A Walk in the Woods is one of the most unique and funny comedy books released in the last 25 years. The book follows the story of the author, Bill Bryson, recollecting his time spent on the Appalachian Trail with his old friend, Stephen Katz. The pair endure all the struggles that two middle-aged men who barely work out would go through hiking on a 2,000 mile trail.

The book starts off with Bill Bryson randomly deciding to hike the Appalachian Trail so that he would have an experience to write a book about. I’m really glad he did, even though he didn’t completely know what he was getting himself into. He invites his old friend Stephen Katz (an alcoholic who recently became sober), and this is where the story begins.

I really liked how Bill Bryson made everything a little bit pessimistic. It seemed like every mention of something he loved on the Appalachian Mountain Range was followed by the presence of a big problem. The book also follows the struggles the two friends have hiking – and there are many. The writing style  complements his journey – his self-deprecating nature becomes entertaining. 

The comedic way Bryson writes about the problems makes me somehow care even more. Whether he was talking about acid rain, invasive plants or the hunting of songbirds, I paid more attention when Bryson was being pessimistic, just because he writes about the situations in a way that actually makes you care about them. In this book, Bryson presents  the problem, explains why it’s a problem and everything that the problem affects, but only gives you a solution to the problem occasionally, which makes you actually think about the situations in the book. Bryson writes with a mixture of humor and seriousness, crafting a book that keeps the reader engaged and invested. 

The two friends grow a lot throughout the course of the book – not necessarily in a good way all the time, but they do learn new things. They learn that they are not necessarily as weak as they think they are. They gain perspective when they enter a tourist trap – a town called Gatlinburg – after hiking for hours in the Smoky mountains, and see tourists eating ice cream who complain they’re tired after walking a half mile through the center of town. They also learn that they are “kind of okay” at hiking because people around them are dropping out of the trail all the time, while Bryson and Katz just keep on powering through.

The book also follows a period of time of when Steven has to go back to Des Moines, Indiana for some summer construction work, only to  come back later to hike more of the Appalachian Trail. During this time, Bill Bryson decides to go on day hikes all around the Northeast, mostly near his home in New Hampshire. This part gives the reader a lot of history about the area and the Appalachian Trail.

In the end, this book completely exceeded my expectations when I read it. The book is much better than the movie, so if you didn’t like the movie, you will probably still like this book. Bill Bryson’s humor, mixed with the fact that this is a true story, makes this book one of the best comedy-adventure books ever written.