now reading- In A Sunburned Country

I'm longing to find a book I can really sink into, with a delicious story and characters, but it hasn't happened yet. Fortunately, in that quest I did find another Bill Bryson book to love-- In A Sunburned Country.

Bryson takes us through the outback and around Australia, and does it in his usual observant and totally hilarious style. He gets how funny self-deprecating travel humor can be, and he manages to do it without being campy (eg, "And then I fell down during the rain dance while eating this exotic food and the natives laughed and laughed!" If it were like that I'd have to throw it across the room. Then return it to the library.).

WHis hilarious descriptions of boogie boarding with Dangerous Creature is at the opening, and turns out to be the first in a series of animal adventures. But it's not just the fauna that make it interesting-- even traveling over the land has mystery, intrigue, and more humor than I would have expected. We get to ride the train with Bryson, enjoying the vast outback scenery while investigating the true nature of first versus holiday class.

I haven't done much travel/adventure book reading, but Bill Bryson makes a great introduction. Recommended.