Death by Leisure: A Cautionary Tale

by Chris Ayres

Describes the author's return from a stint as a war correspondent in Iraq to immerse himself into the American leisure economy, detailing his experiences in a world of gratuitous consumption, billionaire charity balls, million-dollar poker tournaments, and hedonistic parties, as well as his confrontation with the excesses of his generation in the wake of the destruction of hurricane Katrina. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Biography, Humor

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2008

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok let's cut the shit. I don't like Chris Ayres and I don't like people like Chris Ayres -- and it sounds like L.A. is crawling with them. That said, Chris Ayres is one hell of a funny guy. Whining, self-deprecating, unabashedly materialistic, and hopeless with the women... I mean, the guy sells his furniture on craigs list as a ploy to get women to talk to him??? Would I take the guy's phone call? No fucking way. Did I think I'd finish a semi-autobiography by the guy? Not on your life. But I did... and parts of it (the middle of the book especially) I couldn't put down. Yeah, the last 20 or so pages are WAY too preachy for me (hence four stars), but nonetheless this is a genuinely funny read -- made all the more so because it's so fucking true.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read book for everyone who is wondering what the hell happened to the economy in the past 2 years. As Pogo once said, "We have met the enemy and he is us". The recent crisis in Europe will make its way to China--this is a "Domino Theory" that is a real threat--and the people who are overusing and overbuying will have to get a clue.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well written, but lacking in substance. Reading this book was like eating popcorn. You don't actually enjoy it, but you keep eating it anyway.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty quick read that follows the author as he moves to LA from back-of-the-woods English town. This is a few years before the housing crisis of 2007, so he - predictably - goes hogwild with credit cards, personal loans, and a ridiculous ARM loan on "the perfect bachelor pad". He also leases a Range Rover.

This book actually reminds EXACTLY of "Save Karyn" but from a guy's POV. Except whereas Karyn was saved by her website and then got a book deal, Ayres went straight for the book deal about 9 days he spent in Iraq as a war reporter. When the call from his agent came that the book was sold and he was getting an advance to write it, he was actually in Vegas and had just spent a very unsuccessful night trying to win enough money to buy a Tiffany engagement ring.

I found Ayres' story a little annoying - he's the poster child for what caused the bubble. He's ego is huge and throughout the book he overcommits to things he can't possibly pull off (see: tickets to VIP Oscar party, tickets to some other exclusive event, moving a gargantuan sofabed, and oh yeah, a huge unconventional mortgage!). At least he admits to his tendency to overexaggerate and over-promise. Annoyingly, he pulls through on everything at the last minute, including avoiding bankrupcty, which was always a month away. As a result, it's hard to feel any sympathy for him since he got a 2nd book deal out of it.

Overall, not a huge fan. The writing was fun but the main character just strike a chord with me. I'm just glad I didn't buy the book. At least my money isn't going to support his (I'm sure) leisurely lifestyle. :)

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun and funny book about Ayres experience living in LA leading up to and into the housing collapse. He does a great job making fun of himself which is a good quality. And you can stop to examine your own ridiculous excesses and follies when you know his are at least as bad. It's not earth-shattering but it is fun to read.

[Brendan Suszynski · Rating 3 out of 5]

While well written and full of ridiculous analogies and self deprecating humor, it was fairly preachy about it's subject matter. Ayres' Pre-Recession misadventures as a Hollywood Reporter and his playful nihilism toward how American Excess is harming the enviornment make for enjoyable reads, but it's not like he's saying things that haven't been said on these issues, hence the three stars.

[Stefani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite funny in parts, but large stretches made me zone out (mostly the authors musings on environmental downfall and the impending apocalypse). I would rate this a 4 and 1/2 for humor alone but the other parts really dragged it down.

[Marianne Wassmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very funny look at greed in Los Angeles right before the "bubble" burst. You should condemn the author fior his excess, though you can't, because it's too much fun. Not great literature, but fun to read.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this guy is up there with P.J. O"Rourke with his insight into what the current world is like and with very funny and insightful views that describe the world as it is even though those realities aren't always easy to see in the here and now.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly amusing. fun, but with a bit of a lack of foucus. If you want to read something good by him, do war reporting for cowards- all the fun, but he was forced to focus on a unifying theme.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and frivolous read. We pogo-sticked around the made-up life of an English correspondent outcast to Hollywood, sorry LA, to cover celebrities and silliness. No better man for the job than Chris, who seemed to be the poster boy for silliness. Silly choices, silly reasoning, silly clothing choices.

