Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors, if not my favorite. I will read pretty much anything penned by him. I have 3 on my bookshelf (among about 15 total books), several on my kindle, and a couple at my mom's house. What I love about his books is that they are non-fiction combined with wonderful storytelling. It's all the most fun things you would want to know about a topic, nicely picked out by Bryson from all his research.
In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson
This book is about Australia. As Bryson points out several times, most people outside of Australia don't really know that much about it. I certainly didn't really. I've met a few Australians and they were pretty nice, tan, and had a different accent than mine. That was basically my starting point. I read this book over the course of several months, so it hasn't really stuck together as a cohesive story to me, but I can recall out a few themes.
I liked the book a lot. As with all of Bryson's books, it's funny enough often enough to make me laugh out loud and get made fun of by whoever is around me while I'm reading. I figure if a book makes me laugh and teaches me something (even if I don't remember terribly well), then it is probably a pretty good thing to read.
Bryson talks a lot about the landscape and incredible vastness of Australia - it is an incomprehensibly large country that is mostly unknown and unconquered. Even when people manage to struggle through it, it often happens that they can't get back to the places they saw and visited on their way. He also talks about how remarkably diverse the flora and fauna of the country are, and that some are endangered while others still thrive in spite of changes in the environment.
Speaking of flora and fauna, Bryson spends a lot of time talking about the plants and animals of the country and how unique and often deadly they are. I got the heebie jeebies a few times and it made me think twice about wanting to go tromp about in the country and its ocean although Bryson makes pretty convincing cases for visiting. Apparently Australia is home to the most (quantity) and most (quality) deadly plants and animals on the planet. Yipes.
The rest of the book is told via Bryson's travels throughout the country, exploring the cities and landmarks that he visits and going back to retell the history and other facts.
In a Sunburned Country
Bill Bryson
This book is about Australia. As Bryson points out several times, most people outside of Australia don't really know that much about it. I certainly didn't really. I've met a few Australians and they were pretty nice, tan, and had a different accent than mine. That was basically my starting point. I read this book over the course of several months, so it hasn't really stuck together as a cohesive story to me, but I can recall out a few themes.
I liked the book a lot. As with all of Bryson's books, it's funny enough often enough to make me laugh out loud and get made fun of by whoever is around me while I'm reading. I figure if a book makes me laugh and teaches me something (even if I don't remember terribly well), then it is probably a pretty good thing to read.
Bryson talks a lot about the landscape and incredible vastness of Australia - it is an incomprehensibly large country that is mostly unknown and unconquered. Even when people manage to struggle through it, it often happens that they can't get back to the places they saw and visited on their way. He also talks about how remarkably diverse the flora and fauna of the country are, and that some are endangered while others still thrive in spite of changes in the environment.
Speaking of flora and fauna, Bryson spends a lot of time talking about the plants and animals of the country and how unique and often deadly they are. I got the heebie jeebies a few times and it made me think twice about wanting to go tromp about in the country and its ocean although Bryson makes pretty convincing cases for visiting. Apparently Australia is home to the most (quantity) and most (quality) deadly plants and animals on the planet. Yipes.
The rest of the book is told via Bryson's travels throughout the country, exploring the cities and landmarks that he visits and going back to retell the history and other facts.
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