17 Books about Australia to Read Before Visiting Down Under

I love reading Bill Bryson's writing and this book is no exception. I read it before we moved over and laughed and laughed at his experiences. And also learnt quite a bit too. I am looking forward to visiting Canberra to see if it is exactly as he describes!

If there is one book to read before arriving in Australia this in the one!

A must read for any Americans out there planning to visit Australia! The United States of Australia is a fabulous (and funny) introduction to Australia and its quirky inhabitants. This book examines the relationship between Australia and the U.S., including how Australians view their American cousins.

Topics include Blokes and Sheilas, Bloody Foster’s, Dangerous Creatures, Talking to Dogs, The GAFA, Speaking Strail-yun and Working for the Queen. Confused? You won’t be after reading this book!

Find out about the history of this vast country from the arrival of the earliest Aborigines some fifty or sixty thousand years ago to the present.

Learn all about the ancient Aboriginal way of life, the arrival of European settlers and the emergence of a 21st century Australia.

This volume of Travelers' Tales provides a vibrant introduction to the country of Australia and its people.

Visit well-known sites like Bondi Beach and Uluru, get lost in the outback, forage for platypuses, slog through billabongs, walk along ancient song lines, and land on a deserted island for a Robinson Crusoe adventure that will make you think twice about leaving home.

I bet you didn't know that in 1932 the Australian army was called out to wage war on an invading army of 20,000… emus! Or that the first royal personage to arrive in Australia was the King of Iceland and he came as a convict?

From Jim Haynes, one of Australia's most successful and prolific tellers of yarns and bush tales, comes this ultimate collection of unbelievable true Australian stories: the unknown, the forgotten, the surprising, the truly weird and the completely inexplicable.

Good to learn about the customs and culture of Australia before you go! Australia is different—a vast island-continent with distances so great that the capital of Western Australia is actually closer to Singapore in Asia than it is to Sydney.

Australia with magnificent tropical rainforests and deserts the size of several European states has a lifestyle the envy of the world.

Find out everything you need to know about its culture and customs. Learn the difference between a quokka and a gallah and have a fabulous time!

And there are enough of them!!! Read up about all those crazy spiders, snakes, stingers and others that can kill you in the Land Down Under!!!

Written by local writers Fodors have been producing excellent travel guides for over 80 years.

Tim Winton is one of Australia’s most decorated and beloved novelists. In this novel the author tells the story of a young man on a journey of self-discovery in one of the harshest climates on Earth.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is an historical fiction novel written by Joan Lindsay. The novel is set in 1900 and revolves around the disappearance of a group of students from an Australian girls' boarding school when they are visiting Hanging Rock on Valentine's Day.

It is regarded by critics to be one of the best Australian novels.

The Spare Room revolves around the friendship between two women - one dying and the other who cares for her. This book consistently receives excellent reviews and the author Helen Garner is a well respected Australian author.

Written by the indigenous Australian author Alexis Wright. It met with widespread critical acclaim when it was published in mid-2006, and went on to win Australia's premier literary prize, the Miles Franklin Award, in mid-2007.

Set in the sparsely populated town of Desperance in northern Queensland the story revolves around a powerful local family and  Aboriginal families in dispute with the white officials of neighbouring towns.

One small town. Three lost women. And a lifetime of secrets.

An epic novel that follows the life of Leonora. Found abandoned as a small child in the desert of western Australia to a life in America before returning to her roots this love story will enthral you from beginning to end!

Set in an outback town gripped in a two year drought this murder mystery is a page-turner.

Brothers Nathan and Bub Bright meet for the first time in months at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback.

Their third brother, Cameron, lies dead at their feet.