.:: collective book reviews ::.
*spoiler-heavy*
Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer
undoubtedly the best among the four. i don’t think bella was as pathetic as she used to be in the first three books. probably it’s the fact that bella had finally had edward and had been turned into a vampire. moreover, i love the second part of this book, which was told from jacob’s point of view. it’s unique and quite refreshing after all those bella, bella, bella 
i find the dialogues were sometimes too long and boring, especially during the confrontation with the volturi. it’s like reaching anti-climax without a climax. however, i still find it quite entertaining. 3 out of 5.
Once Upon Stilletos – Shanna Swendson
as witty as the first book, this second book in enchanted series is as entertaining as ever. katie chandler is executive secretary to Merlin, the great wizard. being totally non magical gave her benefits, and it provided her with a job. what if someone tampered into her immunity and she became as blind to magic as the magicians? not to mention she didn’t have any magical abilities at all. however, disasters around katie brought her to one thing : progressing love story between her and owen. her breakup with ethan was much to my disappointment. i love ethan! although he did act kinda off in this second book, especially during the breakup. oh well, she’s meant to be with owen anyway. that, at least, is quite predictable from the very first beginning 
4 out of 5.
The Other Queen – Phillipa Gregory
mary, queen of scots, a figure i’ve always been curious of. i love this book. captivating, just like other books written by gregory. what dissapoints me is the fact that this book tells the captive of mary after she had been thrown down from her throne in scotland and turned to elizabeth of england for help. the plotting and conspiracy is interesting to read, but what i wish to read more is her life as a queen in scotland. nonetheless, it’s still worth reading 5 out of 5.
.:: ice forest ::.
not a big fan of manga nowadays, but from time to time, i do occasionally buy some, when i’m really bored. i bought this one, ice forest written by saito chiho, last weekend, when i was looking for something light to read.
and i LOVE it! the story tells about a girl who had once won a skating competition but now had quit because of an injury. her accidental meeting with a general manager of ARC hotel, who happened to own a skating club in tokyo, brought her back to the skating world. unable to single-skate anymore, she turned to ice dancing, where she was paired with a half canadian half japanese skater. the story tells about the struggle of these two to become successful athletes, and the problem surrounding them. what i love about it is the fact that it’s not a typical high-school romance story. i’m tired of that kind of thing! it’s quite refreshing to read something different. hopefully the coming books will still be this interesting.
bad news is, it’s still ongoing (if i’m not mistaken!) so i’ll probably have to wait for quite some time for the second book 
.:: meet my new books ::.
another books haul, thanks to my sis who recently went for a short business trip to SG. i’ve asked her to get a couple of books, didn’t expect her to turn out with all four! yippie…
.:: thanks for the memories ::.
it has got to be ahern’s best novel ever!
so heartwarming that it’s impossible not to love.
.:: books for sale ::.
akhirnya sedikit merelakan hati buat menjual sebagian koleksi buku gue, itung-itung making room for my new books 
ayo diliat-liat, over 60 books, jual murah mulai 5rb aja! kalo pengen tanya kondisi, minta sinopsis or fotonya, boleh *masih males foto ntar kalo ga males baru deh ntar upload fotonya..
bagian atas english titles semua ya.. di bawah ada juga terjemahan dan novel indo
PS : harga belum termasuk ongkir yah.. ongkir sesuai tarif JNE!
ChickLit & General Romance
———————————–
Judul : If You Could See Me Now ( Cecelia Ahern )
Harga : Rp 75.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Thanks For The Memories ( Cecelia Ahern )
Harga : Rp 75.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Pants on Fire ( Maggie Alderson )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 70% – sampul
Judul : And Then He Kissed Me ( Patti Berg )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 70% – sampul
Judul : A Prince of A Guy ( Sheila Rabe )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 70% – sampul
Judul : Blushing Pink ( Jill Winters )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 70% – sampul
Judul : The Heartbreaker ( Carly Phillips )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : The Playboy ( Carly Phillips )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 70% – sampul
Judul : The Third Wife ( Jasmine Creswell )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
General Fiction
——————-
Judul : The Bourne Identity ( Robert Ludlum )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : The Bourne Supremacy ( Robert Ludlum )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 100% new segel
Judul : The Secret History ( Donna Tartt )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Day of Reckoning ( Jack Higgins )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90%
ini bagian bahasa indo nya…
ChickLit and General Romance
————————————–
Judul : Every Boy’s Got One ( Meg Cabot )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 100% new – segel
Judul : PS I Love You ( Cecelia Ahern )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : I Don’t Know How She Does It ( Allison Pearson )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Fashionista ( Lynn Messina )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Me Times Three ( Alex Witchel )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Wanderlust ( Chris Dyer )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : She’ll Take It ( Mary Carter )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Accidentally Engaged ( Mary Carter )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : How To Meet Cute Boys ( Deanna Kizis )
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Captain Corelli’s Mandolin ( Louis de Bernieres )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : This Proud Heart ( Pearl S. Buck )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Seruni Merah Jambu ( Pearl S. Buck )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
General Fiction
——————-
Judul : Weedflower ( Cynthia Kadohata )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : The Alchemist ( Paulo Coelho )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : The Devil’s Code ( John Sandford )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 80% – sampul
Judul : Bag of Bones ( Stephen King )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Rose Madder ( Stephen King )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon ( Stephen King )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 70% – tidak disampul
Judul : Cause of Death ( Patricia Cornwell )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 80% – tidak disampul
Judul : The Devil’s Teardrop ( Jeffery Deaver )
Harga : Rp 30.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Kiss The Girls ( James Patterson )
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Mallory’s Oracle ( Carol O’ Connel )
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Heartstone ( Phillip Margolin )
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Harlequin and The Likes
——————————
Judul : The Silken Web ( Sandra Brown )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Eloquent Silence ( Sandra Brown )
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Right Chapel, Wrong Couple ( Colleen Collins )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 80% – tidak disampul
Judul : First You Kiss 100 Men ( Carolyn Greene )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 60% – tidak disampul
Judul : Count the Stars ( Barbara Cartland )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Indonesian Novels
———————–
Judul : Supernova ( Dee )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Jomblo ( Adithya Mulya )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Teen Reads
————–
Judul : Tunangan? Hmmm… ( Agnes Jessica )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Seira & The Legend of Madriva ( Sitta Karina )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Eiffel I’m In Love
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras ( Cathy Hopkins )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Mates, Dates and Cosmic Kisses ( Cathy Hopkins )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Star ( Jerry Spinelli )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Asian Novels
—————-
Judul : Kabut Cinta ( Chiung Yao )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Non Fiction
————–
Judul : 7 Kinds of Smart ( Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich ( Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Emotional Intelligence ( Daniel Goleman )
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul II
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Taste Berries For Teens ( Betty B. Youngs, Ph.D & Jennifer Leigh Youngs )
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Surat-surat Cinta Sepanjang Masa
Harga : Rp 20.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – sampul
Judul : Chicken Soup For The Christian Soul
Harga : Rp 25.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Embun Bagi Jiwa Yang Terluka
Harga : Rp 15.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Making Friends ( Andrew Matthews )
Harga : Rp 10.000,-
Bahasa : Indonesia
Kondisi : 80% – tidak disampul
Penguin Readers Simplified Texts
—————————————–
Judul : Sense and Sensibility ( Jane Austen )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
Judul : Great Expectations ( Charles Dickens )
Harga : Rp 5.000,-
Bahasa : Inggris
Kondisi : 90% – tidak disampul
.:: overdue book reviews ::.
just brief reviews of what i’ve been reading these last couple of weeks…
the constant princess ~ philippa gregory
this captivating book tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. what i like most about this book that it depicts Katherine’s life from girlhood, to her marriage to Arthur and his following his death, her marriage to the younger brother Henry. the depiction of the battlefield in Spain, and the Alhambra palace was what fascinated me most. i could see it clearly in my head, the lush rooms, the beautiful inner garden, and the court itself. i simply love the brilliant ending. it doesn’t repeat what has been told in The Other Boleyn Girl, instead emphasize two of the most triumphant moments of the queen. 5 out of 5.
coraline ~ neil gaiman
coraline jones, who had just moved to an old apartment, with her parents, found a secret passage to another world. world where everything seems a lot better, a lot more fun than the real one. but not everything was as glossy as it seemed. now coraline had to find a way to escape the other world, save her parents and save the soul of the children trapped behind the mirror.
neil gaiman is one of my favourite writer, but i think i’m simply too old for this one seen the movie as well, some details were added ( there’s no wybie in the book ) and some were left out, simplified ( the trapping of the other mother’s hand and the hiding of the key was a lot more elaborate in the book ). i still prefer the book than the movie, but somehow i don’t really love the book. again, i think it’s because it’s more suitable for those younger than myself. 3 out of 5.
the alchemyst, the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel ~ michael scott
Sophie and Josh Newman, twins, were just average teenagers until the day they saw what the eccentric bookshop owner could do. behind his ordinary look, he was actually the legendary Nicholas Flamel, who guards the Book of Abraham. Dr John Dee, however, found him and stole the book from him, and also kidnapped his wife, Perenelle. Nicholas Flamel believed that Sophie and Josh were the twins mentioned in the book who could either save or destroy the world. together, they fight golems, gods, and other weird creatures to save the book and Perenelle.
read a couple of bad reviews regarding this book, and i left it on my shelf for quite a long time before i touched it. what triggered me was the fact that bf liked it. so i embraced myself and began reading. and i actually love the book. once i started, i couldn’t stop reading. and though things move so quickly – so many things happened in only two days – i was engrossed in the story so much that i managed to finish it in a couple of days. 5 out of 5.
the masquerade ~ melisa de la cruz
schuyler, the young vampire, went to venice to look for her grandfather in the hope that he could help her defeating silver blood. with dissapointment, she had to come back to new york empty handed. her grandfather had refused to be involved in the blue bloods’ life. however, he finally changed his mind and came to schuyler’s house. from him, schuyler learned to improve her power to fight a silver blood attack, while mimi was getting more and more annoyed with jack’s attention to schuyler and decided to turn to black magic to get rid of schuyler.
at first i was a little bit overwhelmed by the so many details from the first book that i had forgotten. fortunately, the first few chapters of the masquerade gave a general idea of who’s who and what’s what. definitely helpful for a forgetful like myself. basically, this is definitely one of my favourite vampire series. and, the length oliver would do for schuyler was simply sweet. mind you, i like him better than jack force 5 out of 5.
.:: rumors ::.
Rumors (2008 )
Anna Godbersen
Harper Collins Publishers
===================
i find this second book in the luxe series is rather boring, especially compared to its first.
elizabeth holland, who ran out west after pretending her own death, lived with the only boy he loved, will keller. however, the former lady found some things that need some getting used to.
lina broud, a former maid to elizabeth holland, pretended she was an rich heiress from out west, to impress a boy. but in the end, she was too absorbed by her luxurious new life *rolling eyes* she was rather pathetic, i’d say.
henry schoonmaker was devastated by his former fiancee’s death and settled on do the “appropriate” thing, and ended things up with diana, whom he ever loved, as it was what society expected of him.
the story turns to the better (much better) when henry was finally in on the secret. the way he left penelope in midwaltz was so characteristically of him, and then he was back to his old self. he went to fetch diana as soon as he heard the news and so they were back together.
however, it was a rather tragic ending for both holland sisters. henry, once again, did such a cowardice action, all in the name of protecting diana. on the other hand, elizabeth could only grasp for her happiness for such a little while.
the ending left an eagerness to find out what would happen next, on the third book. i wonder when kinokuniya would offer any discounts?
