After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the State for a while, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife the chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week and, most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him.

But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyze what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and Gardener's Question Time.

I'm filing this one under the heading of 'must try new stuff'. The fact of the matter is that I have no interest in reading travel writing, in any way shape or form...and yet Bryson makes it onto my 'to read' list...why? Well I keep seeing people reading his books and laughing, so I figure if he's so funny I'd better give it a go, right? So here it is, who knows if or when I'll get around to reading it, and let's hope this is one new experience that pays dividends.