An Evening with Blythe Roberson

timbre books is delighted to welcome author Blythe Roberson for a discussion of her forthcoming book, America the Beautiful?!

Roberson examines Americans’ obsession with freedom, travel, and the open road in this entertaining travelogue that blends the humorous observations of Bill Bryson with the piercing cultural commentary of Jia Tolentino. Why does it seem like canonical American travel narratives are written by white men who have no problems, who only decide to go the desert to see what having problems feels like? To fill in the literary gaps and quench her own sense of adventure, Roberson quits her day job and sets off on a Great American Road Trip to visit America’s national parks in a borrowed Prius from her Midwestern stepfather. Ultimately, Roberson ponders the question: Is quitting society and going on the road about enlightenment and liberty—or is it just selfish escapism?

Blythe Roberson is a comedian, a humor writer, and author of How to Date Men When You Hate Men. She has written for The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan, Kinfolk, Esquire, Vice Magazine, and for the NPR quiz show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Blythe was raised between Illinois and Wisconsin and currently lives in Brooklyn.