.:: gramedia sale ::.
the relaunching of gramedia located at MKG is yet another great opportunity to do some shopping. weirdly enough, i didn’t see anything that might be the cause of the relaunching, no renovated area whatsoever. okay, i did notice something last week. i thought i saw something different with the main entrance. ha! could it be? a small-almost-goes-unnoticed renovation led to a big sale? well, i don’t mind at the least haha..
the thing is, i’m excited that the sale is so close to home. but, i’m becoming more and more aware of my piling(s) of unread books at home, plus i had just done so many payments for the so many pre orders i’ve made during the past few weeks i’m so broke! i went there nonetheless, with no hopes of hauling, or rather, i hoped i wasn’t going to haul anything, just one or two interesting books.
but, the sight of those books i’ve been lemming for forever was clouding my better judgment. i bought eight freakin’ novels, and may i say that i really had to slap myself to stop me from buying more, coz yes, there are other books i wished to buy! most of the books are not newly published, but i’ve been curious for some time, that it was so impossible not to buy them. i think most of my purchase today was based on impulsive decision!
- the last concubine ( lesley downer ). had been looking for this book everytime i went to gramedia sale.
- coraline ( neil gaiman ). a big fan of mr gaiman, and this book has been out for a very long time, so i had a hard time finding it. spotted it on the top shelf, it was like a dream come true.
- christ the lord, out of egypt ( anne rice ). it’s been out for years, but i’ve never read it though i’ve been meaning to, and just a while a go, the second installment was published. and i finally found it here.
- christ the lord, road to kana ( anne rice ). the second installment of the above.
- screwtape letters ( c.s lewis ). been interested of cs lewis writing this kind of book.
- the lady and the unicorn ( tracy chevalier ). a while back, miss recommended this book.
- the magician ( michael scott ). i’ve had the first installment, the alchemyst. so it’s only right to buy the second one, no?
- brisingr ( christopher paolini ). i was just walking to the cashier to check out the stuff i had in my two hands, and my bf reminded me to buy this book. d’oh! another expense? my wallet is officially screaming for help. but i really had to have this one.
just another day full of guilty pleasure.
.:: i love mommy! ::.
mom went for a stroll at the mall, and look what she bought me..
*gasp* how could she know i’ve been lemming to learn making these stuff. exhilirated!
the instructions were written in a very detailed manners, complete with pictures.
easy-peasy, right?
here’s another.
uber cute!
and am now wondering..
dimana ya beli handuk plus hiasan buah2an murah?
anyone can help?
.:: blue bloods ::.
Blue Bloods ( 2007 )
Melisa de la Cruz
=============
synopsis, taken from Melisa de la Cruz‘ website :
Within New York City’s most elite families, there lurks a secret society of celebrated Americans whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. They are the powerful and the wealthy—and in fact, they are not human. They are the Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires.
Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner—and happy that way.
But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler’s life changes dramatically. She has a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl from Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest off all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.
Schuyler wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?
****
suka suka suka.. thrillernya berasa, membuat gue bertanya-tanya who is the real bad guy. sejarah vampir yang twisted dan a bit dark. tapi gue suka sama keseluruhan ceritanya, adventurous dan bener-bener kreatif, muter-muter antara yang baik dan jahat, masa lalu dan masa kini, siapa sebenernya Schuyler, dan gimana fate vampir-vampir ini yang dah ditentukan sedari lahir. dan gue seneng banget ngebayangin bentuk Duchesne, sekolah elite yang berlokasi di mansion tua, yang bentuk aslinya ga diubah. and i love Oliver! hahaha..
endingnya juga bikin ga sabar baca buku keduanya, tapi sayang nya karena saga nya masi lanjut ke buku ke empat yang baru akan terbit september nanti, jadi gue tunda dulu deh baca buku keduanya biar ga terlalu jauh gap nya
5 out of 5..
trus liat-liat webnya melisa de la cruz, ketemu cover versi perancis nya. tres chic!
Blue Bloods :
Masquerade :
Revelation :
aih itu Oliver atau Jack Force ya… i’m guessing it’s Jack. huhu cakep..
trus ketemu review di AmberPlaster ada ginian :
Alexis Bledel as Schuyler? awww.. ga terpikirkan sebelumnya tapi pas banget… mana pas fotonya lagi gothic pula..
.:: oshaberi na amadeus ::.
Oshaberi Na Amadeus ( Talking Amadeus )
~ Takeuci Masami
bought this series from Kinanti Komik at 95k, including shipping fee. quite a good bargain, i must say. the books were safely wrapped in plastic, and although they were a little bit dusty, but all were in very good condition. the customer service was also very nice and helpful, replying my sms and ym in a very short period of time, giving all the information i needed, and the pictures too.
the story itself was about a girl, rio who had lost her parents on a car accident, and eversince lived with parents’ best friend, aunt mihoko. mihoko had a son, usou who always looked after rio. rio, who had been convinced by aunt mihoko not to enroll to sawamura school of music, finally agreed to enroll to sawamura and continue studying violin.
it’s been a while since the last time i read a comic book, and this is one good series to reinvent my interest in comic books.
.:: remember me ::.
Judul : Remember Me? (2008)
Penulis : Sophie Kinsella
Penerbit : Bantam Dell
Harga : Rp 105.000,-
=====================
Lexi Smart woke up to find herself in a hospital. she soon learned that it was 2007, although the last memory she had was a night out with some friends in 2005. it appeared she had an amnesia, and she had to learn about herself all over again. during that last three years, a lot of things had changed. she had climbed her way – practically from nothing – to becoming the director of the department, gaining herself a gorgeous multi-millionaire husband, a huge stylish loft. but it came with a glitch. she was the snooty bitch-boss-from hell, all her friends hate her, oh and she had an affair with her husband’s colleague, plus she had to save the department while trying to recover her memory. now why the cheerful snaggletooth had become the ambitious careerwoman who had everything, that’s what she really wanted to know. and i truly sympathized with the answer.
USA Today acclaimed it a delicious page-turner, and indeed it is. i just can’t get enough of it! admittedly, it’s not as funny as the shopaholic series, but nonetheless a fun read. a definite 5 out of 5.
.:: enchanted, inc ::.
Judul : Enchanted, Inc. ~ Hex And The City
Penulis : Shanna Swendson
=============================
a colleague of mine keeps talking about this book from time to time, how it was downright funny, how the first one was published in Indonesia but the rest of the series never did, how you couldn’t even find it in imported bookstores, and how some huge fan had been, and urged others to follow in her step, emailing each bookstore so that at least one of the stores gave it a thought and carry those books. now i’m really curious.
so i finally jump in the bandwagon. it’s not downright hilarious, but it’s definitely enjoyable. it’s a twisted chicklit version of harry potter, and it was not just a typical chicklit fantasy, it’s so easy to be enjoy the story. it’s so light a reading that i managed to finish it in just a couple of days.
the heroine, katie chandler, spent half her life in her hometown texas, moved to new york to find herself in the midst of, as she had thought it, big city fashion statement. people walked around town with wings attached to their back, sometimes-there-sometimes-not gargoyle, gnomes and all. little did she realized that what she saw was the truth. a job offering came her way, and the company, MSI Inc. ~ Magic, Spells and Illusion Inc ~ told her about the very existence of magic and she, having not even a slightest bit of magic in herself, could see through the illusion, and how the company needed people like her. her world turned upside down as she joined the company and embraced magic as it was, experienced interesting things as kissing an enchanted frog, heading the marketing effort of the company, becoming an executive assistant to the big boss ~ merlin, and fighting off the bad guy.
though it was slow paced at one time and fast paced at another, i’ll give it 5 out of 5.
.:: eclipse ::.
Judul : Eclipse
Penulis : Stephenie Meyer
Penerbit : Little Brown and Company
Harga : Rp 115.000,-
===========================
phew.. i finally finished this book last night, and i have to admit it was by far the most acceptable compared to the previous two. by acceptable, i mean i totally enjoyed reading the book, right to the point it became annoying, when bella threw herself at edward and insisted they had sex. geez that’s a complete turn-off. i mean, did she have to be that cheap? after that specific chapter, i was no longer eager to finish it up, as it became as boring and cliche as the previous books, and made me roll my eyes for like a thousand times.
.:: i can’t resist it ::.
i know i swore NOT to buy any more books before i finish some of the books i have at home, and i didn’t have any intention to do so when i visited periplus last saturday. i was there simply to drool over the one to many books i wished i could buy.
having said that, i did drool over some of the books. i haven’t bought breaking dawn, and am finishing up eclipse, so that’s one. and then of course, the long awaited mass paperback version of sophie kinsella’s remember me? then, there was anthony capella’s various flavors of coffee. a couple of philippa gregory’s, meg cabot’s ransom my heart, and a zillion other books.
it was just tempting, but as i said, i have settled on reading the ones i have at home first before spending more money on books which would just sit on my bookshelf for months before i even consider reading.
I WAS THERE ONLY TO WINDOW-SHOP. i swear!
but then…
as i look around the small bookstore…
i saw…
a banner..
15% off..
all novels..
WTF!
i was literally running out of air as i was trying to decide what i should buy right at that moment.
breaking dawn and remember me? for sure. various flavors of coffee.. probably i’ll skip that for now, as i have just finished one of capella’s books. ransom my heart, slightly overpriced for a meg cabot’s. lastly, i was torn between the constant princess and the boleyn inheritance, both written by philippa gregory. after weighing my options, i finally settled on the constant princess.
.. brain calculated the damages my wallet had to endure ..
enough for now..
i rushed to check out the three books before i had the chance to think, before i grab more books!
la la la…
so happy with my latest purchase..
.:: wedding officer ::.
The Wedding Officer
Anthony Capella
I! LOVE! THIS! BOOK!
i love it from the very first page, til the very last!
gue suka banget gaya tulisan anthony capella. gimana dia mendeskripsikan dengan sangat detail situasi di Itali di masa Perang Dunia II. cerita diawali kehidupan Livia Pertini sebelum perang, dan kemudian loncat ke empat tahun kemudian dimana keadaan udah berubah total. walaupun gitu, cerita berjalan mulus banget, dan gue sebagai pembacanya bener-bener masuk ke dalam ceritanya, berkat semua detail yang disajikan. mulai dari situasi kafe keluarga Pertini di Fiscino, salah satu desa di kaki gunung Vesuvius, sampai situasi Itali di masa perang, yang saat itu diduduki sekutu. cerita cinta antara Livia dan kapten Inggris juga simpel, tapi romantis. gaya Livia yang judes, kapten James Gould yang polos. dan bener-bener hilarious banget pas bagian Livia kira James itu homo! gue sampe ngakak pas baca gimana Livia mau kenalin James ke kenalan cowonya, dan sementara James, yang jatuh cinta sama Livia, mikir temennya itu informan, Livia mikir mereka bicarain seks! deskripsi acara masak-memasaknya juga sangat mendetail, sukses bikin laper! ga cuma cerita romantis aja yang ada di buku ini, tapi juga deskripsi tentang perang antara Sekutu dan Jerman, dan gimana situasi orang lokal yang berusaha bertahan di antara semua itu. dari situasi pedesaan Fiscino, ke kota Napoli yang dipenuhi pelacuran dan pasar gelap sebagai akibat perang, sampai ke situasi garis depan di Roma. komplit! dan sedikit pun ga ngebosenin. 5 out of 5
synopsis ( source : Anthony Capella official website )
Occupied Naples, 1944. Twenty-two-year-old James Gould is the ‘Wedding Officer’, responsible for discouraging British soldiers from marrying the local women. When he becomes rather too good at his job, the local girls arrange for him to employ a girl from Vesuvius called Livia Pertini as his cook, in the hopes that her remarkable skills in the kitchen – not to mention her beauty – will civilise him. Under her influence, James learns to stop worrying about unimportant matters such as war brides, black marketeering, mafia corruption and so on – but when Vesuvius erupts, destroying Livia’s village, he realises that he is also going to have to make a choice between his orders and his heart.
i’m so getting various flavors of coffee! segera setelah gue tau dimana bisa dapetin bukunya *sweat*
.:: the other boleyn girl ::.
