A few years ago, I was standing in line at the college bookstore. It was a long line, so I started looking through my text books. I was an English major, but for some reason if finally hit me that I was not enrolled in a literature class. It was one of my last semesters, and I had some other requirements to meet. I had a History class, an ethics class, a linguistics class and a Geology class with lab. Pretty light semester, really.

For an English major, not having a literature class is a problem because we have a physiological need to be constantly reading! While standing in line thinking about all that free time I was going to have, a book with a funny looking bear on the cover caught my eye. I thumbed through it a little, and since I had some extra financial aide money, I bought it as a total impulse purchase.

Turns out, it was Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods”. I started to read it, and it absolutely blew me away! Bryson is a superb writer. It was easy to read, and he can tell an engaging, personal story with both humor and depth. It was also the first time I had ever heard of the Appalachian Trail, and, for that matter, the first time I had ever heard of ultra long distance hiking.

How many of you have read the book? Like the book? Hate the book? I welcome any and all comments on this piece of literature.