Best-selling author Bill Bryson kept audience members laughing while discussing his books at the Memorial Union Tuesday as part of the University of Wisconsin’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
Bryson, a renowned author of amusing travel books along with English language and science books, spoke to a crowd at Shannon Hall, which was filled to capacity.
Bryson spent most of his adult years in England, where he won the Order of the British Empire Award. He maintains an American citizenship, hailing from nearby Des Moines, Iowa.
A proud Midwesterner, Bryson joked about one of his favorite aspects of winter in the region.
“This is my 4th time in Madison,” Bryson said. “I come back for the weather.”
Bryson told a variety of stories during the two-and-a-half hour lecture, most of them comical. In between, he read passages from a selection of his books, including “A Walk In the Woods” and “Bill Bryson’s African Diary.”
While reading a passage from his book “The Life and Times of a Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir,” Bryson told a story about a trip to Lake Ahquabi he took with the Miltons, a family he disliked. While at the lake, Mr. Milton decided to take a dive off the enormous wooden platform on the lake, which he likened to “a wooden Eiffel Tower.” Mr. Milton took the daredevil dive and spent the rest of the day in too much shock to speak.
“It was the best day of my life,” Bryson said.
Bryson worked with the humanitarian agency Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE). All author royalties and profits for his book about the experience, “Bill Bryson’s African Diary,” go to CARE. He spent his time in Kenya, and said he especially enjoyed his time there.
“I saw how the application of a little bit of labor and a little bit of resource can change prospects for people,” he said.
Bryson talked about his desire to write a book about Canada, even though no one around him believes he could make it sell.
“If you ever want to see all the blood drain from a publisher’s face, talk about doing a book on Canada,” he said. “I’m going to write it one day.”
After the lecture, students were encouraged to ask questions.
One student asked Bryson what he would bring for a memorable and successful trip, given all of his traveling experience.
“Go with somebody you can yell at and still love afterwards,” Bryson said.
He said you should go with either a good buddy, like his friend Stephen Katz, from his book “A Walk in the Woods,” or someone “you are in love with.”