The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory ( 2002 )
akhirnya kesampaian juga gue baca buku ini, walaupun telat banget ya. hehe… tapi karena gue suka banget sama filmnya, maka gue jadi tambah penasaran sama bukunya. dan waktu kebetulan ada sale di kino, jadilah gue beli buku ini.
seperti filmnya, gue suka banget sama bukunya. seneng banget, karena gue jadi tau detail-detail yang ga disorot di filmnya. detail kehidupan kerajaan inggris kuno di tahun 1500-an digambarkan dengan sangat captivating.yang amat disayangkan, seringkali waktu membaca buku ini, gue penasaran, gimana seandainya cerita itu disampaikan dari sudut pandang Anne Boleyn, bukan Mary Boleyn. beberapa bagian gue rasa kurang di-explore, seperti konflik politik-agama Inggris dengan gereja Katolik, dan detail-detail kehidupan Anne selama Mary ga ada, misalnya soal incest Anne dan George yang cuma tersirat di novel.
yang lucu, waktu nonton filmnya gue ga notice kalung signature yang selalu dipake Anne.. tapi pas lagi baca-baca *kebetulan gue punya edisi movie tie-in* terus gue liat covernya, eeh ternyata ini toh kalungnya. setelah googling, gue baru ngeh sepertinya emang begitu itu bentuk kalungnya Anne. ini gambar yang gue dapet dari wiki :
nah, persis bukan?
pastinya, buat beberapa orang pecinta serial tv barat pasti teringat kalung ini., seperti gue. pertanyaan gue selanjutnya :
kenapa betty pake kalung Anne Boleyn ya? lalalalala…
.:: empress orchid ::.
Title : Empress Orchid – Anchee Min (2004)
Publisher : Hikmah Publishing
Price : Rp 79.000
===============================
Orchid, daughter of a former governer of Wuhu, tried her luck to be one of the emperor’s concubines, to save her family from poverty and herself from an engagement to her mentally ill cousin. she was chosen the fourth Imperial consort, and after some time, became Hsien Feng’s ( the emperor ) favourite. later on, Orchid gave birth to the emperor’s son, Tung Chih. this book told the life of Orchid from the humble beginning to the most powerful woman in China. the woman who ruled China for around 50 years in the world ruled by men.
i was fascinated by the details from the very beginning, and it was a real page-turner for me. but, the overflowing details on the last chapters bored me a little. just to imagine to live in such a situation, when women were to be servants of men, and were not allowed to show any sign of intelligence at all. i’ll rate it 4 out of 5.
.:: gramedia & kinokuniya sale ::.
when i heard gramedia grand indonesia was having a grand opening promotion – 30% discount for all items – i literally planned to go there on the first day of sale, which was the 19th. but, there was a little bit confusion about when exactly the first day of sale was. some said it was saturday the 20th, some said it was friday the 19th. so, i half-heartedly postponed my visit to grandi ’til today.
i arrived at grandi at 1.30ish, and since i planned to leave around 3, i only had very little time as i need to leave before the “3 in 1″ started. my first stop was kinokuniya. i ended up with two novels :
- the other boleyn girl ( philippa gregory ), which i’ve been dying to buy since .. forever, and
- the second luxe novel, rumours ( anna godbersen ), because it was just irresistible! i’ve been meaning to wait for the paperback version, just so both luxe and rumours look pretty on the bookshelf. but it was such a bargain, it would only cost me several thousand IDR more – plus i could read it right away if i want to! – so it was just impossible not to buy it right then.
total damage was 264.800 IDR ( was 331.000 IDR, saved 66.200 IDR). i was a bit dissapointed that they didn’t have other philippa gregory books i should’ve bought the other queen months ago when i had the chance. i did find some other interesting books as well, but resisted myself because i still have gramedia to go to.
i rushed to gramedia, which is located at the west mall. it was rather dissapointing! there are several books that happened to be the reason why i was there : beauty expose, the last concubine, princess masako, and istoria da paz. and three of those books were nowhere in sight! i even looked at their search engine, but it returned no result. so unfair!
anyway, after weighing the options, i bought several books :
- beauty expose ( andiyanto )
it was almost impossible to find anywhere else, and 30%+5% promotion doesn’t happen everyday, so it’s a must! the book is gigantic and heavy as well, and carrying it around while searching for other books to buy was not exactly comfortable! anyway, i also saw another book by andiyanto, the makeover, but it was only a sample, and i couldn’t find a new one
- let’s make up! ( wawa sugimuwarti )
there was a 30%+5% discount. need i say more?
- maryamah karpov ( andrea hirata )
although i quite dislike the first laskar pelangi novel, and the 2nd and 3rd has been sitting silently on my bookshelf – untouched – for a year, there’s still a probability that i would continue reading the books someday, and it wouldn’t be complete without the fourth book, so i half-heartedly bought this book.
- eleven minutes ( paulo coelho )
i haven’t read paulo coelho for ages now, and this book wouldn’t be the first that came to my mind, but it was the only coelho’s book i could find.
total damage was 353.600 IDR ( was 544.000 IDR, saved 190.400 IDR ).
i kept reminding myself that it wasn’t a month ago that i rushed to the latest re-launched gramedia bookstore to shop for books, and i still have piles of books i need to finish before i start buying new ones, but i can’t help but wonder whether the other kinokuniya bookstores offer a wider range of books.
.:: the wednesday letters ::.
hal pertama yang menarik perhatian gue yaitu bentuk bukunya yang seperti amplop. ditambah lagi, di dalam buku ini juga terselip sebuah amplop berisi surat yang “ditulis tangan”. ternyata, sisi menarik buku ini cuma sampai disitu aja. menurut gue, ceritanya ga seromantis tema yang diusung, yaitu seorang suami yang nulis surat buat istrinya setiap hari rabu. ga jarang, surat-surat itu pendek, atau berisi hal-hal yang ga penting. yah, mungkin keindahan dalam kesederhanaan itu yang mau ditampilkan. bab demi bab dipenuhi kalimat sederhana dan lugas. mungkin juga karena pengarangnya cowok ya. tapi buat gue, jadi kurang greget aja gitu. 2 out of 5 aja deh.
.:: weedflower ::.
Judul : Weedflower
Penulis : Cynthia Kadohata
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Harga : Rp 35.000,-
======================
awalnya gue tertarik sama buku ini karena covernya yang cantik dan ceritanya tentang perang dunia, yang sedikit mengingatkan gue sama buku the boy in the striped pyjamas ( john boyne ). kalau the boy menceritakan tentang bruno, anak tentara jerman yang tinggal di perbatasan kamp auschwitz dan bersahabat dengan seorang anak yahudi yang ditahan di dalam kamp, weedflower bercerita tentang seorang anak perempuan jepang bernama sumiko yang lahir dan tinggal di amerika. walaupun ga selalu diterima baik di kalangan orang kulit putih, tapi sumiko hidup dengan cukup nyaman di lingkungan keluarganya yang petani bunga. peristiwa pengeboman pearl harbor yang dilakukan tentara jepang mengubah seluruh kehidupan sumiko. paman dan jiichan ditangkap, dan beberapa bulan kemudian, semua orang jepang harus mendaftarkan diri untuk dikirimkan ke kamp sementara, sebelum akhirnya ditranfser ke sebuah kamp di poston, arizona. hal ini memaksa keluarga sumiko, juga keluarga jepang lainnya menjual seluruh harta mereka dengan harga yang amat murah, dan bekerja dengan upah di bawah rata-rata di kamp. poston yang awalnya hanya berupa padang pasir pelan-pelan diolah oleh orang-orang jepang, sehingga akhirnya muncul banyak kebun di seluruh penjuru kamp. sumiko juga ikut berkebun, menggunakan “bibit sumiko” yang diambilnya dari lumbung khusus pamannya di tanah pertaniannya. di perbatasan kamp ini, sumiko bertemu dan bersahabat dengan seorang indian, frank. menurut gue, isi buku ini serba simpel. cerita maupun kata-kata yang dipake simpel. sedikit sedih di beberapa bagian, yaitu pas perang yang mengubah semua bagian kehidupan sumiko secara tiba-tiba, dan pas terakhir sumiko ninggalin kamp buat bekerja di luar dan berpisah sama frank. overall, it’s quite a nice book and i’ll rate it 4 outta 5
.:: belanja buku (lagi) ::.
bangun tidur, bolak-balik kompas. rutinitas harian : ngecekin iklan apa yang menarik hehe.. kali ini ada iklan re-launching gramedia (lagi!) di mal ciputra. dan berhubung sehari sebelumnya gue baru liat banyak buku menarik di gramed TA, akhirnya gue menyeret mengajak bokap kesana. dah luamaaaa buangeeet gue ga ke CL. mungkin ada 10 taon hahaha.. dan gue tetep males juga kalo disuruh balik kesitu. ampun deh mo parkir aja repot bener. intinya, setelah bergelut sama kemacetan dan keramaian di tempat parkir, akhirnya kita dapet parkir dan langsung melesat ke lantai 5 tempat gramed berada. ternyata toko nya ngga besar, dan seperti yang sudah bisa ditebak, rame banget dipadetin pengunjung ngga mau rugi seperti gue yang sibuk memanfaatkan momen yang jarang dateng seperti ini, yaitu diskon 30% all items. begitu masuk langsung berasa kesumpekan yang amat sangat, dan sebentar aja di dalem langsung bersimbah peluh. tapi itu ga masalah kalo emang dah berniat belanja
hasil perburuan gue hari ini :
. The Wedding Officer – Anthony Capella
akhirnya beli versi indonya juga hehe.. abis covernya keren dan kertasnya juga bagus sih. apalagi diskon!
. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
ever since nonton bahasannya di Oprah, gue langsung kepengen beli. berhubung harganya lumayan mahal, jadi gue tunda-tunda terus belinya hehe.. apalagi di rumah ada buanyak bener buku yang belum gue jamah. akhirnya ketemu momen diskon lagi! yaay..
.The Novice – Trudi Canavan
walaupun belum sempet baca buku pertamanya, tapi toh pada akhirnya gue tetep harus beli buku keduanya kan?
