The funniest book I have ever read, A Walk in the Woods (Amazon Affiliate link) by Bill Bryson details a long hike along the Appalachian Trail. Bryson felt inspired to hike the AT out of the blue, in his mid-forties. Midlife crisis? Probably.
I laughed with tears while reading the first half of the book.
His wife tried to talk him out of it. Somehow, he managed to persuade her to let him do this crazy thing. The only person who accepted to come along with him was an overweight, out-of-shape former high school friend. The two went through several adventures together, including a bear sniffing at their tent.
I laughed hard during the first half of the book. The kids would look up from their work and give me looks of “Are you OK?” The second half of the book got serious as Bryson changed his tone from amateur hiker to serious conservationist.
The author presented all the dangers of deforestation, pollution, etc. The book morphed into a depressing tome about the evils of civilization. In the end, he and his friend also decided to abandon the AT and just called it quits.
Robert Redford read the book and decided to make a movie out of it. I watched it and did not think it was as funny as the book. Also, he changed some details, as they usually do. Emma Thompson plays his wife and Nick Nolte his bumbling sidekick.
