Bluffton Public Library’s adult book discussion group’s focus in February is “At Home: A Short History of Private Life,” by Bill Bryson.

The book discussion, open to the public, is at noon, Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the library. The monthly discussion group is open to new members and registration is suggested. The group meets the first Wednesday of every month, and occasionally has the author visit via Skype. 

Copies of each month’s books are available for checkout the month prior to each discussion. E-mail [email protected] for more information.

Book synopsis

Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has figured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture. 

About the author

William 'Bill' McGuire Bryson (born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects.

Upcoming titles for discussions

March 6: “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

April 3: “The Stranger in the Woods” by Michael Finkel, including Skype Visit from author