. Weedflower – Cynthia Kadohata
ga pernah denger tentang buku ini ataupun pengarangnya. baru pertama kalinya gue liat tadi di toko. tapi berhubung tipis dan (lagi-lagi) diskon, jadi ya samber aja deh..
. Honeymoon with My Brother – Franz Wisner
true story tentang seorang yang putus cinta dan akhirnya pergi keliling dunia sama saudara laki-lakinya. gue ga notice pas beli karena langsung samber aja, tapi ternyata buku ini dicap oprah book club juga. menarik!
. Madame Mao – Anchee Min
just because.. ( padahal dua buku anchee min yang lainnya juga masih belum tersentuh di rumah! )
. Paris Pandora – Fira Basuki
ga ngerti juga kenapa gue beli buku ini. mungkin karena covernya yang keren? sinopsisnya sih lumayan menarik. toh diskon juga. jadi ga rugi-rugi amat. hehe..
SAYANGNYA! gramednya rada ga lengkap. pertama, ga ada buku impor. padahal dah ngayal aja beli breaking dawn, the other queen dan buku-buku lainnya dengan diskon besar-besaran. kedua, salah satu buku yang paling gue incer, malah kaga ada! huhu.. kemaren gue sempet liat buku The Last Concubine – Lesley Downer pas muter-muter di TA. gue dah pengeeeen banget.. eeeh malah ga ada! masih terlalu baru kali ye? hiks.. Recto Verso juga ga keliatan. padahal gue dah cek di komputer dan juga sekitar 5x kelilingin area novel, tapi tetep ga keliatan kedua buku tersebut ga jodoh!
selain novel, gue juga nyamber satu buku resep, 100 kue kering ny. liem. isinya sih sebenernya kaya campuran dari buku-buku kue kering karangan dia sebelumnya. untungnya gue belum pernah beli sebenernya ini juga asal samber aja, tapi ternyata pas gue baca-baca di rumah.. dudududuh…. menarik! jadi pengen bikin kue lagi ( akhirnya keinginan itu muncul lagi! ). minggu depan belanja bahan ah… hihi..
trus gue ke bagian cd dan dvd, yang setelah gue tanya, ternyata juga ikutan diskon. musti mastiin dulu donk sebelum terlalu excited hehe.. nah berhubung ikutan juga ( lumayan kan 30% ) jadi gue langsung samber album winter wonderland, emilie-claire barlow yang dah sempet gue incer itu. lumayan juga dari 119k jadi sekitar 83k
senangnya bisa belanja buku dengan diskon yang lumayan gede kaya gini lagi! dimana lagi yah gramed yang mau re-launching atau grand opening. hahaha..
.:: naked traveler ::.
Judul : Naked Traveler
Penulis : Trinity
Penerbit : C Publishing
Harga : Rp 44.500,-
==============
jadi inget pas buku ini lagi ngetop-ngetopnya dan semua orang bahas buku ini. well, gue ketinggalan jauh ye bukunya nganggur aja berbulan-bulan tanpa gue sentuh. akhirnya gue niatin juga baca buku ini mumpung ga ada kerjaan dan sekalian ngabisin tumpukan buku tak tersentuh di rumah. ternyata isinya cukup jauh dari bayangan gue. gue kira isinya bakal bahas perjalanan-perjalanan pengarang ke aneka tempat di seluruh penjuru dunia. ternyata ngga gitu. isinya seperti artikel-artikel pendek yang bahas topik yang kadang ga penting, aneh, nyeleneh dan sesekali lucu. emang topiknya seputaran traveling, tapi intinya bukan tempat yang disambangi, melainkan pengalaman-pengalaman trinity selama traveling itu. kata-kata yang dipake ringan banget, berhubung juga buku ini diangkat dari blog pengarang berjudul sama, Naked Traveler, sehingga ga perlu pake mikir bacanya. terkadang enjoyable, terkadang sedikit ga penting. tapi cukup menghibur buat bacaan selingan yang ringan. i’ll rate it 3 outta 5.
.:: new moon ::.
Judul : New Moon
Penulis : Stephenie Meyer
Penerbit : Little Brown and Company
Harga : Rp 115.000,-
=======================
gara-gara lagi marak pemberitaan tentang pemutaran perdana film twilight di tipi-tipi dan ga ada kerjaan lain, akhirnya gue kembali membuka buku new moon yang udah gue telantarkan 5 bulan. lanjutin baca dari pertengahan buku tempat gue berhenti 5 bulan lalu, dan ga lama buat abisin setengah buku sisanya. awalnya gue masi sedikit tertarik buat baca. lama-kelamaan gue baca out of boredom dan pengen cepet-cepet abisin.
sama seperti twilight yang menurut gue overhyped, begitu juga buku lanjutannya ini. yang lebih parah lagi, tokoh bella digambarin bener-bener pathetic abis. ditinggal edward langsung jadi mayat hidup. sama jacob ga mau tapi mau. pas jacobnya jauhin dia, bella kira itu gara-gara dia ga bisa bales perasaan jacob ( geer beneeer.. please deh, emang lo center of the universe ). ditambah lagi tindakan-tindakan super konyol yang cenderung bunuh diri. as if there’s nothing more to life other than edward. kenapa gue pengen cepet-cepet abisin, selain karena sikap pathetic nya bella, juga karena isi bukunya cuma acara ngoceh-ngoceh ngalor ngidul muter-muter di tempat. mbulet abis… dan gue masih juga ga ngerti kenapa semua orang tergila-gila sama twilight saga ini. i honestly don’t get it. blah!
i think i’ll rate it 2 out of 5. semoga filmnya jauh lebih baik dari bukunya. from the looks of things, i think it is. let’s keep our fingers crossed
.:: book wish list ::.
kepengen…
Various Flavours of Coffee – Anthony Capella
kepengen…
The Food of Love – Anthony Capella
kepengen…
The Wedding Officer – Anthony Capella
kok anthony capella semua yah.. hehe.. sebenernya semuanya ketemu secara kebetulan dan pada waktu yang tidak bersamaan. bukan sengaja dicari-cari yang pengarangnya capella, secara gue juga blom pernah baca karangan dia! tapi masing-masing buku sinopsisnya keren banget. huhu.. ngiler! seandainya aja ga ada setumpuk beberapa tumpuk buku yang belum gue baca di rumah. sigh… dua diantaranya ( the food of love & the wedding officer ) sebenernya udah keluar versi indo nya.. tapi covernya jadi ala chicklit gitu!!
selain si anthony capella gue juga pengen banget buku ini :
The Other Queen – Phillipa Gregory
dah ngeces-ngeces dari semasa masih di scotland, karena kebetulan waktu itu emang pengen beli buku tentang mary queen of scots, dan pas keluar karangan neng phillipa gregory. sayang waktu itu baru ada hard covernya.. huks!
.:: welcome, new books ::.
Panduan Merangkai Bunga : A Guide To Flower Arranging ( Lusy Wahyudi )
Flower at Home : Sejuta Inspirasi Merangkai Bunga Segar ( Imelda Akmal )
thanks to dearest rina,i was able to buy these books at 30% discount. yaay!
.:: new recipe book, yaay! ::.
look what my baby got me last week
now, i really have to find some time to practice some of these mouth-watering recipes!
.:: impor atau terjemahan? ::.
baru aja dapet kabar adanya acara pembukaan toko buku gramedia di golden truly gunung sahari, which means 30% off all items! yaay.. sayang sekali gue ga bisa langsung menghadiri acara diskon ini, padahal gue selalu menanti-nanti acara beginian diadain di daerah jakarta! selama ini, baru sekali gue ikutan berburu buku diskon di acara pembukaan gramedia, atau tepatnya reopening, di gramedia matraman. walaupun belakangan cukup banyak acara serupa (30%) tapi biasanya selalu terlalu jauh dari jangkauan gue yang berlokasi di jakarta utara, sehingga gue cuma bisa nadah iler aja di rumah! nah makanya pas ketemu acara begini di daerah yang ga jauh dari rumah, gue semangat banget. apa daya gue ga bisa turun tangan.. i’m wondering apa ada yang sempet kesana dan mau berbaik hati gue titipin yah.. gue sampe dah bikin wish list lho. hahaha.. blum sempet tanya my sis, apakah dia sempet kesana sebelum hari minggu nanti
anyway, lanjut tentang buku, pagi ini gue nge-list buku-buku terjemahan yang gue pengen. sejauh ini sih baru dapet tujuh :
. The Wednesday Letters – Jason F. Wright 57.000
. The Magician’s Guild – Trudi Canavan 74.500
. The Alchemist – Michael Scott 68.000
. Flyte – Angie Sage 64.500
. The Empress Orchid – Anchee Meen 79.000
. The Last Empress – Anchee Meen 68.000
. Rahasia Meede – ES Ito 79.000
*ada rekomendasi lainnya?
nah setelah gue liat-liat lagi list gue, kok kebanyakan harga bukunya di atas 65 ribu yah, malah banyak yang nyaris nyentuh angka 80 ribu. cuma satu yang di bawah 60 ribu, itu pun ga jauh-jauh amat, cukup beda tiga ribu rupiah saja emang sih, kalo diitung diskonnya, jadi lebih murah.. tapi acara diskon (30%) kan ga setiap hari.
dan sepenglihatan gue, banyak juga buku impor yang beredar luas di jakarta, dan harganya ga beda jauh dari harga-harga tercantum di atas. banyak kok buku impor yang harganya berkisar sekitar 85 ribu. yah, emang sih gue belum nemuin judul-judul tersebut dalam versi bahasa inggrisnya, jadi gue ga bisa pake perbandingan langsung. hehe..
tapi yang beda lumayan jauh pun, misalnya 2x lipat, juga ga seberapa kalo gue berkaca ke masa lalu *tsaaah* gue masi inget, sekitar gue masi duduk di bangku sd, gue koleksi buku sweet valley twins, versi terjemahan tentunya. nah, dulu harga satu bukunya 2500 rupiah. selain itu gue juga pernah beli dibeliin versi impornya, yang seharga 14 ribu-an. bedanya sampe 5x lipat. nah kalo kaya gini, tanpa pikir panjang pasti gue prefer buku terjemahan
memang sih, selain harga, ada beberapa pertimbangan lainnya sebelum gue menentukan apakah gue bakal nyamber versi bahasa inggris, atau versi terjemahan. misalnya, apakah cerita di dalem buku itu bakal njelimet sehingga sedikit menyulitkan gue baca versi inggrisnya, dibanding versi bahasa indonesia, yang bisa dibaca tanpa banyak mikir, wuz wuz wuz langsung lewat beberapa bab :D
di sisi lainnya, baca dan koleksi buku impor juga punya daya tarik sendiri, setidaknya buat gue. sebagai contoh, ada beberapa buku yang gue beli versi terjemahannya, dan gue nyesel abis-abisan, karena bukunya bagus banget, dan penuh kata-kata indah. contohnya, tuesdays with morrie dan for one more day ( mitch albom ). sampe sekarang sih, gue masi terpikir buat beli versi impornya, tapi masih menahan diri karena banyaknya buku-buku lain yang juga mau gue samber keuntungan lainnya, yaitu cover buku. yep, ini salah satu faktor utama buat gue. karena gue pencinta kemasan apik. hehe.. contohnya, twilight saga ( stephenie meyer ). walaupun cover twilight versi terjemahan adalah salah satu cover buku terjemahan yang paling gue suka, tapi cover versi impornya terkesan misterius, dan jadi point penting buat gue menentukan versi apa yang musti gue embat. dan daya tarik dan keuntungan yang paling utama, yaitu gue bisa baca buku-buku yang belum atau ga diterbitin versi terjemahannya. contohnya, novel-novel nya jane green yang telaaaaat banget masuk indo.
tapi tetep, harga jadi prioritas utama buat gue hahaha… *pelit mode on* kalo bedanya jauh, mungkin memang lebih mending beli versi terjemahan. tapi kalo bedanya ga seberapa jauh, ya mending beli versi impornya kan? what about yourself? which do you prefer?
