Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler [DNF]

Handler, Daniel. 2011. Why We Broke Up. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Rating 2 bintang

(review in English, click here)

Saya berhenti di 32% dari buku ini. Dan, ya ampun, untuk sampai di 32% itu aja udah perjuangan banget.

Judulnya yang intimidating bikin saya menunda baca buku ini sejak lama. Tapi, setelah mengalami putus hubungan romantis baru-baru ini, saya merasa inilah waktu yang tepat untuk baca buku ini. Jadi bisa dibilang, harapan saya cukup tinggi sebelum mulai baca Why We Broke Up.

Buku ini berupa surat panjang (banget) yang ditulis Min untuk Ed Slaterton, mantan pacarnya. Isinya menjelaskan kenapa mereka akhirnya putus. Selain mengirimkan surat, si Min ini juga ngirim barang-barang memento mereka berdua selama ini. Ada macem-macem. Dari tutup botol pas mereka pertama kali ngobrol, tiket nonton bioskop, robekan poster, mainan mobil truk, dan barang-barang kecil lain yang semuanya dimasukkan ke satu kotak. Untuk setiap barang, Min menjelaskan cerita di balik barang itu dan semuanya diakhiri dengan “and that’s why we broke up”.

Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler [DNF]

Handler, Daniel. 2011. Why We Broke Up. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Rating 2 stars.
(review in Indonesian, click here)

I stopped at 32% of this book. And, boy oh boy, it was a real struggle to get to 32%.

Its intimidating title kept me away for quite a long time. But, after breaking my own romantic relationship very recently, I guess there’s no better time to finally start reading this book. You can say, I held my hopes high before reading Why We Broke Up.

This book form is this (very long) letter written by Min to Ed Slaterton, her ex-boyfriend. Its content explains why they broke up in the end. Not only sends him a letter, Min also sends some goods that she acquired in the meantime of their relationship. There are many random things. From a bottle cap when they first talked, a movie ticket, a rip of a poster, a truck toy, and other small things that she fits in in a box. For each thing, Min elaborates the story behind it and she closes her stories with “and that’s why we broke up”.

Shift - Em Bailey

Bailey, Em. 2012. Shift. Great Britain: Electric Monkey.

Rating 5 stars

I often read books before I go to sleep every night, because that’s how I roll since I was a kid. If the books are not interesting enough to keep me awake, I don’t mind because those books still help me to beat my sleep deprivation. As you may guess, the amount of books that keep me awake through the night is, of course, far more many than the books that don’t. But, books that keep me awake AND haunt me in my sleep are quite rare, I believe. 

This book. This book is one of those books that makes me lost my sleep time, and when I did sleep, it haunted my ugly dream. I admit, I had a nightmare after I read this book. It jabbed me right in my supposedly brave-heart.

I enjoy this book so much. I can’t believe that NONE of my Goodreads friends have read it (or maybe they just don’t put it on their bookshelves, I don’t know).

Lucid - Adrienne Stoltz & Ron Bass

Stoltz, Adrienne and Ron Bass. 2012. Lucid. New York: Razorbill.

_­Rating 5 serious stars

This is a story about a girl who whines a lot more than I tolerate and a girl who is so lonely she often makes up stories about strangers around her. And I should say I am pretty shocked myself for being able to finish the story until the very last page, let alone crown it with a five-star rating.

It’s definitely not a happy story, but I smiled in some parts of it. It’s not a sad story either, but I cried anyway in the end, complete with an ache in my heart and all.

The Truth About Alice - Jennifer Mathieu

Mathieu, Jennifer. 2014. The Truth About Alice. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Rating 4 bintang
(review in English, click here)

Saya menerima buku ini melalui NetGalley, buku ini direncanakan akan terbit pada Juni 2014.

“But mostly I just go through every day and I do what people expect of me.”-Josh

Alice Franklin, karakter utama buku ini, punya reputasi yang bagus di sekolahnya. Dia cantik, pandai bergaul, dan ramah. Namun, satu rumor buruk di kota kecil bisa berdampak panjang dan mengubah semuanya. Alice dicap sebagai wanita murahan karena Brandon Fitzsimmons mengaku meniduri Alice di pestanya Elaine O’Dea, dan di malam dan pesta yang sama, Tommy Cray juga meniduri Alice. Alice dicap sebagai pembunuh setelah Brandon Fitzsimmons meninggal dalam kecelakaan mobil karena saat menyetir dia sedang bertukar sms tidak senonoh dengan Alice. Keseharian Alice otomatis berubah sejak kematian Brandon Fitzsimmons, lelaki paling populer se-Healy, kota kecil di Texas. Rumor demi rumor tidak berhenti bermunculan sejak itu, orang-orang tidak segan menerima rumor-rumor itu sebagai kenyataan, sementara yang tahu kebenarannya hanya Alice, dan segelintir orang yang memilih untuk tidak mengungkapkannya.

