At Home

Popular UK-based writer Bryson (www.billbrysonbooks.com)—whose Aventis Prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) is also available from Books on Tape/Random Audio—here uncovers the stories of how various ordinary objects in his home came to be, taking listeners along on one wild historical tangent after another. He explores everything from the spice trade to the toilet bowl, revealing the hilarious and revolting details of our private lives from Roman times to the present. Bryson's fact-based writing seems almost fiction-like because of his ability to tease eccentric facts and characters out of even the most banal topic. He himself narrates, reading in a deadpan voice perfectly suited to the text. Fans of Bryson's previous works will be pleased, as will those who enjoy their nonfiction with a fun, witty edge. [The book's "eclectic, ambulatory arrangement will delight many but baffle others," read the review of the Doubleday pb original, LJ 9/1/10.—Ed.]—Johannah Genett, Hennepin P.L., Minneapolis