No, your eyes don't deceive you, this is indeed a picture of the one and only Bill Bryson thumbing through a copy of Worlds Apart by yours truly.

It's been handed to him by Ash (who features in the book ... in the Cook Islands ... yes, Cook Islands Ash ... that's him on the left) at his graduation (that's Ash's graduation, not Bill's)

As to whether or not he's read it, I don't know. Maybe I should drop him a line and try and find out ...