.:: shopping bag ::.
last week’s haul…
huh? eye pencils? blame it on aina now i think i’m addicted!
i finally get the chance to try this cutie mini bourjois! yaay..
depotted
these were on sale.. otherwise i wouldn’t get my hands on these.. i swear! :D
last but not least :
fiuh.. need to calm those acnes down
this week’s haul…
(this is what happens when i’m feeling blue)
benefit silky finish lipstick in my treat. one item off my wish list
colour institute pink beauty book. iseng-iseng berhadiah abis lucu sih.. and it was on sale too
bought this book impulsively. and i’m loving every page of this book!
ouw.. and i also got this book last week :
it was only £2!!
my shopping bag needs to go on a diet, don’t you think?
*sigh*
.:: the luxe ::.
Judul : The Luxe ( 2007 )
Pengarang : Anna Godbersen
Penerbit : Penguin Books
Harga : £6.99
===================
pertama kali gue liat covernya di WH Smith, gue langsung jatuh cinta walaupun tergeletak di rak buku young adult, tapi gue sangat amat tertarik buat nyamber buku ini, karena beberapa alasan. alasan pertama, seperti gue bilang, covernya terkesan so grande… kedua, sinopsisnya yang keliatannya seru banget. setipe gossip girl atau the oc, cerita berkisar seputar the rich and fab yang tersenyum dan baik-baik di depan tapi nusuk dari belakang. but, setting ceritanya adalah new york tahun 1899. sounds great!
cerita diawali dengan pemakaman Ms. Elizabeth Holland, salah satu tokoh utama di buku ini *loh?* hari dimana seharusnya Liz menikah, malah jadi hari dia dimakamkan. dari sini cerita bergulir memperkenalkan tokoh-tokoh utama lainnya. dan bab selanjutnya pembaca dibawa flash back ke awal cerita sebelum kematian Elizabeth. beberapa tokoh utamanya ( siap-siap baca cinta segi banyak ) :
Elizabeth Holland – the golden girl. tokoh angelic yang selalu terlihat sempurna di mata publik. awalnya gue pikir dia bener-bener tokoh tiada cacat gitu. tapi ternyata gue salah! sebenernya dia juga punya kejelekan. jadi tokoh ini ga terlalu boring juga. selain itu, Liz menjalin hubungan rahasia dengan salah satu pegawai keluarganya, Will. tapi, Liz terpaksa harus menerima lamaran dari Henry Schoonmaker, demi menyelamatkan keluarganya yang di ambang kebankrutan.
Henry Schoonmaker – bachelor populer yang disukai cewe-cewe, dan juga ga pernah serius dalam menjalin hubungan. sebelum bertunangan dengan Elizabeth, Henry menjalin hubungan dengan Penelope yang a.k.a best friend nya Liz. Henry sendiri terpaksa setuju bertunangan dengan Liz karena diancam bapaknya yang berambisi terjun ke dunia politik.
Penelope Hayes – supposedly Liz’ best friend. tapi sebenernya licik dan rival terberat Liz. dan Penny yang berambisi menikahi Henry, berusaha dengan 1001 cara buat menggagalkan pernikahan Liz dan Henry.
Diana Holland – Liz’ little sister. berjiwa pemberontak, dan selalu berusaha keluar dari aturan main orang-orang kaya. diam-diam, Diana dan Henry saling mencintai.
Will Keller – pegawai keluarga Hollands, yang cinta mati sama Liz. setelah pertunangan Liz dan Henry, akhirnya Will pergi ke Barat, dengan harapan Liz bakal nyusul dia.
Lina Broud – pelayan pribadi Liz, yang juga cinta sama Will. tokoh yang benci dan juga intrigued sama hidup orang-orang kaya, dan terutama berambisi buat mengubah dirinya yang ordinary jadi elegant dan extraordinary demi mendapatkan Will.
pusing ga? hehe.. gue paling suka cerita tentang Diana dan Henry. cinta yang ga kesampaian, dan bener-bener sweet. ini quote yang paling gue suka banget, salah satu note rahasia Henry buat Diana. cheesy, but i love it!
It’s the craziest thing.
But I can not stop thinking about you.
gue suka banget alur ceritanya, dimana masing-masing tokoh utama mengalami perubahan, dari young and careless jadi lebih bijak dan dewasa, terutama Henry yang berubah 180′ karena Diana.
bahasa yang dipake juga enak dibaca, simpel tapi tetap memberi impresi elegan. setiap bab diceritakan dari sudut pandang tokoh yang berbeda, walau alur cerita tetep mengalir sempurna. i enjoy every minute i spent reading this book. ceritanya constantly interesting, dan membuat gue ga sabar buat baca bab-bab selanjutnya buat tahu kelanjutan ceritanya. akhir cerita sebenernya gampang ditebak, tapi karena beberapa faktor cerita yang memungkinkan akhir yang berbeda-beda, akhirnya tetap membuat gue bertanya-tanya apakah tebakan gue benar.
a very enjoyable book, i’ll rate it 5 out of 5 ga sabar nunggu rumours.. duh cepatlah keluar!
.:: second chance ::.
Judul : Second Chance ( 2008 )
Penulis : Jane Green
Penerbit : Penguin Books Ltd
Harga : £7.99
==================
akhirnya kesampean juga beli buku ini. setelah gue cari-cari di jakarta, dan ketemunya cuma yang ga dalam kondisi prima dan ukurannya juga ga seragam sama koleksi buku jane green gue lainnya, akhirnya gue dapet juga sesuai yang gue mau di wh smith. tadaaaa… :D dan akhirnya selesai juga gue baca buku ini. selain karena ceritanya seru dan membuat gue ga bisa berenti baca, terutama juga demi pengen baca buku-buku lainnya hehe.. basically, ceritanya seputar kehidupan beberapa sahabat masa kecil yang dipertemukan lagi dalam sebuah reuni. sebenernya bukan reuni dalam rangka seneng-seneng. tapi salah satu dari mereka meninggal. dari sini mereka menemukan kembali persahabatan mereka, dan dijabarin gimana masing-masing dari mereka struggle sama kesulitan hidup masing-masing dan kesempatan kedua yang harus mereka pergunakan sebaik-baiknya.
beberapa tokoh utama di buku ini :
Tom - si sahabat yang meninggal di usia 39 tahun. Tom satu-satunya orang yang selalu menjaga hubungan dengan keempat sahabat lainnya, sementara keempat sahabat itu sendiri dah lama lost contact. kira-kira, pemakaman Tom ini yang membawa keempat orang lainnya berkumpul lagi, bernostalgia tentang masa kecil mereka, dan rekindle persahabatan masa kecil mereka di masa sekarang.
Holly – terjebak dalam sebuah loveless marriage dengan seorang pengacara, Marcus. Marcus, a pompous arse - as described in the book - berusaha memberi kesan kalo dia berasal dari keluarga kaya, walaupun sebenernya ga. Marcus selalu menekan dan menyudutkan Holly, menguasai Holly dan ngatur tingkah laku Holly sesuai yang dia harapkan. Holly dan Tom punya hubungan khusus, dimana masing-masing dari mereka selalu fall in and out of love dengan yang lainnya. dan selalu pada saat yang ga tepat puncaknya, suatu hari mereka have sex, dan sementara Holly berharap-harap, Tom sendiri ga siap buat menjalin hubungan serius dengan Holly. setelah beberapa lama, Holly berlibur ke Australia dan ketemu sama Marcus. pada saat ini, Tom sendiri dah sadar kalo dia cinta sama Holly. tapi begitu mereka saling contact lagi, Holly sendiri dah serius sama Marcus.
Paul – penulis freelance di majalah pria, suami dari Anna, pemilik butik online yang sangat sukses. walaupun dari luar kehidupan mereka terlihat sempurna, beautiful dan kaya, sebenernya mereka berjuang mati-matian buat punya anak. dan Anna yang ambisius dan selalu mendapatkan apa yang diinginkan juga ga mau menyerah gitu aja.
Saffron – aktris yang ga terlalu terkenal, dan sedang dalam masa rehab dari kecanduan alkohol. dan dalam salah satu meeting rehab nya itu, Saff ketemu sama P, aktor terkenal yang udah menikah. P sebenernya cinta sama Saff, tapi agen dan manajernya ngelarang dia buat keluar dari pernikahannya yang sekarang, dimana sebenernya cuma pernikahan pura-pura buat mendongkrak karier masing-masing. tersibaknya gosip hubungan Saff dan P ini nantinya akan memicu reuni keempat sahabat di akhir (atau lebih tepatnya nyaris akhir) buku, gimana Saff berjuang ngatasin kecanduan alkoholnya, dibantu temen-temennya dan gimana P akhirnya berani bertindak ngikutin kata hatinya.
Olivia – kerja di yayasan pemeliharaan binatang gitu deh kurleb pacaran sama George selama tujuh tahun, dimana akhirnya George pindah ke Amrik dan mutusin hubungan mereka, dan ga lama malah nikah sama cewe Amrik. ga pernah berpikir buat punya anak, tapi malah tanpa disangka hamil, sama cowo yang tinggalnya di seberang benua :D
selain keempat sahabat itu, ada satu tokoh yang ga kalah pentingnya :
Will – adik satu-satunya Tom. ga pernah settle down. kerja 6 bulan, jalan-jalan keliling dunia 6 bulan intinya, kerja buat biayain seneng-senengnya. disini digambarin Will ini kereeeen banget. dan Holly di tengah kemelut rumah tangganya, jadi merasa seperti jatuh cinta sama Will. tapi di luar itu, Holly seakan menemukan dirinya sendiri lagi, sadar akan betapa kacaunya pernikahannya, dan betapa Marcus mengekang dia dan mencegah Holly jadi dirinya sendiri.
seperti semua buku Jane Green lainnya, so charming and heart warming!
i’ll rate this 5 outta 5. gimana ya.. i just loooooove Jane Green
.:: best of friends ::.
Nothing like being with people you’ve known almost your entire life. Having a shared history is something you just can’t create with the new ones. No matter how much you like that, it just isn’t the same.
Second Chance – Jane Green
ps : that, i agree
.:: which one should be the first? ::.
yaay.. just received my copies of ciao italia! by gama harjono and the naked traveler by trinity.. which one should i read first? both have the same topic, travelling.. been a bit addicted to travelling novel since the traveler’s tale ^_^ and miss o also recommended the naked traveler..
i’ve ordered the books via kutukutubuku, and requested these to be delivered this week.. and it took them only two days to process and send me the books! i’m so pleased with the service *thumbs up*
.:: four seasons in belgium ::.
