Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel to Indonesia. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll be visiting.

These are some of our favorites about Indonesia, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.

You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!

Recommended books to read before traveling to Indonesia:

Fiction:

• A House in Bali by Colin McPhee (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

Nonfiction:

• Bali: A Paradise Created by Adrian Vickers (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Indonesia Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation by Elizabeth Pisani (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:

• The Earth of Mankind (Buru Quartet) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos by Richard Lloyd Parry (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Painted Alphabet by Diana Darling (Amazon)
• A Tale from Bali by Vicki Baum (Amazon)
• In the Time of Madness: Indonesia on the Edge of Chaos by Richard Lloyd Parry (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Bali: Sekala & Niskala: Essays on Religion, Ritual, and Art by Fred B. Eiseman Jr. (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Tea Lords by Hella S. Haasse (Amazon)
• Fragrant Rice by Janet De Neefe (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Child of All Nations (Buru Quartet) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Footsteps (Buru Quartet) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• House of Glass (Buru Quartet) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company by Multatuli (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

GEEO travelers can register with SIMA Academy for free using a unique access code that we provide after our programs end. Feel free to contact us if you would like to receive the access code early. For this program, we recommend watching Homecoming and Is Different Crazy. SIMA Academy utilizes the storytelling power of award-winning global short documentaries to nurture globally competent and socially active learners worldwide.

GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!