Neither here nor there ***

“A great read”
“Unputdownable”
“A masterpiece”
“He has done it again”

Familiar reviews we often see on the back covers of books. But most of these turn out to be empty boasts , leading us to wonder if there are any shady under-the–table deals between the author/publisher and these raving reviewers.

But recently I got hold of a book which had a back page review that said it was “hugely funny (not snigger-snigger funny but great-big-belly-laugh-till-you-cry funny)”. And I took that with a great deal of salt.

But now that I have started reading it, and about halfway through, I realise that the aforementioned review could actually be an understatement. It is a great book, one of the best I have read in ages. And yes, it is hugely funny.

The book is “Neither here nor there” by Bill Bryson.

It touches home on two counts:

One: Bill does some interesting: impulsive traveling around Europe. This is something I have always wanted to do, but never got around to finding the time and gathering the courage to do so.

Second: Bill’s writing flair gets my creative juices flowing. I want to write like him.