Australia - just the name means so many things to so many people.
It is a vast land that begs cultural differences. From a widespread and diverse human race to drastically different geological formations, this great land has so many different ezxperiences to offer.
Geographically you may find yourself stretched from city high rise buildings to drastic isolation.
Whether you are a yuppie, a hippy or a nomad, you can travel from the outback to the reef and pass through rainforests on the way.
For visitors to this great land the distance between locations and the vastness of experiences can be difficult to get your head around at times.
Fortunately, Australia is also filled with creative souls and especially writers. This country has inspired some thought-provoking and humourously entertaining books. Written about the people that inhabit this land, its culture and its amazing locations, become inspired by this great country.
Do you have a favourite book about Australia? Here's a few that spring to mind:
If it's a terrific and somewhat comforting read, you may like Bill Bryson's
Down Under. This was also titled
In a Sunburned Country. I find this an insightfully funny look into the quirkiness of Australia and Australians.
Mark Dapin penned
Strange Country: Travels In A Very Different Australia.
Lonely Planet's Guidebooks have long been the bible for travellers, from bedraggled backpackers to 5 star luxury, you can trust the Lonely Planet writers to let you know the ins and outs of any location.
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz takes a look at the journey and life of three generations within one family. Filled with (somewhat dark) criminal and some may say typical Australian themes. Although somewhat confronting it is an interesting insight.
Moving to Halls Creek in remote and far off Western Australia at the age of 23 years,
Knockabout Girl by Pip Newling, promises to be a loving and funny diary and sharing of the experience.
Bringing an interesting outlook, which blends the truth with fiction,
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin shares with us his journey into the outback, Indigenous cultures, issues and religion.
If you've heard of around the world in 80 days, then try
Around Australia in 80 Days by Jonathon Green. If you are planning a road trip around Australia, this one will leave you pndering how to do it, all without ever setting foot in a hotel or caravan park. Loaded with insights, suggestions and fun.
Delving into history, we look at the journey of Burke and Wills in the 1860s in
Burke's Soldier by Alan Atwood.
Cloudstreet by Tim Winton's is a lovely Australian book that delights with sincerity, humour and delight in the everyday person.
Indigenous writer Alexis Wright penned
Carpentaria.
Set in the Gulf of Carpentaria it looks at the isolation both socially and environmentally that comes with living in remote Australia.
In Queensland's Darling Downs region, Andrew McGahan faces the story of a young boy that inherits a huge piece of land, along with the history and racial problems that accompany it in
The White Earth.
Do you have a favourite book about Australia, add your suggestions in here:
