I’m  a Stranger Here Myself:  Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years by Bill Bryson

            Bryson’s travel  writing is some of the best, most entertaining writing I’ve ever read, and his latest books are no exception. In I’m a Stranger Here Myself, he shares his observations about American life—and the difference between American and British life—in a collection of essays that manage to be both insightful, hilarious, and to poke fun at both countries without making him sound like a complete jerk or an American-basher.  He notes the friendliness of Americans (everyone from the 7-11 clerk to the mail carrier greets him), the efficiency of the postal system, and the availability of bizarre packaged foods (conducting an expensive taste test by buying boxes and boxes of processed foods—which his wife makes him eat as punishment).  My favorite essay is one of the last, which is a speech to graduates with practical, witty, and tender advice.