#bukuSelfie (3)

#bukuSelfie at Gramedia Matraman

Looking at  my own work displayed in Gramedia bookshop puts me into a mix of feeling. Grateful, happy, excited and still a bit speechless. Never thought that my dream of having my own book finally comes true. Alhamdulillah...

Btw #bukuSelfie now is available at all Gramedia bookshop in Jabodetabek. Grab it and I promise you will have a good time while reading it :)

#bukuSelfie (2)

 Ukuran : 14 x 21 cm
Tebal : 180 halaman
Harga : Rp. 55.000,-
Cover : Softcover
ISBN : 978-602-03-0635-3

Sinopsis:

Karin dan Cutri, dua sahabat kategori jojoba (jomblo-jomblo bahagia), sejak belasan tahun yang lalu sudah senang ber-selfie-ria. Yup, beda tipis dengan Steve Jobs, agaknya mereka mampu meramalkan teknologi masa depan. Sejak jaman dulu mereka tahu suatu saat selfie akan menjadi kegiatan wajib bagi kaum narsis di seluruh dunia.

Ada-ada saja cerita mereka sejak SD hingga kini dewasa (baca: masa jompo). Jika Karin senang, Cutri ikut bahagia, jika Cutri susah, mana mau Karin ikutan sengsara. Mereka tak pernah saling menghakimi. Paling-paling hanya menjaksai. Mereka memegang prinsip: best friends don’t judge each other. They judge other people… together!

Kata Karin, friends are like mirrors. You can see yourself just by looking at them. Begitupun persahabatan. Dengan banyaknya persamaan Karin dan Cutri, mereka kadang-kadang merasa seperti “saudara kembar”— meskipun beda bapak, beda ibu, dan beda saldo ATM. Dengan banyaknya persamaan di antara mereka, tak berlebihan jika Karin bilang Cutri bukan hanya seorang sahabat. Dia adalah semacam selfie: sebuah “potret diri” Karin dalam sosok orang lain.

Check Gramedia tumblr here.

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Yay...Gramedia just announced in its twitter account that my book will hit the bookstores on this coming July 3, 2014. Mark the calendar everyone, grab the book and enjoy it !!!!

#bukuSelfie (1)

Karin and I have been friend since we were at elementary school back in 1980 (Yes, I know we're old, lol). Time flies. Our friendship now is entering 34th anniversary. Having a best friend for 34 years is absolutely something special, not many people have it. 

Out of the blue we though that we have to do something to commemorate our 34th friendship anniversary and writing a book together is just something perfect for us. We have been through up-and-down of life together. Of course life is not always on our sides but we don't want to regret it. In fact we want to share our experiences either the good or the bad one in a witty way. We aim to make our readers feel good and happy after finishing our stories since life is already hard enough to bear for some people.

It took almost two years for the writing process, the editing, etc until finally our editor from Gramedia said that our book is being printed now and hopefully by the end of this month, June 30th, our book, SELFIE, POTRET 2 SAHABAT DAN CERITA-CERITA NGAWUR LAINNYA will reach all bookstores in Indonesia. Ah...so excited.

Princess and Tiara

The princess (wannabe) in kebaya

Sofia's fever is still on. Sorry, no more Frozen now. Welcome Sofia the First. Zea declares herself as Princess Sofia and appoints Najla as Princess Amber, Sofia's step sister. As the princess, they must have tiara. Yep, they're very much consistent. Tiara is on their heads since they wake up in the morning until they go to bed (once I asked them, "Don't you feel headache kakak, having that tiara on your head for the whole day?" (#yes, I am a kepo mama) and she said in a calm tone, "Well...sometimes yes, but we can live with that." 

The Princess, Tiara & Ice Cream

Ouch..it's so hard to be a princess. Yes, no pain, no gain. Btw up until now I have purchased four tiaras for them. The previous two tiaras were broken (Zea accidentally sat on them) and at that moment I directly got an urgent instruction from her to buy a new tiara on my way home after teaching. Okay little boss, your wish is my command. 

Even when they're busy eating chicken satay, the tiara is still there

     

Islam di Mata Orang Jepang

Author: Hisanori Kato

Interpreter: Ucu Fadhilah

Publisher: Penerbit Buku Kompas

Publication year: 2014 
176 pages

After enjoying Hisanori Kato's first book Kangen Indonesia, I am curious to read his latest book. Since he lived in Indonesia for seven years and noticed that Indonesia has the largest moslem population in the world, he wanted to explore more about Islam. 

Kato said that Japanese not know much about Islam and the little thing they know unfortunately associated with negative things such as terrorist of 9/11 tragedy, conflict and war. Kato as a Buddhist learnt about Islam also here in Indonesia. By simply noticing his Indonesian fellow teachers, he obtained many interesting aspect of Islam. At first he got lots of different questions about Islam such as: wondering why moslem welcoming Ramadan month solemnly and do the fasting for one month, do five-time prayers, not eating pork or drinking alcohol. He's really interested to know more detailed about the reasons behind one moslems' obligation.

Kato not only started the research but also interviewed nine public figures from Gus Dur, Ulil, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, Eka Jaya (member of FPI) and many more. Most of the sources he interviewed were amazed to find a Japanese and also a Buddhist who wanted to learn about Islam therefore they welcomed him for the interview session.

I know the topic of this book is actually quite serious, but again Kato with his simple words could transform his research and interview into an easy to read book. He described about the character of the person he interviewed, his feeling towards them and how they treated him. It turns out that it is interesting to know the outsider's opinion (Japanese) as a complete observer towards our religion. With his clear mind, this more-than-10-year research, is really important for our reference.