I once interviewed Bill Bryson for a radio program, and found him in person to be just like his authorial persona: one of the most affable and downright friendly people I’ve ever met in or out of the pages of a book. Whether he’s recounting his excursions around Britain, in Australia, or on the Appalachian Trail, or talking about words and language and everything else in (and out of) the world, he is always entertaining, informative, and a pleasure to read. Here’s a list of his books, alphabetical by title with the ones that you especially shouldn’t miss marked with an asterisk.

• What's your favorite Bryson book? Add a comment or review!

Bill Bryson’s African Diary

Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer’s Guide to Getting It Right

I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away

* In a Sunburned Country

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America

Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way

Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe

Notes from a Big Country

* Notes from a Small Island: An Affectionate Portrait of Britain (This is the single best book I know of to give someone who is depressed, or in the hospital recuperating [or not] from an illness or surgery. The only problem with giving it to friends who had stomach surgery is that they might split their stitches laughing.)

The Palace Under the Alps: And Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled, and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries (This guidebook was published in 1985, so it’s dated, but it’s still fun to read.)

* A Short History of Nearly Everything

* A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

[Excerpted from More Book Lust]