Death by Leisure isn't an accurate title for this book. If we're keeping it short and quipy then perhaps Consumerism and childishness or perhaps Shopping and stupidity. I wouldn't call anything Chris did leisure although he didn't seem to do much working -- his non-working time was so convoluted and twisted up in the need to impress, it seemed like harder work than the actual work.

Although this is giving this book too much weight. It's fairy floss. And the man is funny. There were paragraphs in this book that made me laugh so hard, I shook the bed and woke my husband. He has a damn funny turn of phrase.

But write a cohesive story linking various plotlines and characters together, with interesting dialogue and unexpected turn of events? Nah. It really is a pogo-stick of a ride. We hop here, we bounce there, we lurch to the side, we bound back at a 37 degree angle. It's vaguely coherent, but not a gripping plotline.

This is what I'd call a good "stake out" book. If you were on a stake out somewhere, where your attention needed to be half on something else but you had a bit of spare brain space for something light and frivolous that you could easily put down and pick up again and it wouldn't matter if you missed chunks or forgot who Lisa was or remembered that Jake had recently left his wife or whatever it was - this is the book for you. It not only does not require, but is probably better experienced, if it isn't focused on too much.

So read in your peripheral vision, enjoy those fabulous funny phrases, and let it all flow around you as flotsam - soon to be forgotten.

[Joel Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lighthearted and fun

[Keith Malek · Rating 2 out of 5]

An idiot lives way beyond his means, and then spends 300 pages whining about it. I hated this book.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I really enjoyed the laugh-aloud tale of Ayres' "War Reporting for Cowards". But his sophomore "Death by Leisure" was lacking. While amusing and a quick read, "Death by Leisure" -- upon some Googling of the topics the author brought up -- was more of a rehash of Ayres' columns strung together under the umbrella of environmental and economical references. I liked it as a quick read, and could relate, having known some of the LA culture as well as the realities of being a writer/reporter, but ultimately this only gets two stars, as I'd likely not recommend it.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should be required reading. I'm not kidding. If you want to understand why the economy (and the weather for that matter) is so ridiculously horrible, you should read this book. I barely understood why the housing market collapsed until I read this book. Hilarious and yet disturbing, Chris Ayres delivers another homerun. And if you haven't read War Reporting For Cowards (also by Ayres) yet, check it out, definitely worth your time and money.

[Arapahoe Libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Ayres wanted everything now: a million-dollar home, a super-hot girlfriend, a credit-card-enabled life of leisure, a cushy job. He moved from a sheep-raising village in England to LA, where indeed he could get everything now. Be prepared to laugh out loud!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling from an English reporter diving into life in L.A., and about overconsumption and the breakdown of our economy and environment, though you often feel that Ayres doesn't do enough in the way of practicing what he preaches, or...learns.

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scathing critique of the Los Angeles life style from a British refugee vantage point. Non-glamorous person invades California at the height of the housing bubble in 2007 and manages to get a foothold on the bandwagon of cheap money and crazy real estate - moments before it all crashes.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read! A rollercoaster ride filled with that self depeicating humor that makes you squirm and laugh all at the same moment.

[jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

how high-flying US lifestyles have contributed to environmental and economic collapse...Sierra Club magazine thinks it's good.

[Andrew Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very smart and engaging. Laugh-out-loud funny all the way through. He sums up our current culture of consumption like nobody else. Think Jon Stewart meets Ricky Gervais.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a must-read for any aspiring blagger

[Ayelet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Commentary about the environment is hidden in his wish to be rich.

[Anne Walbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining fish-out-of-water story (here the fish is an Englishman in LA) with nuggets of Deep Thoughts about overconsumption and the apocalypse.

[Michael Andersen-Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable tale of financial crash and burn in Los Angeles......I felt a strong shudder of "hmmm.....I'm heading down the same path" as I read it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. Laughs on every page, and a good reminder that our society, in the perspective of sanity and rationality, is incredibly delusional.

[Beata Zwarycz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am SO glad I don't have to live in LA... Although if I did live in LA, I could write a book about it. Just like Chris Ayres did.

[Brian Indrelunas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, Kate, I finally finished it.

And unlike Ashley (who gave me this book), I actually liked Ayres' second book at least as much as his first.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly amusing - the poor man's Chuck Klosterman but nowhere as witty or funny as Klosterman.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A British reporter living in Los Angeles with Gatsbyesque excess covering showbiz. Bizarre, exaggerated, humorous.