Generation)
10. Toy 'R Us went bankrupt last year and closed all of their stores. They are now trying to figure out how they can reopen some of the stores. (Shopping Madness)
11. Libraries no longer shelve video tapes. DVD's only. (Our Town)
12. Walmart annual sales 1999 $120 billion 2019 $496 billion
(Our Town)
13. Opryland Amusement Park closed in 1997, but Hotel still is triving. (The Great Indoors)
14. Everyone likes free stuff. 1999-book matches 2019 ball point pens.
(How to Have Fun at Home)
15. The trend was enclosed malls. 2019 trend has reversed and shoppers want open malls where they can drive to the particular store and not have to get out and walk through the mall to get to it.
(The Great Indoors)

I read this book for my Book Club. I was ready to share my findings when I discovered I had a conflict and couldn't be there. I shared with another member and she is going to share if she finds it appropriate.

View all my reviews