The Truth About Alice - Jennifer Mathieu

Mathieu, Jennifer. 2014. The Truth About Alice. New York: Roaring Brook Press.

Rating 4 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

I received this book via NetGalley, it is expected to be published in June 2014.

“But mostly I just go through every day and I do what people expect of me.”-Josh

Alice Franklin, the main character in this book, has a good reputation in her school. But, one bad rumor in a small town can cause a long different story. Alice is known as a slut/ho/whore because Brandon Fitzsimmons says he slept with Alice in Elaine O’Dea’s party, and at the same night same party, Tommy Cray did it too. Alice is then known as a killer when Brandon Fitzsimmons is dead over a car crash because he’s sexting with Alice while driving. Alice’s days are not the same anymore since Brandon died, remembering this guy was the most popular guy in town. Rumor after rumor don’t stop after that. People don’t care if the rumors are true or not, they just believe it right away, because it’s easy to believe a rumor when everyone seems to talk about it and agreed on it. When really, the ones who know the truth are Alice and a few people who choose to not say it.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

Green, John. 2012. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books.

Rating 3,5 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

Why I read this in the first place?

This is my first John Green’s. I actually surprised myself because I willingly read this book. It’s against my own reading policy, really. But, here’s the story behind it. I was surfing in Youtube and stumbled upon this video. This girl in the video talks about The Fault in Our Stars. She highly praises it and clearly states that she literally bawled her eyes out while reading the book. And, here’s me, a type of reader who doesn’t find utter attraction into tragic fiction stories, or books that are purposely written to made its readers cry it a river.

A little out of topic, I never really have a solid reason to explain my reading fondness.... I guess, for most part in me, I read as an escape. That’s why I prefer a story with happy-ending. I want to feel happy, so I read books, I want to entertain myself. Well, the world has already given enough tragedy, so why do I want to spare time to read tragic fiction, right? It’s different if it comes to tragic non-fiction. I could easily accept it as a reality or a figment of human history, because I know that reality is not always beautiful but needed to be faced strong-heartedly nonetheless. And that’s why I feel unthrilled to give chance to tragic fiction books.

So, why the heck did I read this insanely famous tearjerker book? Again, the fault is in that Youtube video. The girl says, after reading The Fault in Our Stars, there’s a song came up into his head, it’s Forever and Always by Parachute. Being me, I was more curious to hear that song than to read the book. So I googled the song. (Illegally) downloaded it. Found the lyric too. Listened to it with lyric on screen. Cried my heart out. Listened to it again. Still made me bawled. Listened to it one more time. I STILL EFFING CRIED! Seriously. Until you read this review, I still will cry whenever I hear that song. It’s painfully beautiful and tragic beyond anything. I like that song so much. And somehow it made me felt responsible to also read The Fault in Our Stars, although both (the song and the book) are completely unrelated.

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

Green, John. 2012. The Fault in Our Stars. New York: Dutton Books.

Rating 3,5 bintang
(review in English, click here)

Kenapa saya baca buku ini?

Buku John Green pertama saya. Saya juga heran kenapa saya mau-mau saja baca buku ini. Ini menyalahi aturan saya sendiri.... Jadi, waktu itu saya lagi nengok-nengok Youtube dan enggak sengaja sampai pada video ini. Dia mengulas The Fault in Our Stars. Komentarnya sangat positif tapi jelas-jelas dia bilang kalau dia menangis sepanjang buku ini. Dan, saya tipe pembaca yang enggak suka baca buku fiksi tragis, atau buku yang memang sengaja dibuat untuk bikin pembaca menangis.

Agak lepas dari topik, dipikir-pikir, sebenarnya saya enggak punya alasan yang solid sih kenapa saya membaca buku.... Sepertinya sebagian besar alasan saya membaca buku adalah sebagai pelarian. Makanya saya lebih suka buku happy-ending. Saya ingin cari senang, makanya saya baca buku. Yah, dunia yang sebenarnya sudah cukup tragis, jadi kenapa juga bahkan dalam dunia buku saya perlu cerita fiksi yang tragis? Kan? Memang beda halnya kalau saya membaca buku non-fiksi yang tragis. Saya bisa dengan mudah menerimanya sebagai kenyataan ataupun potongan sejarah karena memang kenyataan itu enggak selalu indah tapi harus tetap dihadapi dengan tabah. Makanya saya merasa enggak perlu menyediakan waktu untuk menghayati cerita fiksi yang tragis, karena itu toh bukan kenyataan.

