SBC: In a Sunburned Country

jjr1214 · April 2014

I just finished reading In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson for the SBC "read a book set in a place you would like to visit" category. I love Bill Bryson and thought this book was a really entertaining account of his travels around Australia, as well as taking a deeper and interesting look into the history and culture.

I think what I love about Bill Bryson's books is that he travels a lot like I do. He has a loose itinerary but spends a lot of time wandering around looking for cool stuff off the beaten path and talking to people. And if you're looking for stuff off the beaten path to do is sounds like Australia is a great place to visit! I think it's kind of an overwhelming place to try to plan a trip because it's so big and there is so much to see, but I would love to spend some time in Sydney, see the Great Barrier Reef, and take the train from Sydney to Perth to get a glimpse of the outback.

fabk · April 2014

Awesome! I will have to add this to the TBR!

GilliC · April 2014

I loved this book!

We ended up going to Western Australia the year after I read it, and some of his suggestions were things we might have missed otherwise! WA is huge, and it seems like hardly anyone visits, but there are some wonderful things to see! I was so glad I read it beforehand!

kpow · April 2014

I thought Australia sounded fun from Bryson. Then I read One for the Road by Tony Horwitz. It sounded like a horrible place!

From my GR review: "I really like Horwitz as an author, but the Australian outback/bush seems to be hell on earth. Miserable place to be surrounded by miserable drunks. Drunk Australian story after drunk Australian story isn't my idea of fun."

jjr1214 · April 2014

I thought Australia sounded fun from Bryson. Then I read One for the Road by Tony Horwitz. It sounded like a horrible place!

From my GR review: "I really like Horwitz as an author, but the Australian outback/bush seems to be hell on earth. Miserable place to be surrounded by miserable drunks. Drunk Australian story after drunk Australian story isn't my idea of fun."

That's really interesting. I think I'd like to see the outback but not necessarily spend much time there, though my concern is mostly with all of the deadly creepy crawlies. It just seems like a whole different world, which is partly why it's intriguing to me, but I guess that isn't necessarily a good thing!