45/50
Mengikuti jejak di bulan September lalu, aku sukses menyelesaikan 7 buku pada bulan Oktober. Apakah ini merupakan pertanda bahwa aku perlahan menjadi seorang pembaca yang konsisten dalam membaca 7 buku dalam rentang waktu 1 bulan? Semoga ya!
Hal baru lain yang terjadi di bulan Oktober kemarin adalah perkenalanku dengan Gramedia Digital Premium. Aplikasi ini sangat membantuku (dan para pembaca lain) agar bisa membaca banyak buku sepuas-puasnya setiap bulan, terlepas dari keterbatasan budget yang ada untuk membeli buku. Dengan berlangganan perbulan di aplikasi ini kita memang dapat menikmati tawaran All You Can Read untuk berbagai majalah, koran, dan buku berbahasa Indonesia. Aku yang sebenarnya lebih nyaman dengan buku fisik akhir-akhir ini memang berusaha beradaptasi dengan membaca buku elektronik. Buku fisik tidak tergantikan pokoknya! *eh
Ngomong-ngomong, berapa buku yang kamu baca bulan ini?
Berikut adalah daftar 7 buku yang berhasil aku baca di Bulan Oktober 2018:
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Dovaleh Greenstein is an old comedian performing his last stand up show on a small bar in Israel. Over the course of the night, the stand-up show somehow took a very personal turn. It's become some kind of memoir told directly by the person in the said memoir. Just like how Dov made the audience of his show feel uncomfortable, Dov also success make me feel uneasy with his story.
This book is not an easy read. Instead of dividing the book into chapters, the writer decides to write a long passage worth of 208 pages. I push myself to finish this book as soon as possible. I scared that I would abandon the book if I'm not read it fast enough. A Horse Walks Into a Bar told a story about surviving life through loss. It's a reflection about how loss that we suffered in the early age of life somehow will affect our life after that.
Full review of this novel in Bahasa Indonesia is on my blog.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Setelah sebelumnya membaca jilid pertama rangkaian buku ini beberapa bulan lalu, aku akhirnya berhasil menyelesaikan jilid kedua buku ini dibulan Oktober. Masih sama seperti buku pendahulunya, dalam jilid kedua ini Larry Gonick kembali menguraikan rangkaian sejarah peradaban manusia lewat media kartun lucu dan menghibur.
Tidak hanya berhasil membuat belajar sejarah menjadi lebih "menyenangkan", ilustrasi lucu dalam Kartun Riwayat Peradaban juga berhasil "mencerahkan" sejarah peradaban manusia yang sebenarnya lumayan kelam karena dipenuhi dengan perang, skandal, dan kematian. Kalau kamu bosan dengan bacaan yang selalu penuh dengan kata-kata dan ingin belajar sejarah lewat media kartun yang lebih menghibur, sepertinya buku yang satu ini adalah buku yang tepat untukmu.
Ulasan lengkap terkait novel ini dapat ditemukan di sini.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
All of sudden, I miss reading children story. I first come across this book thanks to the trailer of the book's film adaptation. Cate Blanchett and Jack Black look awesome on that trailer. I haven't watched the film yet until now but I ended up reading the book first.
The House With A Clock In Its Walls is a book that children would love dearly. It's full of magic (literally) and gives you a sense of wonder all the way in the story. Sure, it can be scary at times because of the whole resurrection-of-the-death-thing. But, it's not that scary really. The whole story is so much fun. Lewis story teaches us about the importance of honesty in life. I also learn a lot about friendship from this book (It's funny, I know).
Ulasan lengkap terkait novel ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia dapat ditemukan di sini.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cannery Row merupakan karya kedua John Steinbeck yang pernah aku baca setelah Of Mice and Men. Ketertarikanku pada buku ini juga muncul karena Eka Kurniawan lah yang menerjemahkan bukunya ke Bahasa Indonesia. Dari segi cerita, Cannery Row bisa dibilang lebih tenang dan damai kalau dibandingkan dengan Of Mice and Men yang dramatis dan begitu tragis. Alih-alih fokus pada satu konflik, kisah buku ini secara keseluruhan merupakan dokumenter tentang daerah Cannery Row. John Steinbeck berusaha menyajikan gambaran detail tentang daerah di wilayah California ini dari berbagai sudut pandang kepada para pembaca.
[Cannery Row's] inhabitants are, as the man once said, 'whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,' by which he meant everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, 'saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,' and he would have meant the same thing.
Kalau kamu adalah seorang pembaca yang tertarik dengan karya yang lebih ringan dan optimis dari John Steinbeck, sepertinya buku ini cocok untuk menjadi bacaanmu.
