The Road to Little Dribbling

I think I have read 90% of what Bryson has written including his wonderful books on Shakespeare and on the English language. Since joining goodreads I have just added the latest ones - a definite 5 star History of Everything and which spanned macroscopic and the equally delightful 1927 which spanned microscopically.
I got the impression the book was a contractual obligation. Yes there are amusing parts, and the summary at the end was cogent, albeit a bit pastoral (he obviously, but who can blame him, avoided inner city Britain at all costs). However I love Bryson for his snarkyness but I got the feeling I just saw bitterness in this one.
He made his name with travel books, but I think he is now at his best in books like Home, or the other two mentioned above where his pedagogy is pure unadulterated fun fact digging. I feel, in reading those, just like Bryson does in delighting at reading a museum note in this book - he does not remember a single thing it said but he hugely enjoyed it.
So this one was “mailed in” and though I did not waste my time reading it I will use it for a next visit to the uK, I feel the need to re-read A Short History...

I've been walking along the backroads of England for nine days with Bill Bryson. It's been a pleasant experience, mostly (though, be warned, if you plan to journey with this fellow that he goes off at the drop of a hat, and he has a rather foul mouth to go along with his rather foul temper). He stops in every tiny dot of a town and he tends to find each spot somewhat disappointing. He made much the same journey many years ago, and, like those of us of a certain age, seems to discover that the years have not been kind to most of rural England. It's not as easy to get to these little towns now. The food isn't quite as tasty. The souvenir shops have moved in. And so on. And so on. He's humorous, of course, and that's what keeps us enthralled. But there were many times along this journey that I wished he'd just go home if he was so disenchanted.