Book Log 2020 #26: The Body by Bill Bryson

Similar to his approach in At Home, Bryson takes a tour around the human body, talking about various parts and systems and how they work, their histories, how things can go wrong, and so forth. And I had a similar reaction to this book as I did to that one: it's fine, has a lot of interesting bits, but isn't as funny as his earlier works. 

It could be that this style of non-fiction is less ripe for humor than books about his travels or his childhood. But I did enjoy One Summer: America, 1927, and found it funnier that either At Home or this book. 

One explanation for this, I think, is that Bryson was just losing interest in writing. He announced in 2020 that he was retiring from writing books, saying that he was enjoying reading for pleasure and not doing much else. How much of this came from being stuck at home due to the pandemic and how much came from his experiences writing these last couple of books I can't say, but I can see having time at home to reflect and do things for oneself might lead to a retirement.

I can't say I'd really recommend this book, but where it could be his last one maybe it's worth checking out.