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Fall Back in Love with Down Under

By Kobo Blog • July 14, 2021

Sometimes, there’s no place like home.

With international travel still off the cards for now, Australians itching for a getaway have no choice but to explore the land they call home. But considering Australia is more than seven million square kilometres, there are plenty of places to go. If you need some inspiration on where to vacation next, take an imaginative escape by flicking through a book about the Land Down Under. Covering stunning landscapes, delicious Aussie cuisine and unique Australian stories, there’s plenty of pages to explore on this list for you.

Welcome to Country by Marcia Langton

An essential read for those curious about Australia’s first people, Marcia Langton’s Welcome to Country is a curated guidebook to Indigenous Australia. Offering unique insights about the culture that has thrived here for over 50,000 years, this book is a deep dive into First Nation languages,customs, history, native title, art and dance as well as storytelling. Langton recommends Indigenous tourism experiences in a specialised directory that covers galleries, festivals, national parks, museums, remote communities, tours and performances.

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The Dry by Jane Harper

Aussies know the effects of a drought all too well, especially our farmers. Immerse yourself in the drama that arises in the rural community of Kiewarra where rain hasn’t fallen in two years. When three members of the Hadler family are discovered shot dead on their property, tension heightens and Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to his hometown to uncover the truth. Falk is forced to confront the community that rejected him twenty years earlier.

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Australian Food by Bill Granger

From the man who made avocado toast an Australian staple and whose ricotta hotcakes have queues forming around the world, Bill Granger’s Australian Food is the quintessential guide to Aussie cuisine. Sophisticated but minimal, Australian’s have a casual approach to eating. Granger’s domestic dishes are packed with fresh flavours and local produce. This book will make your kitchen as good as the local cafe on the corner.

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Down Under by Bill Bryson

In one of the harshest climates and seemingly uninhabited continents of the world, Australia is remarkably teeming with life. Bill Bryson’s journey to Australia uncovers the deadly creatures that make Australia one of a kind. His curious outsider perspective of our homeland paints us Aussies as cheerful, extroverted, quick-witted and obliging. Meaning our cities are safe and clean with excellent food, cold beer and lots of sun. What’s not to love?

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A Bigger Picture by Malcolm Turnbull

Moving now to our nation’s political capital, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turbull’s biography paints a picture of his life from his humble beginnings in Sydney, to a successful legal and media career that lead to his eventual election and our nation’s leader. While his time in Australia’s top job was cut short after three years, Turnbull still managed to make an impact. A Bigger Picture tells the story of one of Australia’s best-known dynamic business and political leaders delving into detail of all the controversies and successes.

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The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper

Take a trip back in time with this historical mystery from bestselling Australian author Tea Cooper. The Girl in the Painting takes the reader on a journey across the gritty reality of the Australian goldfields, the grand institutions of Sydney and the charming countryside of Maitland. When Maitland local Elizabeth Quinn is found cowering in the exhibition gallery at the Technical College the entire town knows something strange has happened and Jane Piper is determined to find out what.

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Gotta Love This Country! by Peter FitzSimons

From sporting fields to the dry cleaners, Peter FitzSimon’s book Gotta Love This Country! celebrates the unique, but sometimes strange parts of Australian culture. In a collection of hilarious and heartwarming stories of daily life, FitzSimons interrogates the Australian psyche and makes us proud to be an Aussie. It's enough for you to puff out your chest and say, Gotta Love This Country!

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Breath by Tim Winton

Take a trip to the Western Australian coastline and dive into one of Australia’s most beloved author’s bestselling books. In this Tim Winton masterpiece, Paramedic Bruce Pike is called out to another teenage adventure gone sideways. A misadventure where he knows the cause all too well. Breath is a story about the wildness of youth, feeling invincible and learning to live with its passing.

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The Survivors by Jane Harper

Set in the tempestuous seascapes of Tasmania, The Survivors explores feelings of guilt that changed Kieran Elliot’s life forever. A visit to the coastal town he once called home forces these feelings to the surface. When a body washes up on the beach, questions arise and secrets threaten to emerge.

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Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee

Moving north to the riverside city of Brisbane, Eggshell Skull follows the budding legal career of Bri Lee in Queensland’s District Court. Two years later she is back in the same court as the complainant in her own case. As the daughter of a policeman and a Judge’s associate herself, Lee travels across regional and metropolitan Queensland uncovering the darker, unjust side of Australia’s culture that forces her to confront her own demons.

READ THE BOOK

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