Judul : Four Seasons In Belgium ( 2006 )
Penulis : Fanny Hartanti
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Harga : Rp 38.500,-
======================
Andin. ambisius dan cerdas. tipikal career woman yang mandiri. bekerja sebagai management trainee di sebuah international company, dan sekarang dapet kesempatan buat kerja di belgia. disana dia bersahabat dengan Lala, seniornya di kantor, dan Nick, campuran Belgia-Indo yang tinggal segedung sama Andin, dan sebenernya suka sama Andin ini. Andin sendiri punya pacar cowo Belgia, Dave, yang sama-sama ambisius dan career-oriented, sehingga sering banget ga tepatin janji buat urusan kerjaan. suatu hari, Andin mendapati dirinya hamil, dan Dave tanpa basa-basi langsung bilang ga mau terlibat, karena dia masi mentingin karirnya. dan dalam semua kesusahannya itu, dua sahabatnya setia dampingin Andin. akhirnya Andin buat suatu keputusan buat resign dari kantornya dan pulang ke indo. di akhir cerita, Dave berubah dan memohon Andin kembali, dan dia juga mau terima anaknya. di hari yang sama, Nick juga menyatakan cinta sama Andin. gue suka gimana Andin, walaupun masih cinta sama Dave, tapi ga langsung takluk waktu Dave minta balik, tapi bersikap rasional dan tetep kekeuh sama keputusan yang udah dia buat…
jujur, gue ga terlalu sering baca novel indo. apalagi kalo dibanding novel luar. no particular reason sih sebenernya. but, buku ini kayanya mampu membuat gue lebih cinta sama buku indo.. hehe.. awalnya, gue beli buku ini karena judulnya ituh. bukunya emang bukan terbitan baru, dah dua taun beredar di pasaran. tapi pas minggu lalu gue buku ini di pesta buku gramedia di city walk, gue langsung tertarik buat beli, simply karena setting ceritanya yang mengambil tempat di belgia. suffice to say, i don’t know a single thing about this country! well, except for the fact that it’s well known for its chocolate, waffle and diamond! haha.. cukup menarik baca fakta kultural dan habit di negara sana yang diselipin di cerita kehidupan andin disana, misalnya tentang cuaca di belgia yang ga teratur dan sering berubah-ubah, minuman khas disana : kirr dan jenever, atau kenyataan kalo hari minggu semua toko tutup! dan walaupun singkat banget, ada juga cerita tentang perjalanan andin ke paris. bikin mupeng deh.. hehe.. ceritanya juga ringan, dan kata-kata yang dipake juga gampang dicerna, jadi ga perlu konsentrasi tinggi bacanya, dan kadang-kadang terselip joke-joke ringan i rate this 5 out of 5..
about the author
Fanny Hartanti sendiri mulai menulis sejak dia kerja di belgia, dan ga punya temen curhat. jadi menulis buat pelepas stress nya gitu kali ya gue rasa sedikit banyak, buku ini juga nyelipin cerita dan pengalaman yang pernah dialamin penulis selama kehidupannya di sana. sekarang, dia masih tinggal di belgia bersama suami dan anak perempuannya. gara-gara baca bukunya gue jadi tertarik buat baca blognya.
.:: twilight ::.
Judul : Twilight ( 2005 )
Penulis : Stephenie Meyer
Penerbit : Little Brown and Company
Harga : Rp 105.000,-
============================
wokeh… setelah penantian dan pencarian yang penuh perjuangan, akhirnya gue baca juga buku ini
tokoh utama cewe, Bella Swan, pindah ke Forks, Washington buat tinggal sama ayahnya. pertamanya, dia ga terlalu excited buat tinggal disitu, mengingat Forks jauh berbeda dari tempat tinggalnya sebelumnya di Phoenix, Arizona, yang penuh sinar matahari. nyaris setiap hari di Forks hujan, berawan, dsb. jarang-jarang cerah. semuanya ga menarik, sampai dia ketemu Edward, yang digambarin heavenly beautiful. hari pertama mereka bertemu, Edward bersikap seakan-akan marah sama Bella. dia juga ga nyapa Bella walaupun mereka satu meja di kelas Biologi. setelah itu, selama seminggu Edward ga masuk. pas masuk lagi, Edward bersikap biasa aja, dan mereka mulai ngobrol. suatu hari, Bella nyaris ditabrak van, dan diselamatin Edward. begitu juga pas dia pergi ke kota dan diganggu orang di jalanan. semua keanehan Edward memancing rasa ingin tahu Bella, sampai dia kebetulan bertemu Jacob Black di pantai. dari situ Bella denger tentang mitos dan legenda antara keluarga Jacob yang konon adalah werewolf, dan keluarga Edward yang konon adalah vampire. singkatnya, lama kelamaan Edward yang vampire dan Bella yang manusia biasa makin deket, emang dari awal dah saling suka juga, tapi masih saling menahan diri gitu. hehe.. 3/4 cerita di buku masih berkisar sama penyelidikan Bella dan tahap penjajakan Edward dan Bella, dimana cerita masa lalu Edward dan keluarganya mulai terkuak. saat gue mulai bertanya-tanya apa di buku ini ada tokoh James seperti di filmnya, baru deh dia muncul. James, Laurent, dan Victoria adalah sekelompok vampire yang kebetulan lewat di kota itu, dan ketemu sama keluarga Edward. James ini langsung memburu Bella, dan Edward dan keluarganya berusaha buat menyelamatkan Bella dari si James ini. duh gue seneng sama tokoh James ini, walaupun dia tokoh antagonisnya sayang James cuman numpang lewat bentar aja.. dan karena ceritanya diceritakan dari sudut pandang Bella sebagai orang pertama, jadi ada hal-hal yang kurang detail, terutama cerita gimana James dikalahin sama keluarga Edward..
kalo mau jujur, gue ga nemuin sesuatu yang bikin gue jatuh cinta setengah mati sama buku ini. banyaknya review dan orang-orang yang tergila-gila sama buku ini membuat gue mengharapkan sesuatu yang luar biasa. gitu deh kalo udah menaruh ekspektasi yang berlebihan, most likely hasil akhirnya ga sesuai harapan..
no no.. gue ga bilang bukunya jelek. ceritanya bagus, cuma ga se greget yang gue harapkan *atau karena gue yang terlalu buru-buru bacanya ya.. ga terlalu banyak yang baru di buku ini. si cowo nyelamatin cewe dari kecelakaan maut, sedikit mengingatkan gue sama Roswell. dan saat Bella berkeras mendesak Edward buat mengubah dia jadi vampire, film Tuck Everlasting terus-terusan lewat di kepala gue
but tetep menarik dan gampang dinikmati kok. dan ceritanya selalu bikin penasaran di tiap akhir bab, sehingga gue ga bisa berenti baca, dan ikut deg-degan waktu ceritanya lagi tegang. untuk ukuran buku young adult, bagusnya dia ga mengekspos hal-hal yang sedikit negatif kaya GG. itu menurut gue sih.. i’ll rate it 4 out of 5.
ga susah buat bayangin muka masing-masing tokoh disini, secara filmnya lagi dibuat dan foto-foto pemerannya bisa diakses di internet gue ga sabar liat filmnya, apakah bakal sebagus bukunya. pertamanya gue ga ngerasa si pemeran Edward cocok sama gambaran gue. tapi foto-foto di web movie nya ternyata keliatannya cocok juga, walaupun tetep kadang rada gimanaaa gitu.. rambutnya itu loh!! hehe.. gue suka banget pic movie nya :
dan kenapa gue suka sama tokoh antagonis James, terutama karena foto dibawah ini
.:: traveler’s tale! ::.
Judul : Traveler’s Tale! Belok Kanan : Barcelona! ( 2007 )
Penulis : Adithya Mulya, Ninit Yunita, Alaya Setya, Iman Hidajat
Penerbit : Gagas Media
Harga : Rp 40.000,-
========================================
okay, when i have to decide whether to put this book down to start reading twilight, or continue reading it, i chose to continue reading traveler’s tale, for several reasons :
* i have started reading it, if only for a single chapter..
* it’s a really light reading, and it’s less than 200 pages, so be it!
gue beli buku ini beberapa bulan lalu buat deni, karena dia suka buku-buku adithya mulya, and this is the one book that he didn’t have. cuma dalam waktu beberapa hari, dia bawa lagi bukunya ke rumah gue. gue kira dia cuma mau minta sampulin tapi ternyata dah kelar bacanya euy.. cepet juga! tapi gue biarin tu buku nganggur aja, sampai kemaren ini. kebetulan aina juga kasi review yang cukup oke. jadilah gue mulai baca deh. bukunya ga tebel, as i said, less than 200 pages, and thus, i only need less than 2 days to finish it.
buku ini cukup unik, karena merupakan kolaborasi dari, ga cuma dua, tapi empat pengarang sekaligus! cerita seputar empat sahabat sedari kecil, yang mana diam-diam dibumbui cinta segi empat. selang bertahun-tahun setelah kelulusan sma, mereka tinggal dan bekerja di negara-negara yang berbeda, dan semuanya menempuh perjalanan ke satu tempat buat menghadiri pernikahan salah satu dari mereka :
- francis, tokoh sentral, yang suka sama retno, dua kali menyatakan cinta, dan dua kali pula ditolak retno. dan out of the blue, dia mengirimkan undangan pernikahan ke tiga sahabatnya. yes, he’s getting married. with a spanish girl.. dan tentu saja berita ini memancing reaksi yang berbeda-beda dari ketiga temannya. i say, francis ini tokoh utama yang aneh. ga jelas kenapa dia memutuskan buat menikah, tapi masi nyimpen rasa sama retno. malah si calon istri jarang banget disebut-sebut dalam buku ini. kesannya sama sekali ga mikirin sang calon, malah terus-menerus mikirin cinta pertamanya. lah kalo gitu kenapa ngajak kawin ya di awalnya.. hehe..
- farah, suka sama francis. dari dulu farah ini ga berani ngomong ke francis kalo dia suka, karena dia tau francis suka sama retno. i say, dari dulu ga berani bilang, sekarang mau mencegah francis nikah sama orang lain? it’s a bit weird.. farah mati-matian ngejar francis. please deh. cowo dikejar.. apalagi cowo yang mau nikah? ga banget.. but that’s just my opinion
- retno, sebenernya suka juga sama francis, tapi nolak francis karena perbedaan kepercayaan. i say, satu hal yang aneh dari si jeung retno ini : masa siii dia ga nyadar kalo farah suka sama francis, secara they’re the only 2 girls in the circle, ternyata mereka ga sedekat itu?
