What I Read (and Played) in Bali

I always read more when I travel.

There’s the flight over, the hotel breakfast where “one more coffee please” somehow turns into another hour, and those lazy afternoons by the pool when there’s absolutely nowhere you need to be.

I have a terrible memory, so reading one chapter a night in bed while desperately trying not to fall asleep doesn’t really work for me. By the time I pick the book up again the following evening, I’ve forgotten half of what happened.

I much prefer to completely disappear into a book and read it cover to cover in a couple of days.

So, naturally, my suitcase to Bali contained books. And because apparently books weren't enough, I squeezed in a couple of games too.

Agrippa – Robert Harris

I was drawn to Agrippa for two reason -: my fascination with Italy and Ancient Rome, and how much I enjoyed Robert Harris’s Conclave. The Officer and The Spy? Not so much - but we won’t go there today.

Agrippa is historical fiction presented as the fictional memoir of Marcus Agrippa, effectively the co-ruler and right-hand man of Octavian, who would eventually become Caesar Augustus, Rome’s first emperor.

It’s not exactly a thriller, but anyone with even a passing interest in this period of European history should find plenty to love. I particularly enjoyed learning about Agrippa’s role in the building of Rome, including its aqueducts and the original Pantheon, alongside his military victories during the creation of the Roman Empire.

There’s also plenty of page-turning drama grounded in historical truth - politically motivated marriages, affairs, children of noble blood born outside marriage, wars waged over wounded egos, military conquests and the constant manoeuvring required to survive alongside some of the most powerful people in the ancient world.

I finished it in just a couple of days. It’s superbly written and full of plausible ideas about how Agrippa might have approached his extraordinary position as the trusted friend, adviser and general of the most powerful man in the world.

I loved it. Unfortunately, it also left me sitting beside a pool in Bali dreaming about abandoning my holiday and flying straight back to Italy to surround myself with Mediterranean villas and magnificent ancient Roman architecture. Maybe next year…

John of John – Douglas Stuart

For my second book, I went somewhere completely different.

I started Douglas Stuart’s John of John expecting the same emotional torture I got from Young Mungo – a book I both enjoyed, but also struggled to recommend.

John of John an exploration of fatherhood, masculinity, homesexuality and religion. Without giving too much away, it’s about an isolated community, a son returning home and a father grappling not only with his son’s identity, but with his own.

One of the things I enjoyed most was how the characters weren’t necessarily what they appeared to be on the surface. They reveal themselves slowly. I also loved the idea that lessons don't only travel from one generation to the next – sometimes the son has just as much to teach the father.

I found it beautiful, but sad and heavy. It reminded me at times of Brokeback Mountain. After finishing it, I decided my next book definitely needs to be something happy!

And then there were the games…

I also love taking a board game away with me – but pocket editions only. I’m not sacrificing half my luggage allowance to a giant cardboard box.

When you’re travelling with friends, a little game is such an easy way to spend time together once the conversation runs dry. It also allows for some fun daily competition. Pull one out while you’re having a drink at the bar, waiting for a flight, lingering over a meal or having a coffee somewhere beautiful.

My games of choice this trip were my usual go-to Monopoly Deal and a new game for me - Wingspan Pocket. I love birds, so I was probably an easy sell! The cards feature beautiful birds from around the world, including New Zealand, and I love that you can spend the half-hour playing time appreciating and learning about some amazing birds while also playing a genuinely fun and challenging game.

The basic mechanics are pretty easy to learn. Each card can represent either a bird or food, and on each turn you choose whether to add a bird to your flock, collect more cards or lay eggs. As your flock grows, you activate your birds’ different abilities, so the challenge is working out which birds work well together and building combinations that score you the most points.

It’s simple enough to pick up after a couple of games, but there’s plenty of strategy as the game unfolds. Games take around 30 minutes, which I think is just about perfect when you’re travelling. 

Books are alive and well in Bali

Travelling around Bali was yet another reminder that physical books are very much alive and well. I saw books everywhere – being read on the plane, beside the pool and around hotels and cafés. There were also heaps of bookshops to pop into and explore – and not just at the airports.

Admittedly, many of the stores I visited were selling English-language books and were clearly aimed at tourists. But still, there was obviously a market for them because they seemed to be everywhere.

One unexpected difference from bookstores in New Zealand was that the books were individually shrink-wrapped. Apparently this isn’t uncommon in parts of Asia, but it was new to me.

My first reaction was actually positive. Every book was in mint condition! Nobody could bend the cover, spill coffee on it or thumb their way through it before you bought it.

But after spending some time browsing, I realised I really didn’t like it. Not being able to flick through a book and read the first few pages felt like a pretty big downside – after all, that’s half the reason you’d want to visit a physical bookstore in the first place. And perhaps most importantly, there was no bookstore smell! I was surprised by how much of a difference that made to whether the stores actually felt like bookstores.

Seeing every book sealed in plastic also somehow made them feel less like books and more like products – commodities sitting neatly on a shelf waiting to be purchased. It reminded me that part of the magic of a physical bookstore is that you’re supposed to interact with the books. Pick them up. Flick through them. Read the back. Read a random page. Put one down and discover another. Yes, occasionally that means the copy you buy might have already been handled by somebody else. I think I’m okay with that.

What do you think? Would you prefer every book in a bookstore to be perfectly protected in shrink-wrap, or would it ruin part of the experience for you too?

— Dylan