In several of Bill Bryson's books, we find him cheerfully loping along some beautiful country trail and offering us a perfect mental photograph of its charm. His walks are punctuated with little-known facts and historical trivia. Also, Bryson provides comments which make his readers laugh long and loud, often spewing out coffee in the process. Don't ever consume liquid while reading Bill Bryson.

The premise of Bryson's trip was to traverse the longest distance it is possible to travel in Britain. Having determined that The Official Study Guide for New Residents was wrong, he created The Bryson Line which runs from Bognor Regis on England's south coast to Cape Wrath in the Scottish Highlands – the westernmost point in mainland Britain. Along the way, he found the good (the worst pub in England is no more.) and the bad (Charming gardens have given way to cement.) in modern England.

We find that several historically prominent people are buried in towns they never visited in their lifetimes. Mary Shelly's parents, both Londoners, must be whirling in their Bournemouth graves.
We also receive travel warnings. The ferry to Tresco rolls so energetically that, “In rough weather...you can have the novel experience of being sick in the ceiling.” Also, beware of British pronunciation: Happisburgh is Hays-burr, Hautbois is Hobbiss, Postwick is Pozzik, and that's just a small sample.

Finally, we, if we are of a certain age, are fed gems of wisdom which are both hysterical and depressing: ”I am now even too old for early onset dementia. Any dementia I get will be right on time.”

We can't forget the Dunning Kruger study from Cornell: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. For example, “If you have been to a tanning parlor, do you think that because you cannot see that your eyelids are white, no one else can?”

The Road to Little Dribbling is to be read slowly and savored. You don't want to miss a word!

To learn more about this and other books, visit the Boulder City Library at 701 Adams Boulevard, 293-1281, www.bouldercitylibrary.org