title: death on the nile
author: agatha christie
country: united kingdom
language: english
genre: crime novel
published: 1 november 1937
publisher: collins crime club
pages: 288pp

synopsis:
The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything - until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: 'I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.' Yet in this exotic setting, nothing is ever quite what it seems... 

this is the second agatha christie novel that i've read, and it truly doesn't disappoint. (shoutout to kak oline for letting me borrow these hehe)

the story builds slowly, but,of course, not at all uninterestingly. even though the story revolves around the murder of one character, everyone is given time in the spotlight. i love the diversity of the characters and how we are introduced to their traits deliberately, not just half heartedly like many novels do these days. i get the sense that everyone is important and involved, and it's great.

what is also great: the guessing game. now that everything is laid out and we're familiar with the characters, who did the murder? is it the obvious one? confusion feels nice. or, more accurately, curiosity. flipping through the book is nothing like a task.

i'm not very experienced with crime novels, by the way, because i don't think i could handle reading some hundred words to be disappointed by a dry ending. but this is agatha christie, and i don't think anything she'd made could be disappointing. and the twists i stumble upon aren't only in the ending. it's everywhere. the plot is really impossible to guess.

everything is interesting and it's hard to find that in most books. all in all, i love hercule poirot. i love agatha christie, and i love this book. 10/10

Labels: book review, school

title: a tale for the time being
author: ruth ozeki
country: usa
language: english
genre: fiction, psychological fiction
published: march 12, 2013
publisher: viking
pages: 432pp

synopsis:
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying, but before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in a ways she can scarcely imagine.

Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.

Full of Ozeki’s signature humour and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, A Tale for the Time Being is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home.

this has to be my favorite read yet; a refreshingly vivid, wise yet youthful book that just has it all in one tale, you know what i mean?

(probably not, you'd need to read it first.)

so this story is told in two perspectives: one by ruth, a writer living with her husband in a remote island, and nao, a sixteen-year-old japanese girl. admittedly, i would be a lot sceptical about reading a dual-narrative story. it sounds like it would be tedious, and hard to keep up with, since we'd have to keep up with two main characters and all that, right? but ozeki did a wonderful job in piecing the story together. nao's and ruth's narratives are so refreshingly contrasted, one being dramatic and saturated, the other calmer. it's different, in the best way possible.

ozeki builds up a mystery from small questions, left unanswered with the underlying promise of an answer at the end of the book. the mystery gets bigger as we read on, and, okay, this is a really hyperbolic metaphor but it almost feels like vines slowly caging us in, twirling around our ankles, little by little. no complaints here—it's really a wonderful feeling to be this curious, this enraptured in a story, you know?

ozeki takes us on a journey to uncover nao's fate, connecting everything together, unfolding mysteries about the world. i especially love how she knit in quantum theories, like multiverses, so fittingly. it's super enlightening, and gives a realistic feel to the story.

all in all, it's a 5 stars from me! a must read. huge thank you to ruth ozeki for this masterpiece.

[]

Labels: book review, school

Title Eleanor & Park
Author Rainbow Rowell
Country United States
Language English
Genre Romance
Publisher St. Martin's Press
Published February 2013
Pages 329




synopsis: 

Two misfits.One extraordinary love.
Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.
Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

ive owned this book for a while now, eleanor & park, and i could say its one of my favorite books of all time. every reread is gold, it doesn't even feel much like a reread, actually! like i'm reading a new book all over, picking up new details and new feelings all the same.

it's a quirky, beautifully crafted book. its funny and tear-jerking, and truly a masterpiece. probably the only book i cried over.

park is your boyfriend goals tbh. emo asian boy who's sensitive but still boyish, sweet as ever, rarely liking anyone, with 10/10 music taste. making mixtapes, lending comic books. park is perfect.

eleanor.... isn't that shiny. chubby, red hair, pretty but almost intangibly(?) so. strange clothes, quirky, sarcastic & funny. except she comes from a broken family. her bunch of red-headed siblings, her weak-willed mother, and her mom's abusive husband.

through emotional twists and turns you'll dive in the story and won't want to get out! it's beautifully melancholic. especially with an opening like this:

He’d stopped trying to bring her back.
She only came back when she felt like it, in dreams and lies and broken-down déjà vu.
Like, he’d be driving to work, and he’d see a girl with red hair standing on the corner – and he’d swear, for half a choking moment, that it was her.
Then he’d see that the girl’s hair was more blond than red.
And that she was holding a cigarette … And wearing a Sex Pistols T-shirt.
Eleanor hated the Sex Pistols.
Eleanor …
Standing behind him until he turned his head.
Lying next to him just before he woke up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough.
Eleanor ruining everything.
Eleanor, gone.
He’d stopped trying to bring her back.

i'll leave it at that. have fun reading!