- jusuf, alias ucup. makhluk paling gila yang meramaikan suasana. tokoh utama, yang berasa jadi tokoh tambahan. nyimpen rasa sama farah, dan ironisnya jadi tempat curhatan farah soal francis. paling sering melontarkan kata-kata lucu, konyol, dan seringkali jayus. dan mencoba segala daya upaya buat ke barcelona buat mencegah farah mencegah francis nikah. i say, inilah tokoh yang paling patut dikasihani.. huehe..
as i said, each of the four works and resides in different countries. semua menempuh perjalanan ke barcelona dengan tujuan masing-masing. di tiap bab, disuguhi cerita masing-masing tokoh, di negara-negara yang berlainan, dan kisah perjalanan mereka ke tujuan. di sana-sini diselipin sejarah negara yang mereka lewatin. menarik, but lack of details. tiap bab yang pendek-pendek dibagi-bagi lagi jadi subbab-subbab yang mengalir lancar, tapi kadang putus-putus. banyak detail yang ga disebut dalam cerita, yang ga terlalu membuat gue tergiur berat sama kota-kota yang mereka kunjungi. penggambaran detail yang lebih jelas tentang masing-masing kota, pasti bikin gue bayangin keadaan dan keindahannya. oot : gue jadi inget sama buku every boy’s got one (meg cabot) nah disitu digambarin dengan cukup jelas situasi le marche, yang membuat gue langsung googling tentang desa ini.
anyway, more about traveler’s tale. satu bab yang jadi favorit gue adalah bab 14, next destination : barcelonabefore sunrise dan before sunset. of course, selain fakta kalo tokoh farah ini explicitly nyebut dia teringat film before sunrise tapi cerita di bab itu bener-bener mirip sama kedua film itu, dimana cewe-cowo yang baru ketemu, impulsively and spontaneously turun di kota yang bukan tujuan mereka, dan spend some time together exploring the city. spontanitas farah bener-bener sederhana, but makes a beautiful story. dan penggambaran wina nya pas. mozart, Prater, cobble stone, dan kafe. kesannya romantis, walaupun no chemistry whatsoever between them. vienna, dimana farah di luar rencana mengunjungi vienna, ditemenin cowo backpacker dari brazil. bener-bener mengingatkan gue sama
endingnya cukup aneh. francis yang membatalkan pernikahan by phone *can you believe it? dan pertemuan kembali keempat sahabat yang saling mengakui perasaan masing-masing terhadap satu sama lain. cerita berakhir dengan happy-end antara ucup dan farah, dan menggantung buat retno-francis. francis yang ngejar retno ke copenhagen ga ada kelanjutannya. yah, mungkin sengaja dibuat supaya pembacanya bertanya-tanya atau menyimpulkan sendiri ya..
setelah dibaca ulang, kesannya gue banyak banget nyebut keanehan di buku ini. that doesn’t mean i didn’t like it.. swear! i rate it 4 out of 5
.:: the time traveler’s wife ::.
Judul : The Time Traveler’s Wife ( 2005 )
Pengarang : Audrey Niffenegger
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Harga : Rp 68.000,-
======================
if i have to describe this book in one sentence, i would say : kesederhanaan dalam kerumitan. Henry, tokoh utama dalam buku ini, lahir dengan suatu cacat dalam gennya, yang mengakibatkan dia memiliki kemampuan menjelajah waktu. sebenernya ga tepat juga disebut kemampuan, karena Henry “pergi” menjelajah waktu di luar kemauannya. it’s something that happen naturally, without him controlling it. tokoh utama kedua : Clare, orang yang kenal sama Henry nyaris seumur hidupnya. pertama kali mereka bertemu yaitu ketika Clare berusia 6 tahun, Henry 36 tahun. no no, selisih umur mereka ga sejauh itu, sebenernya mereka cuma berselisih 8 tahun. Henry yang dijumpai Clare waktu itu adalah Henry yang datang dari masa depan. dan perjumpaan demi perjumpaan terus berlangsung, sampai Clare berumur 18 tahun, dan harus menunggu 2 tahun sampai bertemu kembali dengan Henry yang sebenernya, maksudnya yang masi muda gitu, yang tentu saja have no idea who Clare was! so, on one side, there was Clare, who knew Henry all her life, and knew exactly what the future held for them, well, part of. on the other side, there was the 28-year-old Henry, knew nothing about Clare until that day they met accidentally at the library. dan akibatnya, pusing denger ocehan Clare tentang mereka, dan fakta kalau mereka di masa depan adalah suami-istri. but, the chemistry was too strong for both of them, dan dari situ berawal cinta mereka.
gue jatuh cinta berat sama puisi yang ada di halaman depan buku ini, Love After Love, dan pas pertama baca prolognya kesannya kata-katanya sedikit puitis gitu, jadi sayang baca cepet-cepet.. akhirnya malah gue tinggal berbulan-bulan, dan gue baru mulai baca lagi sekarang ini. dan jujur, dari awal menuju ke tengah ceritanya gitu-gitu aja. ga ada klimaks atau cerita yang bener-bener bikin gue terus membalik halamannya, tanpa sadar waktu. kebanyakan cerita berkisar di kisah penjelajahan waktu Henry, pertemuannya dengan Clare dan teman-teman mereka. mostly tentang kehidupan keseharian, yang tentu saja sebenernya ga biasa, tapi itulah yang membuat gue menyimpulkan buku ini kesederhanaan dalam kerumitan. dengan semua kerumitan penjelajahan waktu Henry, dan usaha-usaha mereka untuk menjaga Henry tetap berada di masa sekarang nya di saat-saat penting, seperti misalnya pernikahan mereka, it all came down to one simple word : love. gimana mereka berdua, terutama Clare, bisa bertahan, padahal kerjaan dia seumur hidup adalah menunggu Henry pulang dari penjelajahan waktunya. cerita jadi menarik ketika Henry mulai mengetahui kapan (di usia 43 tahun) dan gimana dia meninggal. isn’t it sad, to know every detail of how you would die? ga cuma itu, tapi dalam banyak penjelajahan waktunya, Henry yang masi hidup, berjumpa dengan Clare yang udah berusia 83 tahun. dan Clare, yang mengetahui fakta kalau dia akan berjumpa lagi dengan Henry di usia 83 tahun, wait and wait patiently, just for that one moment in time, where she would be able to touch him, walau cuma buat sekejap. isn’t it sweet…i’ll rate this 3 out of 5..
.:: one of the very best days of my life ::.
why i claim today as one of the very best days of my life?
it was only an ordinary saturday morning. i didn’t have anything particular to do, so i digged in my recipes and decided to make putu ayu. i quite enjoyed this kitchening activity, coz it’s been soooooooooo loooooooong since the last time i stepped in the kitchen and really make something i think the last time i did was.. err… 6 months ago? anyway, i used a recipe from 52 resep kue populer sedap sekejap, and i don’t quite happy with the result. not that it failed. just not the sort of recipe i’d choose over other similar recipes. so i think i should look for other putu ayu recipes!
first big surprise of the day. i received a message from periplus, stating that they have twilight in store! yaay… even better, they said they also have eclipse in soft cover! oh yes! i quickly replied the SMS and ordered a copy of each books. yeah, the journey ends baby!! now all i need to do is sit back and read the whole stuff!
but that was nothing compared to the second and biggest surprise of the day. when i was in the kitchen, a mailman came and knocked at my front door. i hurriedly opened the door for me, and my heart was pounding. is this it? is it the package? *drumroll* i almost jumped and screamed hooray when the mailman asked “stephanie angela”? yesssss.. that’s meeee!!! and it IS the package i’ve been waiting for! Victoria Hart CDs sent by miss Victoria Hart herself! isn’t she sweet? *if you’re at lost, read this* the package contained Victoria Hart’s debut album, whatever happened to romance, and her latest EP, mood swings, and a postcard. i swear, she’s the sweetest, most humble person i’ve ever known. thank you sooo much for the package! a very big thanks to Victoria Hart, Geoff Gurd, Discrete Recordings, Royal Mail, Pos Indonesia, and every other people who have taken some time and effort to send and deliver the CDs!!
*sejujurnya gue sempet khawatir paketnya ga akan pernah sampe tujuan, atau gue harus bayar bea cukai yang mahal seamit-amit.. tau sendiri betapa resenya terkadang orang-orang indo… tapiiiiii…. gue lega banget karena paket diantaer ke rumah dalam keadaan selamat! dan gue ga perlu keluarin uang banyak.. cukup tiga ribu rupiah saja! yaaay… langsung gue melesat ke dalem rumah nyari dompet.. ternyata gue emang ga boleh berpikiran negatif duluan sebelum liat bukti nyatanya… ternyata pos indonesia bisa kasih pelayanan yang oke! makasi pak possssss!!*
at first, this blog was intended only as a journal, for personal consumption. i don’t mind if several friends read this.. but, to my surprise, it has gained attention from one of my favourite singers’ producer and the singer herself, the nicest one that is! i was already very happy to know she read my post, and even put some comments, then she sent me a copy of her albums… i’m flying to the moon..
as a continuation to this great day, i went to eX and grab my copy of twilight and eclipse. i had made plans to go there today, so the sms from periplus earlier today really coincides nicely with my plan. i took a visit to skinfood, and they have the new milk creamy nail color! i’ve been craving for the very cute bottle since i saw it on the sg website.. most of the colours are *obviously* milky. i bought a.. err.. what should i call this shade? it’s a shade of pink, but not quite that pink. confused? i’ll put it on my fingers later to clarify my impression of the colour. honestly i have almost forgotten the colour myself! haha.. i’ve too many shades of pink at my drawer now! i’m a bit dissapointed i didn’t try on the purple and blue ones! maybe they’ll look cute when worn one turn-off is the price (42k), which is slightly more expensive than nail vita (25k). even though it isn’t that pricey, compared to OPI, but with an additional 8k, i could grab two bottles of nail vita!
the one and only dissapointment of the day is the fact that nyx didn’t live up to its promise to open up the store on mid may 2008. and it’s almost end of may!but nevermind that. i have too many pleasures in a day, it won’t wash away the smile i put on my face all day.
actually, there is another dissapointment, a minor one, and i would not give up to it and ruin my really happy mood. i bought TBS’ shea lip butter, simply because i love the smell of shea body butter, and i thought, i would also love the lip butter. turned out i was wrong. it felt like licking and eating the body butter! not a very cool sensation. and somehow it made me thirsty. not sure whether it was just my weird feeling taking control or something but it does provide hydration. should apply less next time..
