In A Sunburned Country

I was simply delighted by my first reading of Bryson. He is a cultivated, cultured author whose extremely well written prose either makes your heart melt or makes you laugh out loud. This was also my first foray into travel writing, another pleasant surprise. The book was recommended to me by a friend because he knew of my love of Australia....the destination of this particular sojourn. While reading his experiences I often became so envious of his journey I would see little rat kangaroos, platypuses, and echidna dance (or waddle) across the page instead of words. The book was full of fascinating accounts, tidbits, historical facts, and anecdotes about this really, really, really cool far-flung land that we are pretty much oblivious to. It really is just a fascinating country. Having been there myself just once I absolutely adore the place, and this if anything has merely spurred me to go back and see more.

The Crystal Singer Trilogy

Anne McCaffrey wrote this trilogy (The Crystal Singer, Killashandra, and Crystal Line) and it's just fun, fun, fun. She has always been a favorite author, and her stories always suck you in. I decided I needed a break from more serious books and picked these up out of my library (which I hadn't read since high school). And they're still good. It's a solid science fiction story that involves exactly what the title indicates - singing crystal. An entire galaxy that is based on technology of crystal that is musically toned and set. So if you want just a fun, fast read, and aren't scared of some sweet sci-fi details then I recommend these.