The full title is: “At Home–A Short History of Private Life”. His style is entertaining, lively and often humorous, as you know if you’ve read his other stuff.

Bryson uses the various rooms of his house, a Victorian rectory in Norfolk county, England, as a springboard to delve into all sorts of fascinating background and history to explain things we take for granted about the houses we live in today.

Like:  Why did 18th century builders change from running floor joists perpendicular to adjoining buildings to running them front-to-back? Why do we have salt and pepper on the table instead of, say, salt and cinnamon? How, at one time, wallpaper was so toxic as to contribute to the early deaths of not a few of those rich enough to afford it.

Bryson, an American who has lived a large share of his life in England, also brings in a good deal of America’s influence on the evolution of what we consider the modern house. 

Anybody else reading it?