Jadi, kenapa juga saya baca buku yang terkenal karena kesuksesannya membikin pembacanya pada menangis ini? Lagi, karena video Youtube yang saya tonton itu. Dia bilang, setelah membaca The Fault in Our Stars, dia terpikir tentang lagu Forever and Always-nya Parachute. Nah, saya malah lebih penasaran sama lagu itu. Jadi saya cari lagu itu. Download. Cari teksnya sekalian. Dengar lagunya sambil lihat teksnya. Nangis sesenggukan. Dengarin ulang. Tetap nangis. Coba dengar ulang lagi. MASIH BIKIN NANGIS! Serius. Sampai tulisan ini diturunkan, saya masih akan menangis kalau dengar lagu itu. Saya suka lagunya walaupun tragisnya enggak ketolongan. Jadi, saya merasa kayak semacam terbeban untuk baca The Fault in Our Stars karena saya begitu mengapresiasi lagu itu, walaupun sebenarnya keduanya (si buku dan si lagu) benar-benar enggak berhubungan.

Emerald City and Other Stories – Jennifer Egan

Egan, Jennifer. 2012. Emerald City and Other Stories. United Kingdom: Corsair.

Rating 2 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

 

Don't judge a book by its cover (reminding myself).

Why I read it in the first place?

Somehow, I never too fond of short story. I don’t have a valid reason why is that, and it bothered me a little (I’m annoyingly a reasonable person). And when I stumbled on this book at Periplus, I thought I’d give it a try. One, it’s on the bargain section, means I got this book much cheaper than it should.  Two, I like the cover, it’s really pretty. Three, I didn’t buy any romance book lately and I THOUGHT it is a lovey dovey romance book just like what I was looking for. Come on, from a cover like that you’ll judge like I did. But, I learn not to judge a book by its cover anymore. Such an old saying but I need to keep reminding myself that. Four, I saw this book gets high rating and great reviews in Goodreads. But from my rating, you know I kind of disagree with them. Five, its author, Jennifer Egan, is a Pulitzer Prize winner for her novel A Visit from the Goon Squad. I haven’t read that (now I don’t intend to) but she seems legit, people in Goodreads (again) repeatedly praised her for her works. So, why not, right? I have FIVE excellent reasons to buy it, I must not regret and beat myself too much (sigh).

Emerald City and Other Stories – Jennifer Egan

Egan, Jennifer. 2012. Emerald City and Other Stories. United Kingdom: Corsair.

Rating 2 bintang
(review in English, click here)

 

Jangan nilai buku dari sampulnya (ngomong sama diri sendiri).

Kenapa saya baca buku ini?

Enggak tahu kenapa saya enggak terlalu suka baca cerita pendek alias cerpen. Iya, enggak tahu kenapa. Artinya saya enggak punya alasan jelas itu tuh kenapa enggak sukanya, dan hal tersebut cukup mengganggu saya (soalnya saya tipe orang menyebalkan yang selalu menuntut alasan). Makanya ketika melihat buku ini di Periplus, saya merasa ingin memberi kesempatan lagi kepada cerpen untuk memikat hati saya. Satu, buku ini ada di bagian buku-yang-murah-sekali, dan memang saya jadi bisa beli buku ini jauuuh di bawah harga aslinya. Dua, saya suka sampulnya, menurut saya sangat cantik. Tiga, belakangan saya tidak pernah beli buku-buku romantis dan saya TADINYA mengira ini buku romantis seperti yang saya sedang cari. Lagian dari sampul kayak begitu, orang pasti bakal berasumsi sama dengan saya kan? Ah, tapi saya mesti ingat-ingat lagi ke depannya supaya enggak menilai buku dari sampulnya. Empat, saya cek di Goodreads, buku ini dapat rating bagus dan ulasan-ulasan bernada memuji. Tapi, dari rating yang saya berikan, jelas saya agak berbeda pendapat dengan mereka. Lima, si penulis, Jennifer Egan, adalah pemenang penghargaan Pulitzer untuk karyanya berjudul A Visit from the Goon Squad. Belum baca itu (dan sekarang memang enggak ada niat untuk coba baca itu) tapi kelihatannya Jennifer Egan ini boleh juga. Orang-orang di Goodreads yang sudah membaca karya-karyanya (berkali-kali) memuji-muji dia. Terus, saya butuh alasan apa lagi coba? Saya punya LIMA alasan bagus untuk beli buku ini waktu itu, jadi lebih baik saya enggak usah terlalu merasa sesal sekarang....