Remember 5cm novel? This novel is quite phenomenal. Up till now it has been re-printed 15 times and reached 100.000 copies, wow!!!! Currently the novel is still under preparation to be adapted into a movie. 2 is the second novel written by Donny Dhirgantoro.
Just like in 5cm this novel also tells about dreams, love and faith. If in 5cm the author tells about friendship while in 2 it focuses more on family. A story about Gusni, an overweight girl who was born with genetic disorder and doctor said she won't have a long life. Despite feeling desperate, Gusni encourages herself to do something about her health. She finally chooses badminton in order to burn her fat and avoid more weight.
I love the idea of the novel but honestly I don't enjoy reading it. I even skipped many pages. There are too many useless pages. The author actually only talks about simple thing but why on earth does he always use very long sentences to express it? I know every writer has his/her own writing style, perhaps this time I am just not into the style.
2
Sebelas Patriot
"Jika ada hal lain yang sangat menakjubkan di dunia ini selain cinta, adalah sepakbola."
--Andrea Hirata
The 7th novel of Andrea Hirata. A story about football. A love among a son, a father and football and how they interact with each other. Still telling about Ikal, this time he tells about his father and just found out that his father was actually a great football player when he was young. Inspiring by his father's story, Ikal finally tries his best to follow his dream in becoming a football player.
Just a very thin novel only 101 pages but completed with 3 songs about football. I finished it within one hour. My suggestion is if you want to enjoy this book, do not compare it to Laskar Pelangi tetralogy. This one is just a simple book about something that the author love most. The football.
Madre
"Kamu ingin cinta tapi takut jatuh cinta. But you know what? kadang-kadang kamu harus terjun dan jadi basah untuk tahu air, Che. Bukan cuma nonton di pinggir dan berharap kecipratan"
(Excerpt from Madre (Menunggu Layang-layang) by Dee)
Dee is back with her newest compilation consisting of 13 fictions and poems. I don't read many book written by Indonesian writers but Dee is different. I love almost all of her works. Her stories are unique, complex and delivered in a smart way. I enjoy the character, the theme, the conversation and all.
Read the first story Madre. It's about a guy who was suddenly inherited an old and almost close down bakery from his unknown grandpa. Here it goes the struggle of the vintage bakery and how it survives against a lot of modern bakeries in Jakarta. The characters and the plot itself are very strong. I could even smell the bread baking aroma. No wonder that after finishing the story, I feel that I want to have my own bakery *dream*:) One of the best short story ever.
Apart from Madre, I also love Menunggu Layang-layang, it's a simple yet sweet love story. While other writings are not so special, I still prefer Recto Verso to Madre.
This book has already been published by Penerbit Bentang on June 2011.
I was the Yellow Jacket
I've been very busy for the past one week, Najla is entering her new elementary school. So many things to be prepared, not only the school equipment but also Najla's mental. Thank God, everything runs well. It just needs a little more time for her to adapt from the relaxing kindergarten period to a bit-serious-elementary school:)
Out of the blue, in the middle of this tiring week, a friend asked me to visit UI campus in Depok. We didn't have any special agenda there. It's just for the sake of old time. We're curious about the new library there. We heard about how big and luxurious it is. Yesterday morning we arrived at UI campus, enjoyed the morning breeze and reminisced the moments when we were still young, haha... ah...suddenly we missed those moments.
After gobbling up our breakfast in one of the faculty cafetaria and feeling surprised with the cheap price, we finally walked along the campus and headed to the library. Yes, it is a big and beautiful library. Actually it's not finished yet but we already can imagine how it is going to be when it is done completely. It's going to be one of my favorite place. Definitely. Can't hardly wait.
Cocktails For Three
Long before Sophie Kinsella wrote the Shopaholic series, she already wrote many novels under her real name Madeleine Wickham. She's been asked by many people why she writes books under two names, she said it's simply because the books style are different.
This book tells about three smart and successful women who work in a fashion magazine in London. They have a monthly ritual to hang out together in a bar and to share the cocktail and the gossip. They all have certain problems just like us and they see each other to talk about the ups and downs of their life.
A very simple story compared to the Shopaholic series. Shopaholic series are far more fun while this stand alone novel is very 'light'. The characters, the flow and the ending are very predictable. But if you are tired with complicated books, grab this one and read it. Sometimes it is nice to read a simple book so instead of thinking while reading, this time we only need to read, that's all.
This book had already been translated by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama on June 2011.
The Innocent Man
This is a true story about an innocent guy who was charged of death penalty, spent years in prison and how finally he was rescued and free of all charges. John Grisham's first non fiction book. A great subject to work but unfortunately Grisham failed to tell the story in his typical compelling story.
Reading this book seems like having a history book with endless dates and events. The prologue is quite long. The detail is so boring. This is far from Grisham's best work. A boring read. I only read half of the book, checked the pictures in the book and skipped to the end. What happens to Grisham? His works are getting more and more dissapointing. I miss his engaging old works.
Already translated in Bahasa Indonesia by PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama on May 2011.
Books For Sale
After seeing my overloaded bookshelves and considering my desire of buying books is never decreased and also remembering what my favorite author, Paulo Coelho, said, "a book has its own journey to make and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf" therefore I finally decided to sell some of my books collection.