.:: the journey to find twilight ::.
so, periplus is offering 25% discount if you are an hsbc cardholder. the promo is valid from april 15th to 30th. of course i couldn’t wait to get my hands on the twilight saga, one of my most wanted books. i’ve been thinking whether i should grab the english version, which has a pretty mysterious black cover, or the indonesian version, which is of course less expensive. a week before the promo started, i visited a periplus branch at eX and i had considered to grab the english version, because there was another promo, 10% discount for hsbc cardholders. luckily, at that time i resisted the urge to buy it. imagine how miserable i would feel when they announced the new promo! so when i found out i could grab these books with 25% discount, i was very excited.
april 19, i went to gading with miss o. when i visited periplus, there were no twilight books in stock. but there were still some copies of new moon and eclipse *the second and third book of twilight saga* i was still calm, because a week before i saw lots of copies of these three books at eX. in my opinion, i still had some time to grab these before the promo ended. i saw that they also had copies of the latest stephenie meyer’s novel, the host. wow, my list was getting longer.
april 20, i went to ta with deni. there were no periplus bookstore there. i was totally aware with this fact, but since we already went to eX a week before, i thought it would be blah to go there again. so i thought, i’ll just grab them next saturday.
april 25, i went to eX with miss o. we did visit periplus. but the one who has an hsbc cardholder is deni. so i couldn’t buy it at that time. i noticed that there were no more eclipse copies on the shelves. there was nothing to complain about, since i wanted to wait for the soft copy version *the soft copy version is not released yet up until today*
april 26, deni wanted to go to mangdu to buy an optical mouse. and after that, i had suggested to go to eX, but the traffic was so crazy that we went to gading instead. i thought i would get new moon here, and buy twilight the next day. but there’s nothing left! i’ve checked with the sales assistant whether they have any copy of twilight, new moon, or eclipse. none! i thought, wow, people are going mad for these books, especially with the discount and all. but i was still feeling confident. i mean, i went to eX yesterday and they still have some copies of those books.
april 27, we went to eX today. and of course the last piece of twilight had been sold just the day before! so these books had caught a lot of attention around here. i mean, i know that it’s a new york time best seller. i know that these books had generated a lot of fans in the US. but i hadn’t thought of the possibility that indonesian people will also caught the “twilight fever”. so i grabbed new moon and the host, and left my number so they could call me when they restock twilight, which mean i would no longer be able to enjoy the 25% discount, unless they have a similar promo in the future *when the book comes* heheh.. fun fact : the person before me on the list, also ordered twilight. so it is really the most wanted book nowadays! phew.. hopefully i’ll get my copy of twilight soon *crossing my fingers*
.:: unconditional love ::.
upon reading the last few pages of this book, i was all teary-eyed. i was touched by the simple fact that most of the time we, as kids, take the love of our parents for granted. i really like what albom said in this book, how parents always defend their children, always try to make us happy and keep us in the dark when it comes to their personal problems. they focus on our needs, yet we may not know what sacrifices they have to make. most of the time, we don’t pay close attention to the world around us, to what we have. have you ever thought about what personal problems your parents might be dealing with? or what kind of life they had before us? or how hard they had to fight to fulfill all of our needs? or how many hours they have to spend working so that we can have what we have now? though sometimes we do think about those things, mostly we will ignore that fact. for all we know, they are our moms and dads. and we take them for granted. they’re always there, they shower us with their love unconditionally, they take us to where we want to go, they fulfill our needs before we know it, they accept us the way we are, they forgive us no matter how much we may have hurt them.
looking back to the years you’ve spent in this world, do you remember how many times you haven’t been a good kid? how many times you have hurt their feelings? how many times you have said the words we shouldn’t say? how many times you didn’t stand up to defend them? how many times you have blamed them for unimportant matters *that we thought important at those times*? how many times you have ignored their words and followed your own will? how many times you have made them do what we want them to do?
do not ignore the fact that they are trying their best to give us what’s best for us. they are willing to give their love for free, without asking for any redemption. they never complain when we hurt their feelings, nor when we don’t live to their standards but do things the way we want it, without considering the consequences. do not forget that they are willing to sacrifice everything they have just for the sake of their children. be grateful for our loving parents, the love they have given us, the sacrifices they have made. and show them that we love them, we really care about them. never give up on our parents, as they have never given up on us.
“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” – Charley Benetto
.:: book fettish ::.
sekali-sekalinya nih ada grand opening sale gramed di jakarta. biasanya selalu di bekasi, bintaro, de el el yang jauh-jauh.. denger ada diskon 30% all item di gramed matraman.. langsung semangat pengen pergi… gue dateng pas malam pertama diadain diskon.. rame banget.. semua orang mau borong buku.. hihi.. mobil-mobil aja pada parkir tiga lapis di jalan raya sampe jauh banget. untung gue dapet parkir di dalem. btw, gramed matraman ini tempat main n jalan-jalan waktu masi sd, karena ini satu-satunya tempat hiburan yang deket dari sekolah.. hehe.. sekarang dah berubah banget.. dah modern, adem banget, luas n super cozy. di tengah ke-hectic-an itu, langsung aja samber-samber-samber buku-buku yang dah diincer.. keliling-keliling cari daerah novel, ternyata ada di lantai 2. hasilnya 7 novel dalam sekejap dah masuk ke kantong belanja. for one more day – mitch albom, tuesdays with morrie – mitch albom, magyk – angie sage, heretic – sarah singleton, anansi boys – neil gaiman, she’ll take it – mary carter, accidentally engaged – mary carter. turun ke lantai 1, liat laskar pelangi dan teman-temannya.. wah pengen… tapi masi bingung karena tadi dah beli 7 buku… tapi begitu di mobil diitung-itung, wah lumayan banget diskonnya lebih dari 40rb.. langsung berencana balik lagi besoknya buat beli.. hehe…
akhirnya hari minggu pagi, balik lagi ke gramed matraman ini.. walaupun masih pagi.. tapi tetep aja semua orang dah semangat belanja buku. keliling-keliling bagian stationery.. pengen beli susan photo album, tapi ga ada.. diumpetin kali ya karena ga diskon.. hehe.. akhirnya naik ke lantai 1, samber laskar pelangi, sang pemimpi, edensor by andrea hirata. keliling-keliling liat buku-buku impor, tapi ga ketemu novel impor euy.. sayang sekali.. ketemu bagian hobby.. pengen banget liat-liat, tapi dikerubutin sama ibu-ibu gitu.. akhirnya pikiran ntar aja liat.. n gue baru inget sekarang ini kalo tadi lupa balik lagi kesitu!! uugh… padahal pengen nyari buku making cards for scrapbookers ato apa lah gitu judulnya.. kemarin itu sempet liat di kino, tapi mahal beneer.. diatas 300rb. tadi si sempet liat ada buku making wedding cards.. wah sapa tau ada tu ya buku-buku craft lucu… waaa pengen balik lagi rasanya *kalo ga inget dah belanja lumayan banyak dan dah balik 2x sih mungkin gue langsung melesat kesana de sekarang ini.. lanjut, dari kegagalan liat-liat buku craft, naik lagi ke lantai 2. gue mau beli p.s i love you – cecelia ahern.. kemaren sempet binun pengen beli terjemahan, atau inggrisnya.. tapi kan diskonnya mayan nih.. hahaha… liat-liat chicklit, akhirnya tergiur sama every boy’s got one – meg cabot.. masuk de dua chicklit ke keranjang.. bis itu ke bagian buku resep.. waaaa.. banyaaaaak banget.. n juga ada buku cake lembut yang dah gue cari-cari dari dulu…. hasil perburuan buku resep, dapet 7 buku resep.. kapan lagi kan diskon 30% hehe… setelah mikir-mikir beli chicklit banyak amat ya.. toh gue dah jarang banget baca chicklit. tadinya mau tuker 1 ke jodi picoult, karena gue pengen coba baca bukunya jodi picoult.. eh ga ketemu.. ya udah de ga jadi tuker.. hehe.. sekarang setelah dipikir-pikir.. ko gue ga beli buku paulo coelho yang gue blum punya ya.. fiuh.. tapi karena dah beli 12 novel + 7 buku resep.. ya ga sampe kepengen-kepengen amat sih nambah novel lagi.. tapi gue masi greget sama buku-buku craft.. aaaargh.. mau mau mau balik lagi!!!! hiks.. tapi ya buat menghibur diri karena ga sempet ke kino waktu 20% storewide, ya lumayan lah belanja disini.. hehe.. sepertinya gue juga perlu bebersih lemari buku, karena dah bener-bener ga ada tempat buat buku-buku gue ini.. yang beli sebelumnya aja dah ga tau mau simpen dimana hehe.. kayanya musti jual beberapa nih.. tapi ko ya masi ga rela..
selesai belanja, makan di bbt, resto mie yang ada di sebelah marsoed.. wah tempat nya masih sama aja kaya dulu…. jadi nostalgia..
.:: Love After Love ::.
Love After Love
- Derek Walcott -
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
.:: comment ::.
when i opened the time traveler’s wife, i found this beautiful poetry written on its first page, and i instantly fell in love with it.. so beautiful and inspirational. i googled for the english version soon after that. i can read it over and over again and still be amazed at its words…
.:: bookaholic ::.
akhir-akhir ini gue kembali ke hobi lama gue : membaca…. walaupun secara umum gue emang hobi baca. tapi kadang kalo sibuk atau males, gue bisa bener2 ga pengen baca buat beberapa waktu.. nah sekarang ini gue lagi bener-bener hobi banget.. juli-agu ini kayanya gue uda beli lebih dari 10 buku.. hehe… masi ada sisa the boy in striped pyjamas, century, neverwhere, charlie n the chocolate factory, ma the enchanted castle yang blum gue baca *dari yang baru beli… kalo yang uda lama belinya blum di baca si ada belasan hehe..* n 4 lagi baru gue pesen tadi pagi di www.bukabuku.com *secara lagi diskon 25% selama bulan agustus.. kapan lagi.. hehe…
akhir-akhir ini gue demen banget novel-novel fantasi ringan kaya bartimeus n stardust… buku yang akhir-akhir ini gue baca ya kebanyakan novel-novel setipe itu, walaupun ga semua. selama dua bulan terakhir ini gue baca….
+ shopaholic and baby, sophie kinsella *seperti biasa.. sangat lucu dan menghibur
+ stardust, neil gaiman *awalnya bingung sama gaya bahasanya. tapi kalo udah terbiasa ceritanya bagus banget.. filmnya udah keluar di amrik sono.. tapi pas gue liat trailernya, ada yang dibuat-buat gitu, jadi ga yakin deh bakal sebagus bukunya.
+ eldest, christopher paolini *yah seru juga sih walaupun awalnya agak membosankan.. tapi setelah dipikir-pikir lagi, ga terlalu berkesan seperti stardust atau bartimeus, walau tetep bagus.
+ the amulet of samarkand & the golem’s eye, jonathan stroud *buku 1 dan 2 dari the bartimeus trilogy. yang lucu, ngga ada tokoh baik disini. tapi lucu banget, terutama jinnya…
+ harry potter and the deathly hallows, jk rowling *seru banget.. selain di bagian akhirnya yang cenderung ga penting n kaya dibuat terburu-buru… kesannya maksa..
+ deception point, dan brown *telat banget ya.. hehe.. seru banget seperti buku-buku nya yang lain.. bikin ga bisa berenti baca.. tapi…. kalo udah biasa baca buku dan brown jadi ketebak siapa yang jahat…
but i still have a long list of to-buy books. those includes :
+ ptolemy’s gate *pastinya… secara ini buku terakhir bartimeus gitu. terbit bulan september.. ga sabar lagi baca lanjutannya…
+ veronica decides to die, paulo coelho *baru baca review di inet.. kayanya bagus.. hiks pengen beli….
+ anansi boys, neil gaiman *sejak baca stardust gue jadi pengen koleksi buku2nya gaiman ^_^ dah beli neverwhere. tapi blum dibaca..
+ the princess and the pirate *ga tau de siapa yang ngarang.. waktu itu liat di kino grand indonesia. kayanya menarik ceritanya.
+ tuesdays with morrie, mitch albom *karena semua orang bilang bagus banget.. semoga sih lebih bagus dari five people you meet in heaven – yang dibilang semua orang bagus banget tapi menurut gue biasa-biasa aja hehe..
+ for one more day, mitch albom *untuk alasan yang sama kaya di atas.. review nya bagus-bagus. gue masi penasaran sama buku-bukunya albom.. yang mana yang bener-bener bagus ^_^
kalo diterusin sih ya bisa puluhan.. tapi yang sekarang bener-bener pengen baru itu aja.. sisanya.. pengen yang masih bisa ditahan.. hahaha…
