It’s unsettling how long it took me to finish Australia. I thought the 2 months to finish Asia was shameful but this takes the cake. Part of the problem was holidays. I didn’t prioritize reading and read a book or two outside of this project. Here’s hoping I complete Africa in a more respectable timeframe.
Since Australia is one continent and one country I only read four books. Unfortunately, my selections weren’t great.
- My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin – A cute novel written in the 1890s by a female Australian teenager. It’s melodramatic as most teens are but a fine read.
- A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia by Thomas Keneally – A brilliantly written history of the colonization of Australia. This book was easy to read and educational. Highly Recommend
- Dreamkeepers by Harvey Arden – I’m not sure how this made the list because Arden is American and you can tell when you read the book. It’s patronizing and I felt shame reading it. Nevertheless, it was informative.
- The Journals of Captain Cook by James Cook – This book was too dull to finish. Captain Cook kept fine notes of exploring the coast of Australia but it’s tedious.
- Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers – I selected this book because Travers is Australian and after watching Saving Mr. Banks I was curious. What a disappointment! The book is NOTHING like Mary Poppins the movie; therefore, I have no idea what they were talking about in Saving Mr. Banks. Mary Poppins is not a nice person and the book was long and quite dull.
Australia is the second highest grossing film and stars some of the continent’s finest. It’s a long film but it’s satisfying. It reminds me of Pearl Harbor. The highlight of watching this movie is that it left me satisfied that I had learned about the country. There were many plot points that I would not have understood or appreciated without reading the books listed above (except Mary Poppins).
CarrieDaway 