Bill Bryson: King of Curiosity

How did salt and pepper become our default, go-to spices? Why are there four tines on a fork? How did stairs become so ubiquitous?

These are just a few of the curiosities explored in Bill Bryson’s latest book, At Home: A Short History of Private Life, which uses the floor plan of the author’s own house - an Anglican rectory in Norfolk, England, built in 1851 - as a springboard to investigate the evolution of how we live today.

CityBeat recently phoned Bryson, a native Iowan who has lived most of his adult life in England, to discuss his latest literary endeavor in anticipation of his visit to Cincinnati Saturday for the Mercantile Library’s annual Niehoff Lecture. 

Full interview: Bill Bryson: King of Curiosity

Interview Time - Bill Bryson

Rob Savage meets travel writer extraordinaire - Bill Bryson

My days of being a student are sadly disappearing over the horizon at an alarming rate - kind of like an over eater chasing a mobile, all you can eat buffet. However a memory that will always stay with me is the time I graduated and shook hands with the wonderful travel writer and Chancellor of Durham University, Bill Bryson.

I decided to go back to my student roots and ask this amazing man how the St Christopher’s travel writers can improve their game and what it’s like to be one of the greatest authors of all time.

Full article: Interview Time - Bill Bryson