Last week I drove about 800 miles over 2 days. It made me a little cranky, and definitely sore. But I was driving between Southern California and the Bay Area, where there is plenty to see, even on that cow country stretch of the 5. So I felt a little sheepish reading Bill Bryson in Australia, where there are regular 1000+ mile drives to get pretty much anywhere.
Bryson is hilarious. I think I knew this, but here is proof. This exploration of Australia's cities, interior, features, people, culture, etc. is the result of 3 separate trips that expose him to much (and yet still just a small piece of) the land Down Under.
Themes: Places have a lot of weird stories. And when you're on the road, you get intrigued by all sorts of roadside attractions.
Australia has LOTS of things that can kill you. Lots and lots and lots. Animals mostly. And getting lost in the desert and dying.
Bryson walks a lot. He makes me wish I were better at going offline and just walking.
He also drinks a lot on occasion. Especially when traveling with a friend.
Travel plans get messed up pretty often.
Australia is awesome, and writers get to go there surprisingly often (well, to me) for book tours.
Also, you should probably find this book just for the description of cricket. I almost fell off the couch. It's most of chapter 7, although it appears here and there elsewhere in the book. This may be one of the lazier book reviews ever, but I promise, you will enjoy this read.
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