Bill Bryson, author of travel and science books that have sold millions of copies worldwide, is putting down the pen for good in order to focus on retirement.
Bryson, who was awarded an OBE in 2006, came to prominence with this 1995 British travel book, Notes from a Small Island.
In that book, he described Durham as ‘a perfect little city’, resulting in Bryson becoming the chancellor of the university in 2005.
He has published over 20 books in his career, perhaps his most recognisable being A Short History of Nearly Everything, a reader-friendly breakdown of the science behind the universe.
Bryson wrote the book after being dissatisfied with his own scientific understanding, wanting to translate the subject outside of textbooks and school classes.
The 68-year-old told Times Radio he had been treating retirement as an experiment this year, after the release of his last book The Body: A Guide for Occupants in October 2019.
Bryson said of the experiment: ‘It has been successful and I’m pretty likely to continue’.
He said he has rediscovered the act of reading for himself saying: ‘I’ve decided to retire… for the first time in decades I’ve been reading for pleasure and finding I’m really enjoying it.’
Born in Iowa and now a dual US-UK citizen, Bryson found his way to the UK in the 1970s with his wife, Cynthia. The couple now live in Hampshire.
Bryson told the station in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday he was worried about running out of things to do if he stopped writing.
He added, however, that ‘that has not been the case’.
‘The world is full of other things to do that are enjoyable without any of the pressures that come with you doing this as a job,’ he said.
Bryson said he will now make more time to spend with his large family, of which he and his wife have 10 grandchildren.
He concluded that he ‘would love to spend more time with them just down on the floor.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/15/bill-bryson-putting-down-the-pen-as-he-retires-from-writing-at-68-13425845/
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