Author: Bill Bryson (Bryson, 1998,
n.p.).
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Title: A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Bryson,
1998, n.p.).
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Publication Date: 1998 (Bryson, 1998,
n.p.).
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Number of Pages: 397 (Bryson, 1998,
n.p.).
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Geographic Setting: The Appalachian
Mountains and the Appalachian Trail in North America (Bryson, 1998, n.p.).
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Time Period: March of 1996 to October
of 1996 (Bryson, 1998, pp. 49, 391).
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Subject Headings: 1. Appalachian Trail--Description and
travel. (Bryson, 1998, n.p.; SirsiDynix, 2016b, n.p.). 2. Bryson,
Bill—Journeys—Appalachian Trail. (Bryson, 1998, n.p.). 3. Natural
history--Appalachian Trail. (Bryson, 1998, n.p.; SirsiDynix, 2016b, n.p.).
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Type: Nonfiction; Travel; Essays; Humor
(Nonfiction) (SirsiDynix, 2016a, n.p.).
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Series Notes: This is mostly not
applicable towards this novel. However,
there are similar books that are based on the subject of traveling in certain
countries or areas. A few examples include: Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, and The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town
America by Bill Bryson (goodreads, 2018, n.p.).
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Book summary:
Bill Bryson, a man of forty years old, decides to travel the Appalachian trail with his old friend, Stephen Katz. So,
Bryson travels with his friend along the Appalachian trail near the end of
the 20th century. As the two travelers briskly hike through the
Appalachian trail, they encounter a number of humorous characters and
situations through the perils of their travels. During his travels along the
trail, Bryson gives an engaging and witty perspective to the book and a funny
tone to the novel. Also, Bryson discusses the natural history of subjects
related to nature, and the book’s humorous writing allows the book to serve as a suitable adult book for
young adults.
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Reading elements:
Pacing:
The pace slows when the
narrator describes facts at the beginning of each chapter, and the pace of
the chapter speeds up when the author utilizes irony. In
addition, the pace of the novel quickens when the narrator encounters trouble
on the trail.
Characterization:
The characters of the book are
eccentric and amoral. The narrator is not likeable and often appears to
exhibit anti-hero traits; however, the narrator is also engaging and witty in
his written narrative. Additionally, the narrator has a friend who thinks
about girls and swears. Some characters appear in an episodic nature. One character,
Mary Ellen, functioned as a stupid individual, and a drunk couple to be married
was present in the story.
Story line:
The story line involves a
long journey with intervals of description. The story line also consists of a personal narrative that is primarily written from a first-person point of view from the author.
Detail:
The book is filled with many
details. The detail is more intricate at the beginning of at least some of
the chapters, and the detail is lessened during the sections of dialogue and
the author’s casual description of the narrative.
Learning/Experiencing:
The novel contains several
paragraphs of explanatory information about subjects of nature; the topics involve
subtopics in relation to famous botanists, plant life, animal life, and the
destruction of nature. The explanatory information’s description helps one to
understand certain facts about the topics of nature. In addition, the book
contains experiences of nature through the narrator’s personal experiences of
traveling through the Appalachian mountains and trail.
Language:
The language is somewhat crude,
since it comes from the perspective of a somewhat amoral and middle-aged man.
The language may also be a bit colloquial, since part of the story takes
place in the South-eastern United States.
Setting:
The setting of the novel takes
place in an actual environment. The setting is also situated in nature and in
an outdoor environment. Specifically, the setting primarily takes place in
the Appalachian mountains and in the Appalachian trail. Also, the setting takes
place from spring to autumn, and the setting is prominently situated in the
woods.
Tone:
The tone of the novel is
sarcastic and ironic. The tone is also sympathetic to nature and is
thoughtful by contemplating the destruction of nature.
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1-3 Annotation: Bill Bryson and his
friend, Stephen Katz, decide to travel the Appalachian Trail together in
1996.
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Similar works:
1. A
journey north by Hall, Adrienne.
The reason for this title’s
inclusion involves a similar depiction of humor and engaging “accounts of
walking the Appalachian Trail” to A
Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
2. Walking
to Vermont by Wren, Christopher S. (Christopher Sale), 1936-
The reason for this title’s
incorporation is its sense of reflectiveness and wit and a travel
memoir of America's natural landscape (EBSCO
Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
3. Frost
on my moustache : the Arctic exploits of a lord and a loafer by Moore, Tim, 1964-
The reason for including this
title as a similar work involves being “humorous, rollicking accounts of the
author's attempt at a physically challenging journey for which he is
laughably unprepared” (EBSCO
Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.). Also, the book shares “a self-deprecating tone
and robust good humor” with A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America
on the Appalachian Trail (EBSCO
Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).
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Name of annotator: Megan Kammeyer
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References Used:
Bryson, B.
(1998). A walk in the woods:
Rediscovering america on the appalachian trail. New
York, Random House, Inc..
EBSCO Industries,
Inc.. (2018). Read-alikes for A walk in the woods. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?sid=c3e887a4-5e55-44e4-9350-175fc18b5502%40sessionmgr4007&UI=UI+175386&vid=3
goodreads.
(2018). Books by Bill Bryson.
Retrieved from
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7.Bill_Bryson
SirsiDynix. (2016a).
Title: A Walk in the Woods Rediscovering
America on the Appalachian
Trail. Retrieved from http://alpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=A+Walk+in+the+Woods&te=
SirsiDynix. (2016b).
Title: A walk in the woods :
rediscovering America on the Appalachian
Trail. Retrieved from http://alpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results/?q=A+Walk+in+the+Woods%3A+Rediscovering+America+on+the+Appalachian+Trail
Excellent job on your matrix! Full points!
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