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  • The Road to Little Dribbling

  • More Notes From a Small Island
  • By: Bill Bryson
  • Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
  • Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,193 ratings)

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The Road to Little Dribbling cover art

The Road to Little Dribbling

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Nathan Osgood
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Summary

Twenty years ago Bill Bryson went on a trip around Britain to celebrate the green and kindly island that had become his adopted country. The hilarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, was taken to the nation’s heart and became the best-selling travel book ever and was voted in a BBC poll the book that best represents Britain.

Now, to mark the 20th anniversary of that modern classic, Bryson makes a brand-new journey around Britain to see what has changed. Following (but not too closely) a route he dubs the Bryson Line, from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath, by way of places that many people never get to at all, Bryson sets out to rediscover the wondrously beautiful, magnificently eccentric, endearingly unique country that he thought he knew but doesn’t altogether recognize any more.

Yet, despite Britain’s occasional failings and more or less eternal bewilderments, Bill Bryson is still pleased to call our rainy island home. And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.

Once again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous, Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.

Download includes accompanying PDF map of the Bryson Line. Music written and performed by Richard Digance, inspired by The Road to Little Dribbling.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Bill Bryson (P)2015 Recording and music (p) Transworld Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Road to Little Dribbling

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

Love this man

This writer can make you laugh out loud. His commentary on the British way of life, with all their celebrated quirks gives much food for thought. His observations are spot-on, and, to my mind intelligent, as he makes his way round Britain, revisiting many places he saw on his first journey, recounted in his early book 'Notes from a small island'. He has his criticisms and makes some interesting comparisons with the American way of life. Most importantly, he is never dull. If, as I have, you have lived in both countries,the appeal is doubled. I heard the whole thing in two days, was sorry when it ended.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bill Bryson on top form

Another charming, witty and heartwarming book in the best Bryson tradition.
The narrator is excellent and made it a real pleasure to listen to.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Slightly spoiled

Excellent work from Bill and whilst I understand (and am happy with) a narrator with an American accent why did they pick one who mispronounced sooo many words. Bill is known for and plays up his pedantry so this seems an unnecessary error.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Better than expected

Where does The Road to Little Dribbling rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the better books I have. I was a little put off by the fact that it isn't the author narrating, as Bryson adds such depth to his narration. However, Osgood has a similar tone that suits Bryson's writing style well.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bill Bryson!

Have you listened to any of Nathan Osgood’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have not.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Although this didn't 'move' me as much as 'notes from a small island', this is, in essence, the difficult second album of Bryson's wandering around Britain. Obviously, like any sane person, I was hoping to hear him come close to my town, and was disappointed that a surly bartender let the people of Ashbourne down, but the whole journey was equally engaging to such an extent that I rather hope more Brits listen to it and begin to understand the wonder of living here rather than trying to bake themselves on a Mediterranean beach

Any additional comments?

Overall, this was engaging and entertaining. You do not have to have read / listened to 'notes...', but you probably should: a) because it is excellent, and b) because there are some references to that book.

It is difficult not to feel patriotic in an old fashioned way when you listed to the quirks and quaint history of this little land, and Bryson's talent lies in his ability to observe and relate all of this beautifully. Sure he has 'old man rants' that won't always chime with your thoughts and feelings, but we all have our idiosyncrasies: like Bryson, we should embrace them.

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

Bill is just this guy you Know

Loved it back to his best a joy to devour finished it so quickly I have nothing to listen to for two weeks

Ben
London
France

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Love the humour

I really enjoyed this book. At times it made me laugh out loud. Bill Bryson has a delightful outlook on life and made me appreciate just how lucky I was to be born and brought up in this lovely country. I aim to read more of his books. Thanks Bill.

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  • AZ
  • 04-12-17

Loved the first book? Read the second!

What did you like most about The Road to Little Dribbling?

Once again Bill Bryson produced a wonderfully engaging and entertaining book. This one is with a pinch of sadness although. It is sadness of a true anglophile, witnessing the changes in the country that do not do it justice. Read it, be proud of the greatness this country has achieved and do not ruin it by racism, homophobia, prejudice and small-mindedness.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Highly entertaining as usual

A great trip through Britain with all the detail I expect from Bryson. My kind of book. But I don't like the music.

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

Sorely disappointed

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

Possibly, but only to the more amusing sections, sadly rare.

Would you be willing to try another book from Bill Bryson? Why or why not?

I love most of his other books, so this one was a great disappointment.

What about Nathan Osgood’s performance did you like?

Pleasant, steady voice.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Grumpy old man fumbles round parts of Britain.

Any additional comments?

This book should never have been written!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Bryson is back

I have always loved Bryson's travel books, and although his recent science/history outings have been good, this is where I wish he'd stay! A joy from start to finish!

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