Death by Leisure caught my eye from the moment I read its blurb and anybody with a vague interest in the psyche of the American Consumer will also find themselves intrigued.
It sounds a little something like this:
Journalist Chris Ayres - didn’t want much - a supermodel girlfriend, a cliff top bachelor palace and a fleet of chrome-rimmed SUV’s so that he can mingle with the Hollywood elite. The only snag to these lofty aspirations is that he is flat broke and trying to pay off his original student loan on an MG he purchased many years back.
Instead of letting a minor detail get in the way, Chris moves to LA and borrows $1m dollars and sets out to fulfil his boyhood dreams. Unfortunately none of it can last and eventually he is ducking and diving as his life catches up with him and the lenders come seeking their pound of flesh.
I laughed through this whole book - the story line, the writing, the witty one liners - it just all jumped out at me as a really neat and amusing look at how American consumers got themselves into so much trouble. It is one thing to read about it in the financial media about some of the behaviour patterns that these guys indulged in but to read some of the thinking first-hand was brilliant.
A highly recommended read!
Title: Death by Leisure
Author: Chris Ayres
ISBN: 978-0-7195-6016-3
You can buy this book online for R105 or follow the banners right to online retailer Loot.
I rated this book a 4 out of 5 - it was brilliant, witty and just felt very “real”. As one person commented: “Death by Leisure is a savage and hilarious takedown of our times, and a wake-up call to aspiring Leisuretocrats everywhere.”
PS - Ayres also writes about a book called “War Reporting for Cowards” which I see is available from some of the local online retailers and I reckon I will be adding it to my shopping list this month!
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