At first I offered around 150 books to my friends via e-mail and surprisingly 100 books were sold out within one week, a big WOW !!! There are still 45 books left, the prices are varied from Rp. 10.000 up until Rp 25.000 (all prices are excluding the shipping cost) , the books are in good condition, if you are interested to purchase it, just e-mail me at: tjut_riana@yahoo.com
List of books written by Indonesian writers:
Fiction:
1. Seroja by Sunaryono Basuki Ks, Rp 10.000
2. Dadaisme by Dewi Sartika, Rp 10.000
3. Tabula Rasa by Ratih Kumala, Rp 10.000
4. Kronik Betawi by Ratih Kumala, Rp 15.000
5. Fofo dan Senggring by Budi Darma, Rp 10.000
6. Orang-orang Bloomington by Budi Darma, Rp 10.000
7. Swastika by Maya Wulan, Rp 10.000
8. Panggil Aku B by Fira Basuki, Rp 10.000
9. Jendela-jendela by Fira Basuki, Rp 10.000
10. Mereka Bilang Saya Monyet by Djenar Maesa Ayu, Rp 10.000
11. Indiana Chronicle by Clara Ng, Rp 15.000
12. A Cat in My Eyes by Fahd Djibran, Rp 10.000
List of books written by non-Indonesian writers but already translated in Bahasa Indonesia:
Novel, Fiction:
1. SkyBurial by Xinran, Rp 10.000
2. Pengakuan by Anton Chekov, Rp 10.000
3. Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland, Rp 20.000
4. In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami, Rp 20.000
5. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Rp 20.000
6. Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard, Rp 20.000
7. Weed Flower by Cynthia Kadohata, Rp 20.000
8. The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Rp 20.000
9. The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins, Rp 20.000
10. Beijing Doll by Chun Sue, Rp 20.000
11. Born Blue by Han Nolan, Rp 20.000
12. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, Rp 20.000
13. Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier, Rp 10.000
14. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, Rp 20.000
15. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Rp 20.000
16. 24 Wajah Billie by Daniel Keyes, Rp 20.000
17. The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Rp 20.000
18. Murid Istimewa by Torey Hayden, Rp 20.000
19. Sang Guru Piano by Elfriede Jelinek, Rp 20.000
20. Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, Rp 20.000
21. The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan, Rp25.000
22. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, Rp 25.000
23. Balthasar's Oddyssey by Amin Maalouf, Rp 25.000
24. Daddy's Little Girl by Marry Higgins Clark, Rp 10.000
Non- fiction:
25. Ceritalah Indonesia by Karim Raslan, Rp 10.000
26. From China with Love by Emily Buchanan, Rp 20.000
27. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario, Rp 20.000
28. Female Undercover by Norah Vincent, Rp 20.000
29. Bocah Muslim Di Negeri James Bond by Imran Ahmad, Rp 20.000
Chiclit:
30. Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nichols, Rp 15.000
31. Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers, Rp 15.000
32. Don't Try This At Home by Katie Pearson, Rp 20.000
33. Dress Rehearsel by Jennifer O'Connel, Rp 20.000
I guess that's all, the list will be stopped here, happy hunting:)
Catatan Harian Si Boy (2011)
"Sesuatu yang nggak penting buat lo, belum tentu nggak penting juga buat orang lain"
Remember the famous Catatan Harian Si Boy (Cabo) back to 80s? The movie is back now. I read many positive reviews about the movie. Luckily last week I received two complimentary tickets from BCA to watch Catatan Harian Si Boy (2011). I asked my partner (in crime) to accompany me and she said yes (in fact she's always available for any free tickets and free lunch) :p
This afternoon we finally watched the movie without any expectation. But it turned out that we kept laughing and enjoyed the movie a lot. It's not a remake, it seems that this is actually a new movie but based on some characters from the old Cabo. I love the dialogue there. Totally smart dialogue and salute to the director who can execute it in an excellent way. This movie is really worth to watch.
Around The World In 80 Dinners
After writing cookbooks for years and winning many cookbook awards, Cheryl and Bill Jamison finally decided to use all their frequent flier miles on a three-month global culinary.
Beginning in Bali, the couple traveled to 10 different countries which were Australia, New Caledonia, Singapore, Thailand, India, China, South Africa, France and Brazil during the fall of 2005, sampling the local cuisine and taking in the sights.
It's really a 'fat' memoir telling about local foods, the culture and traveling spots. At the end of each chapter they enclosed a list mentioning about the hotel where they stayed and the recommended restaurants where they ate and also a native recipe from each stop of 10 countries.
Actually I love the idea of combining two great things i.e. food and travel in one memoir. But perhaps the authors have so many things to be put in the memoir therefore I felt a bit difficult to digest the stories since so many information spread in every chapter.
Already translated in Bahasa Indonesia by GagasMedia.
Hey..Am I On TV Now?
School holiday has been coming. As usual we never plan to have an out-of-town holiday trip during this moment. We knew it will be so crowded, horrible traffic jam and instead of enjoying it, the kids will get cranky.
Thank God, Najla and Zea ask nothing special for their holiday. As long as they got each other as partner (in crime), it's already enough for them. They just stay home and enjoy the day as usual. We only go out on weekend, having lunch in our favorite restaurant and of course visiting a bookshop.
But there is a must visit spot during school holiday which is Bobo Fair. Actually there is nothing special about this spot. From year to year always the same programs, nothing new. But I don't know the girls just love it. Therefore last Wednesday we just visited the JCC. We came early at 10 am and left the place at 1 pm. The girls mostly did the drawing, the tattooing and running here and there. Out of the blue a reporter from one private TV station asked my girls for an interview. They just talked naturally without really aware about the cameramen and stuff. It seemed that their mom was more excited:)
