Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel to Australia. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn about the places they’ll visit through literature.
These are some of our favorites about Australia, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.
You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!
Recommended books to read before traveling to Australia:
Fiction:
- Voss by Patrick White (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Carpentaria: A Novel by Alexis Wright (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
Nonfiction:
- In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
More book suggestions:
- The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Harp in the South by Ruth Park (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- My Place by Sally Morgan (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- A Secret Country: The Hidden Australia by John Pilger (Amazon)
- True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding by Robert Hughes (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
- The Dry by Jane Harper (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
Recommended films and videos to watch before traveling to Australia:
GEEO travelers can register with SIMA Academy for free using a unique access code that we provide after our programs end. Feel free to contact us if you would like to receive the access code early. For this program, we recommend watching Nature Needs You and Break Free New Castle. SIMA Academy utilizes the storytelling power of award-winning global short documentaries to nurture globally competent and socially active learners worldwide.
Other films and videos:
- Australia (2008)
- Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
- Finding Nemo (2003)
- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
- Wildest Places season 1 (2019)
- David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef (2018)
- PBS NOVA: Reef Rescue (2020)
- Great Barrier Reef | Nat Geo Wild (2018)
GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!