just thought of another - all the rivers run (I thin it's nancy cato), great mini series, but also a good book.

It was Nancy Cato, lancefan and not a bad read. But, the Thornbirds is awful, even Colleen McCullough readily admitted she had to write a blockbuster when she was broke. She's certainly no fool and her books on Roman times at least show some research. For a lack of something to read I just waded through one of her latest offerings "The Touch", set in colonial NSW. Mills and Boone, here we come. And don't even get me started on Di Morrisey!

No mention of "The Secret River" by Kate Grenville. Shortlisted for the Booker - I haven't read it yet - have any of you?

I have also just got lucky at Vinnies and reacquired a book I read ages ago. fabulous travelogue that knocks spots off Bill Bryson - funny, informative but without that "How clever I am" gloss that has become BB's signature.

"Ïn the Land of Oz" by Howard Jacobsen - recommended!!

Two more interesting books which I am currently reading (in a rush as we are leaving for Australia on Friday)

Peter Carey-30 days in Sydney
Thomas Keneally(et al)- Australia: Beyond the Dreamtime

gotta bookmark this thread...

Are you heading back, Flygirl?

Lee Ann

am I? definitely! "when" is the question. :)

Thanks for all you advice, mates! We are leaving on Thursday and I am all the more inspired after having read The Road From Coorain, My Brilliant Career, The Land of the Never Never and The Fatal Shore. I loved The Fatal Shore. I can't wait to visit the land that was settled with blood, sweat and tears and injustice. Will be back next month. G'day!

partypoet, a gentle primer on local usages: first, Australians don't address their mates in the plural - you can talk about "my mates", but you don't say "g'day, mates" or "see you later, mates". Secondly, "g'day" is a greeting, never a farewell. But there's no need to use either. I've lived in Australia all my life and I seldom if ever use "g'day".

longhorn55 is 100% right about Bill Bryson. He did more than just miss a restaurant or two in Canberra - he was sloppy and amateurish, and as a result gave a highly distorted picture based, I suspect, on recycling hoary old prejudices picked up from some of his Australian contacts.

The problem with Bryson is that though he's essentially a humourist, a sort of poor man's Mark Twain, readers tend to take him on faith as a reliable travel writer, and he does nothing to discourage this erroneous perception.

I realised this when I read his book on the USA, "The Lost Continent", after our first visit there. Examples:

1. Bryson turns up at the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC, but can't bring himself to part with the entrance fee and leaves none the wiser about Vanderbilt's eccentric recreation of a French Chateau in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Well, thanks - a lot of help, that. We paid the entry fee (yes, it was a bit steep but not outrageous) and spent an enjoyable and informative couple of hours there.

2. He visits Colonial Wiliamsburg in Virginia, first calling at the visitors' centre, which you reach before entering the actual township. Finding that he can enter the town for free, our travelling tightwad refuses to buy a pass (again, the price wasn't extortionate), has a brief and rather unsatisfactory look around and drives off. We bought passes that entitled us to a couple of absorbing attractions that added greatly to our knowledge of American history in the colonial and Civil War periods, and were glad we did. We also stayed overnight in a genuinely old house and had dinner, neither beng costly. The Scrooge-like Bryson managed to miss much of what Williamsburg has to offer, and must have deterred many prospective visitors.

What am I missing here? We were on a budget, but this bloke was and is a multi-millionaire, and about to add to his wealth from the sale of that very book. Beneath that mild, self-deprecating exterior lies a serious capitalist.

"The Lost Continent" was very funny, of course, but a somewhat sour and in parts unfair look at America, seemingly designed to ingratiate himself with his English hosts by appealing to their prejudices, but not much use for a propective visitor. By contrast he tends to treat Britain with kid gloves.

You can read his books for laughs (especially "A Walk in the Woods"), but it seems to me that he's not in the business of letting the facts get in the way of a good story. Nothing wrong with that in itself, maybe, as long as the reader knows not to take everything he says as gospel.

Have to agree about BB Neil. I started out really liking him with Notes from a Small Island, then enjoyed In a Sunburned Country (sorry!) But really got tired of him by A Walk in the Woods. Started out okay, but then you got the sense he was really reaching in order to finish the book and try to be funny!

That rant done, I do actually want to add to the thread! I just wrote down a list of books from the back of Culture Shock-Australia. I plan on checking into them, but I can't imagine reading all of them...or possibly I will! In any case, I'll try not to repeat any of the above (apologies if I do) and I'd love to get feedback on whether any you think these books are worthwhile:

Being White Fella - Ed. Duncan Graham
A Fortunate Life - A. B. Facey
Damned Whores & God's Police - Ann Summers
Oscar and Luncinda - Peter Carey
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
Dirt Music - Tim Winter
The Lucky Country - Donald Horne
My Place - Sally Morgan
The Songlines - Bruce Chatwin
My People - Kath Walker