I like to read a book set in the area to which I am traveling and with a 14 hours flight from LAX to Sydney, I will have LOTS of time to read. But I am having trouble finding something that takes place in the area of Australia to which we are going - Sydney and then up to Carins. I found lots of books by Tim Winton, but they all take place in Western Australia. And I've already read In a Sunburned Country. Anyone have any suggestions? We leave Thursday, so I don't have much time.
Thanks!

The Australia Stories: A Novel (Hardcover) by Todd James Pierce

Or something on the Great Barrier Reef? Cook's discovery of Byron Bay?

You can't go wrong with The Thorn Birds...

Or read your guide books!

Hector Holthouse's "River of Gold" is set in Far North Qld - historically fascinating insight into the area around the time of the goldrushes.

If you like mysteries, the &quot;Scobie Malone&quot; series of police procedurals by Jon Cleary (yes, the same guy who wrote <i>The Sundowners</i> a million years ago) are set in Sydney. They're actually a pretty good introduction to the city, as detective stories by definition are descriptive of neighborhoods and cities.

Thanks! I do love mysteries. And since it's been a zilkion years since I read the Thorn Birds, maybe it's time for a re-read !

Leviathan by John Birmingham (prefaced as the unauthorised biography of Sydney). Basically the life story of Sydney - not always pretty but very colourful. Quite a substantial read but very entertaining (and, oh, disturbing!). It will certainly give you a very interesting perspective on the place and why and how it is how it is.

Daneille - that's the book I was trying to bring to mind, though have to say I haven't read it.

There must be loads of novels set in Sydney but hard to think of any (films would be much easier!). However, Jill Ker Conway's &quot;The Road from Coorain&quot; (though not a novel) spends some time in the city and I think some of Christina Stead's work must be set there.

Jcasale, if you can't lay your hands on &quot;Leviathan&quot; two of the best travel writers have tackled Sydney:

Jan Morris: &quot;Sydney&quot;
Geoffrey Moorhouse: &quot;Sydney, the story of a City:.

&quot;Ruth Park's Sydney&quot; by Ruth Parks is also pretty good.

And, just remembered Bryce Courtenay's &quot;Matthew Flinder's Cat&quot; - which I must read one day as I have a soft spot for MF and Trim.

Safe journey, and happy hols!

Thanks so much. I'll go shopping tomorrow! We are getting quite excited. Just booked two tickets for the Sydney Opera House this Saturday and started preliminary packign so it's getting real!

Thea Astley is a well-known Queensland writer and sets some of her novels in Far North Queensland. &quot;Chasing the Wild Pineapple&quot; and &quot;Its Raining in Mango&quot; are short stories her &quot;Vanishing Point&quot; deals with the greed of Queensland island resort developers.

&quot;Confessions of a Beachcomber&quot;a non-fiction work by EJ Banfield, an environmentalist way ahead of his time is set on Dunk Island, where he lived for many years.

Recently read Tom Kenneally's &quot;An Angel in Australia&quot; set in Sydney in WW2 and Ruth Park (mentioned above by fuzzylogic) writes beautifully about Sydney in Depression years.. . &quot;The Harp in the South&quot; and &quot;Poor Man's Orange&quot; are a couple of hers.

Bill Brysons &quot; In a Sunburnt Country&quot; is a great book to read on a flight and will also give you a good idea of what to expect downunder.

Hey - jca - what are you going to see at the SOH? Would that be the Sydney Dance Co? If yes - then we'll be in the same space at the same time. Hope it's one of the company's gems - their offerings of late have always been enjoyable but not quite up to the standard of earlier years. If it is, do post and say what you thought.

If it's a fine night be sure to head to the bar at the top of the stairs and find the way out to the small balcony harbourside.

Have a great time.

You have got to read &quot;A Town like Alice&quot; by Nevil Shute. I did while I was in Alice. Simply took my breath away. I had read Shute's &quot;On the Beach&quot; years ago and loved it. That'd be another good book to read.

Check these out:

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

My Brillian Career by Miles Franklin

Waiting for Childhood by Sumner Elliott

A Fringe of Leaves by Patrick White
Voss by Patrick White
The Tree of Man by Patrick White

Clean Straw for Nothing by George Johnston
My Brother Jack by George Johnston

We of the Never Never by Aeneas Gunn

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

All the Rivers Run by Nancy Cato
The Heart of the Continent by Nancy Cato

The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea by Randolph Stow

In the Wet by Nevil Shute
The Far Country by Nevil Shute

That's My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin. She also wrote another book called The End of My Career.

When &quot;On the Beach&quot; was filmed in the early 60s, I think, Ava Gardner enraged Melburnians but endeared herself to Sydneysiders by commenting that &quot;Melbourne is the perfect place to make a movie about the end of the world&quot;.

That is hilarious! I remember another quip I heard once in Sydney.....&quot;the only good thing to come out of Victoria is the road to New South Wales&quot;

LynAK - great list. well done. But do any of them have any connection with Sydney?

Scream Black Murder by Philip McLaren is set in Sydney. I really enjoyed it!

Hey, fuzzylogic - we are actually going to see Mandy Patinkin at the Opera House (I believe in the Concert Hall?). But I will take your advice about going up to the bar (unless we are SO jetlagged that we can't stay propped up !).
LynAK - that's quite a list. Out of all of the books people have mentioned, I should be able to find something.

My Australia book list isn't specific to Sydney or to Cairns, which I realized later is what the post asked for...but some of them give such a flavor of Australia and then some are, to my mind, crucial to understanding the history of Australia (Fatal Shore, for ex....not light reading, really a history book, so maybe not a vacation book but worth it..certainly after you return from a trip to Australia you'll have an interest in understanding the country even more) Others are classic Australian lit and you wouldn't really get Australia without reading some of them.

I really liked seeing the recommendations of others...several are books I haven't heard of. I guess I figured that people hopping onto this thread would eventually be interested in all kinds of books about Australia. It is a great thread to keep adding to.