Aussies love Stuff White People Like

According to Canadian author and blogger Christian Lander, the Aussies he's observed can check all the boxes in his satirical list of Stuff White People Like.

Lander's blog stuffwhitepeoplelike.com and subsequent book poke fun at the stereotype of pretentious white people, saying they like things like "vintage", "bicycles" and "Asian fusion food".

Speaking during his first trip down under, Lander said his sold-out gig in the trendy inner-Sydney suburb of Newtown was the perfect fit.

"I don't know why they booked my event here, there's nothing applicable to the stuff that I write about," Lander quipped after his show at the New Theatre.

"I think on my walk over there I passed five Thai restaurants ... vintage clothing stores and six bike shops."

Lander set up the blog for five of his friends "and it just caught on like wildfire," he said.

Two months after it was launched in January, 2008, traffic to the site peaked at 800,000 visitors a day and Lander left his job as a copytaker to sign a well-paying book deal.

The paperback, Stuff White People Like, features flowcharts, diagrams and black and white photographs taken by Lander's wife of three years, Jess.

It includes 150 things white people enjoy, such as "standing Still at concerts"(No.67), "shorts" (No.86) and "being the only white person around" (71).

"In most situations white people are very comforted by seeing their own kind," Lander writes.

"However, when they are eating at a new ethnic restaurant or travelling to a foreign nation, nothing spoils their fun more than seeing another white person."

Lander, who posted a picture of himself on the blog so people would know he had his tongue firmly in his cheek, also welcomes entries that target him personally.

"I have glasses (No.140) and a beard (No.95)," he says.

"Indie music (No.41) sort of attacks some of my ridiculous snobbery that I have about indie music."

Lander's cheeky dissing of white people has offended some, who, he said, "misinterpret the title" of the blog "to be stuff only white people like".

"You can't talk about race without drawing out idiots.

"There are people who write in and are like, 'you know what man, I don't like sushi, I don't like wine, this is racist'.

"My favourite response is saying, 'so you're offended when someone is making broad generalisations about your race that don't apply to you? I think there's a lot of people on Earth who can relate to this problem."

He said the "most white" celebrities are Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.

Madonna makes the cut "bigtime".

"She would definitely be on there for one of my favourite entries - "religions my parents don't belong to" (No.2) - so yeah she qualifies."

The pop singer also fits the bill for "knowing what's best for poor people" (No. 62) and "adopting foreign children" (No. 33).

Lander, a gossip blog addict, has posted some new additions since the book was released, including "moleskin notebooks" and "Bob Marley".

But while he's using the blog as a foundation for a TV sitcom, he says the site has reached its expiry.

"I'm a little burnt out on writing about white people, I'm hitting a bit of a wall," he said.

"I never expected the site to last forever."

Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander - 9781740667029