The Books I Read In 2024
The Naked Tourist: In Search of Adventure and Beauty in the Age of the Airport Mall
Lawrence Osborne
I preferred this to Osborne's other non-fic 'Bangkok Days'. That one was a slog to get through, 'The Naked Tourist', on the other hand, is a more succinct and to-the-point read.
The chapters covering the author's travels to the Andaman Islands and his brief stint in Bali before hopping over to PNG were highlights for me.
Overall, it's kind of hilarious to see Osborne's slightly "gatekeeper" perspective in the early 2000s, he essentially infers that mass tourism by the early 2000s has turned once "exotic" destinations into overcrowded cesspits of misery. Because these days, the invention of social media and the influence of influencers have made tourist destinations significantly more overcrowded than they were in the early 2000s, when this book was written.
I'd actually be interested in a follow-up to this book and the author's thoughts on the effects of social media influencers on tourism.
3.5 out of 5
Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World
Tom Wright
Extremely engaging. Recounts the story of how a Malaysian national swindled over 4.5 billion USD (all with the help of Goldman Sachs and some other prominent players) from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign wealth fund.
4 out of 5
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
David Grann
Captivatingly written and a page-turner. I consumed this within the space of one weekend.
5 out of 5
No Empty Chairs: The Short and Heroic Lives of the Young Aviators Who Fought and Died in the First World War
Ian Mackersey
Imagine learning how to fly, only 11 years after the first powered, heavier-than-air airplane flight occurred, from an inexperienced instructor who, chances are, is terrified of the entire act of flying itself.
Then, if you somehow miraculously survive your rudimentary “flight training” you are sent to the front, where the life expectancy of a WWI aviator averaged six weeks. In April 1917, the average life expectancy for new British pilots was eleven days.
Poignant reading.
4 out of 5
In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos
Richard Lloyd Parry
This is an essential read if you are particularly interested in the last years of the Suharto era and the subsequent 1998 riots in Indonesia.
This is an often dark and visceral journey into a journalist's firsthand encounters within Indonesia during this tumultuous time. I would have preferred more time dedicated to Jakarta itself during the May 1998 riots (though events such as the Trisakti University incident are covered); however, I understand this is purely the author's own first-hand experiences, so he couldn't be physically everywhere at once while history was being made. I do find it strange, though, that he decided to spend so much time away from the capital during a lot of the pivotal events of 1998, opting to search for stories further afield.
All in all, it is a great read, and as I said, absolutely essential if you are interested in 1990s Indonesia or, indeed, 1990s Asia on a macro level.
4 out of 5
Demokrasi: Indonesia in the 21st Century
Hamish McDonald
Published in 2014, yet still Insightful. Certain sections covered in the last third make for an interesting read in 2024, with political developments since the book’s publication.
3 out of 5
The Magus
John Fowles
I enjoyed the first third, but felt that the story dragged after Maurice Conchis was introduced and his psychological games began.
A disappointment.
3 out of 5
The Shards
Bret Easton Ellis
The O.C. + Cruel Intentions + I Know What You Did Last Summer + Pre-shoulder pad era 1980s
It's not the author's best work, but it's not their worst either, and it's undeserving of much of the harsh criticism it has received since its release.
Extremely immersive. The world-building in this is extremely vivid. Bret Easton Ellis transports you to the sights, smells, and tastes of LA in the 80s.
I was hooked from beginning to end. Having said that, I found the ending to be a little underwhelming and anticlimactic, considering how completely engaged and invested I was throughout.
4.5 out of 5
Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation
Karl Taro Greenfeld
A collection of gonzo-style newspaper articles centered around Japanese youths written by the author while he was living in Japan in the 1990s.
Somewhat suspect in terms of the actual validity of each of the actual stories themselves (it feels as though the author stretched the truth in order to make for more entertaining tales). Especially when you consider that this was written before the internet was accessible to the majority of the world, and before mass tourism had hit Japan, so it was easier to get away with this “shock and awe” type of writing before people could actually confirm its validity through a Google search.
I found the author's later book, “Standard Deviations: Growing Up and Coming Down in the New Asia,” to be a more engaging read overall, although it also somewhat stretches the truth.
2.75 out of 5