Ulasan lengkap terkait novel ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia dapat ditemukan di sini.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Haunting of Hill House is a story about an experiment gone wrong. Dr Montague is an anthropologist professor whose real vocation lies in supernatural studies. When he decides to study Hill House, he knows he can't do it alone. He starts sending various letters to people who he thinks can help. After seeing Hill House with their own eyes, Eleanor Vance and Theodora kind of regret accepting Dr Montague invitation. Nevertheless, they still proceed with the plan to live in this house all summer. Along with Luke Sanderson, the future heir of the Hill House, they experience a holiday full of terrors.
Instead of inflecting dread to the reader using a vivid description of scary supernatural creatures, Shirley Jackson used terror to give an eerie vibe to the whole story. She gives us a vague description of unexplainable things that happen around the house without really point out what or who exactly the initiator behind all those phenomena. Before we know it, we trap on a psychological horror story about someone who drives into madness (most likely) thanks to Hill House. If you enjoy a good horror story, you will love this. No wonder Stephen King adore this novel.
Ulasan lengkap terkait novel ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia dapat ditemukan di sini.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
... In that moment, I get to be me. And if you don't like that, fuck off.
Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) is YA novel tell a story about a confident gay high school student navigating his school life when a secret admirer suddenly turn into a scary stalker.
Jack Rothman love his life and himself in general. He got awesome friends like Ben and Jenna and a cool mom. He never gives a shit to people who gossip about his so-called-wild-sex-life behind his back. He and people who care about him know the truth behind all that after all. Things going downhill when Jack become the writer of a sex advice column under the name of 'Jack of Hearts' in Jenna's website. A harmless pink note from a secret admirer suddenly turns into a demanding note full of threats from a creepy stalker who seem to know everything Jack does. Jack need to solve this problem before the stalker harm people that he truly cares about.
This novel tells us about Jack various attempts to find the stalker. Not only that, but it's also covered topics like gay stereotypes, sex-positivity, and the downside effect of gay men fetishization by females.
This book is everything I need right now. It's bold, honest, funny, and unapologetic. It reminds you that it's okay to be yourself. After reading this, you will understand that you can't let people define who you are no matter what. This book also quite educative and enlightening in some parts if you open minded and interest in LGBTQ topics.
I make this book sound cliche as hell, sorry. I hope you still give it a try though. Jack Rothman is a refreshing protagonist for me. He fully embraces himself without being sway by other people opinions of him. Jack aware that in the end, people who don't know him will judge anyway. So, why bother responding to them?
Of course, Jack is vulnerable and unsure at some points. But, that what makes him human. It great to see how he becomes his confident-self again after everything. I love how Jack story reminds us that it's not good to be judgemental.
If you are open-minded and looking for a good YA adult novel with a strong and fabulous male protagonist, I think this book is for you.
Ulasan lengkap terkait novel ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia dapat ditemukan di sini.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
"Imperfect" merupakan kumpulan cerita pribadi dari Meira Anastasia (istri Ernest Prakasa) yang mengisahkan tentang pengalamannya menjadi seorang Ibu dan istri seorang figur publik di era media sosial sekarang ini. Topik seperti body-positivity, fenomena body-shaming, dan kondisi media sosial yang bisa lumayan toksik sering muncul dalam cerita-cerita di buku ini.
Dalam buku personal ini penulis memang banyak membagikan kisah pribadinya menuju ke tahap penerimaan diri dengan kondisi fisik yang dia miliki. Bukan rahasia lagi memang kalau ada "standar kecantikan" yang sudah terpatri di benak setiap orang. Sebagian orang terkadang sampai stress sendiri karena merasa dirinya "masih banyak kurang" dan tidak "secantik" orang lain.
Buku ini begitu positif karena memaparkan bagaimana penerimaan diri adalah sebaik-baiknya sikap yang bisa kita pilih. Kalau terus membandingkan diri dengan lain memang tidak ada habisnya.
"Ubah insekyur jadi bersyukur"
Kita juga hendaknya mawas diri agak tidak bersikap judgemental kepada orang lain. Sebelum berkomentar dan berpendapat (apalagi tentang hal personal seperti fisik yang sebenarnya tidak layak sembarang dikomentari) tolong dipikir-pikir lagi.
Bagi yang sedang mencari bacaan bertema body-positivity, buku ini dapat menjadi pilihan bacaanmu.
Dari 7 buku ini, Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) adalah bacaan terfavoritku di bulan Oktober 2018.
Apa bacaan favoritmu di bulan Oktober 2018?
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