notes of affection

notes from a small island
by bill bryson

it took me a while to be engaged, but i found myself enjoy more and more, with each turning page, of this small book, which is a delightful travelog of england, its places, large or little, people, noble or notorious, culture, terrific or tedious, and history, fascinating or fast-fading; written by an american who had lived there for 20 years, knew it intimately and detachedly, and talked about it with a humorous pettiness and absently-minded casualness, of the island and himself, to disguise, barely, his most earnest affection.