Labels: book review, school

Judul: The Alchemist (O Alquimista)
Pengarang: Paulo Coelho
Penerbit: Harper Collins
Penerjemah: Alan R.Clarke
Terbitan Pertama: 1988
Dimensi : paperback, 197 hal; 17 cm

Aku sebenarnya sudah pernah baca buku ini, tapi tidak sampai 20 halaman pun. Waktu itu sedang Jabawaskita kalau tidak salah, aku iseng-iseng buka bacaan yang Steff bawa. Dengar-dengar, bukunya 'inspirasional' dan 'life-changing'. Penasaran, aku baca beberapa halaman pertama. Yang terpikir, aah, fabel kuno, ngga asyik. Aku tutup bukunya. Tidak jadi baca, ah.

Baru-baru ini, aku sedang nongkrong di toko buku Periplus, buka-buka area best seller. Aku melihat buku tersebut lagi. Lucunya, ada tiga model. Beda-beda cover dan ukurannya. Setelah ditimbang-timbang, aku lagi butuh buku bacaan. Aku pulang membawa satu buku baru, The Alchemist.


The Alchemist mengkisahkan perjalanan Santiago, seorang penggembala asal Andalusia yang mendambakan perjalanan. Awalnya Santiago mengejar hal kecil: menikahi putri seorang pedagang dari negara tetangga. Tetapi seiring berjalannya kisah Santiago, mimpinya berganti. Serangkai kejadian berlangsung, dan sang penggembala menemukan dirinya berkelana mencari harta karun di Mesir dan mempelajari bahasa rahasia alam semesta.

Tidak salah, The Alchemist memang merupakan buku yang sangat inspirasional. Sangat indah. Rangkaian kata-katanya sederhana namun puitis, sedikit demi sedikit melukiskan keindahan spiritual bumi. Walaupun tidak bisa dibilang bacaan berat, aku menemukan diriku harus membaca ulang banyak paragraf beberapa kali sampai maknanya dapat. Bacanya benar-benar harus menghayati.

Ini kali pertama aku membaca karangan Paul Coelho. Aku tidak bisa bilang bahwa gaya menulisnya sangat spektakuler atau apa, walaupun memang termasuk sangat indah. Menurutku, yang membuat buku ini spesial adalah isinya. Coelho berhasil menyampaikan terkaannya terhadap rahasia-rahasia dunia yang mungkin butuh tahunan untuk dicapai sebuah konklusi, dalam kurang dari 200 halaman. Buku ini adalah hasil penemuannya yang disajikan dengan cantik melalui sudut pandang seorang penggembala.

Membaca buku ini, aku merasa ikut terbawa bersama Santiago, kemanapun dia berbelok. Pasar Arab yang ribut, toko kristal di atas bukit, gurun Sahara yang tidak bisa diprediksi, oasis yang luas dan indah, dst, dst. Penceritaannya yang mendetil membuatku bisa merasa apa yang Santiago rasakan tanpa perincian berlebih, tanpa membuat bosan.

Buku ini bisa dibilang tambang kutipan (a minefield of quotes), melihat setiap halamannya bisa diambil makna. Namun hampir semua kutipannya bertema sama: ikuti kata hati. Terdengar klise, memang, tapi percayalah, cara penyampaian buku ini tidak ada klise-klisenya sama sekali.

Aku akan ikut (jump into the bandwagon) dengan ratusan (atau ribuan?) orang lain yang bilang bahwa buku ini wajib dibaca. Indah sekali, dan aku saja, yang gampang sekali bosan dan tidak betah dengan mayoritas buku 'klasik', bisa bilang bahwa kamu tidak akan bosan baca buku ini.

-

Note: I also made that artwork for kicks. I wanted to draw Santiago and try exploring darker skin and different facial features. So, have one of my favorite scenes from the book! It's Santiago confessing to Fatima, a woman of the desert. I love the poetic way he confessed, and at the same time it's literally the LEAST cliche lovey-dovey thing I've ever read in my life. So truthful, so raw, you can practically hear Santiago's thoughts.

Labels: art, book review

Judul: Supernova: Ksatria, Puteri, dan Bintang Jatuh
Pengarang: Dee Lestari
Penyunting: Dhewiberta
Jumlah Halaman: 364 Halaman
Penerbit: Truedee Books
Terbitan Pertama: Januari 2001
Format: Soft cover

KPBJ, karya fenomenal pertama yang lahir dari tangan Dee Lestari, seorang penulis dan vokalis dari Bandung kelahiran 1976. Karyanya yang terkenal antara lain Filosofi Kopi (2006), Perahu Kertas (2008), Rectoverso (2009), Madre (2011). Hampir semua karyanya meledak di kalangan pembaca.

