Bill Bryson wanted to reconnect with his American roots, so he decided to hike the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. For company on this adventure, he asked his casual and out-of-shape friend, Katz, to join him and misadventures follow.

Bill Bryson has a strong writing voice, which is defined as how our words sound on paper. We all have a writing voice, and the better able we are to define and strengthen it, the better our work will be.

Here is a talk Bryson gave a few years back that I encourage you to listen to: New York State Writers Institute.

Meeting Bill Bryson, 2016, Winter Park, Florida

Then as you read, see if you can hear Byron’s voice on the page.

Follow along with weekly readings according to this reading schedule that includes page numbers for two versions of the book. You may want to print the schedule and use it as a bookmark.

If you haven’t yet watched the Reading Like a Writer video, I suggest you do so before starting the book.