Novel KPBJ, buku pembuka seri Supernova, memecahkan rekor buku terlaris dalam waktu singkat. Tujuh ribu eksemplar habis dalam waktu 14 hari. Novel ini kemudian dinominasikan sebagai Indonesia’s Best Fiction Award 2000-2001 (Novel Fiksi Indonesia Terbaik 2000-2001). Sangat sepadan.

Buku ini bertopik berat, tapi menurut saya sangat menarik sehingga saya tidak begitu kesulitan membacanya. Gabungan unik antara sains, filsafat, dan psikologi dengan kehidupan roman yang kompleks, berhasil disajikan Dee dengan amat brilian.

Buku ini berpusat pada 3 kisah, masing-masing dengan warna berbeda. Ada Reuben dan Dhimas, pasangan gay dengan latar belakang bertolak belakang yang bertemu di pesta obat-obatan. Mereka mengikat janji bahwa di tahun kesepuluh hubungan mereka, mereka akan menulis sebuah novel roman sains. Sepuluh tahun berlalu dan mereka mulai menulis.

Mereka menulis tentang tokoh bernama Ferre, seorang pria menarik berjabatan tinggi yang diidolakan perempuan, dan Rana, seorang wartawan yang ditugaskan mewawancarai Ferre. Mereka berdua langsung saling tertarik, namun ada satu hambatan besar pada kisah cinta mereka: Rana sudah menikah.

Seiring kisah rumit mereka berjalan, buku mulai berpusat pada kisah ketiga, kisah Diva, seorang peragawati dan pelacur kelas atas. Diva bukan sembarang wanita; dia memiliki otak luar biasa dan pemikiran yang sangat luas. Seiring mengikuti kisahnya, ada satu lagi tokoh yang diperkenalkan: sang Supernova. Tokoh anonim maha-tahu yang menjalankan situs tanya-jawab tentang hal-hal filosofis dan berkaitan dengan kehidupan.

Kisah-kisah mereka perlahan dirajut menjadi satu dengan kejadian-kejadian unik. Buku ini sangat one of a kind, menurut saya. Aplaus untuk Dee Lestari. 10/10.

Labels: book review, school

Hi! I hope you excuse my lazy bum for not keeping this blog updated. I hope I'll regularly post now, since it has officially morphed into a school blog, filled with school stuff, that I'll update mostly for school assignments. (maybe that wasn't necessary, but bold fonts are awesome don't judge me)

So as the title says, this post is a book review assignment. Meaning it's, like, an assignment. For reviewing. A book. I suck at explaining I'm sorry let's just go get to the point.

Magnus Chase. It's a new series by Rick Riordan! I absolutely love all of uncle Rick's books, each of them are so quirky and the main characters are always full of sass. If you didn't know, he wrote the Percy Jackson series, the Heroes of Olympus series, and the Kane Chronicles. Each books are approximately as thick as the slice of cheesecake I'm imagining right now. Which is really thick, like, Harry-Potter-and-the-Order-of-Phoenix-thick thick.

But his books are super fun, I guarantee you! I reread it like 30911985 times a day, and I'm not even joking.

I was joking, okay.

Anyways let's jump into the story! *dramatic sound effect*

(pic is not mine. credits to google, I guess)

So here's the synopsis!

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.

One day, he’s tracked down by a man he’s never met—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. The man tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .

I know, right? It sounds so fun, so adventure-y. I haven't finished this book yet (whoops!) but I'm pretty near the end now. This book is WAY too hilarious and fun! It makes me really happy and energized just reading it. I kind of don't want to finish reading, actually, I just want to keep reading forever.

I love that the main character has such an interesting life (before all the Godly businesses, that is). It's unique, and just gives a different, fresher flavor to the book, other than the typical 'normal kid' main character. I also really like how Magnus reacts to stuff, like his personality is just so quirky and funny.

Although Magnus is totally awesome, I still like Percy better. Maybe it's because Magnus is way more chill, and laid-back. I have a thing for ADHD / overly active characters, so I guess that's why. I still wonder if they competed in a sass contest, who'd win?

The side characters in this book were also fantastic! There's Samirah Al Abbas, a muslim girl from a very traditional family, who midnights as a Valkyrie (this real cool job with Odin as the boss, with perks like granting you the ability to fly!). I am totally in love with her, she's by far the best character uncle Rick has created. Also, she's in love with the guy she's arranged to marry. Thumbs up to uncle Rick for diversity! I love the idea of her.

There's also Blitzen and Hearthstone, Magnus' hobo pals. Blitz is a dwarf who loves clothing, and Hearth is a deaf elf who's passion is mastering rune magic. They both were disguised as hobos to watch over Magnus. These two are so hilarious!

So ya, I'll give a 4 out of 5 for this book! But just a side note, read the Percy Jackson series first so that you're more used to the Godly stuff.

I'll end this one here. See you in the next post!

Labels: book review, school

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