Surat Wasiat - John Grisham

Grisham, John. 2003. Surat Wasiat. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

Rating 4 bintang

Ini novel John Grisham pertama yang saya baca. Saya tahu sih Grisham ini penulis yang banyak karyanya. Saya juga sering lihat buku-buku Grisham diobral di toko buku-toko buku sekarang. Mungkin karena kelihatannya ini novel bapuk dan enggak ada sesuatu yang menarik dan kekinian di novel ini, saya jadi enggak pernah merasa ingin baca karya-karya Grisham.

Ini punyanya Papa saya, tapi sudah saya anggap punya saya. Yang saya punya ini adalah versi Indonesia cetakan keempat tahun 2003. Tapi aslinya novel ini pertama kali terbit tahun 1999. Mungkin alasan lain kenapa saya enggak tertarik baca karya Grisham adalah karena saat novel-novelnya sedang di masa kejayaan, karena saya sok tahu saya perkirakan itu tahun 90-an sampai awal 2000, saat itu saya belum di fase yang senang membaca novel misteri dengan latar dunia orang dewasa.

Dari halaman pertama, saya sudah enggak bisa memalingkan mata! WEDAN KEREN BANGET! 

Ini novel thriller misteri yang pol banget bikin penasarannya. Novel setebal 617 halaman ini selesai saya baca kurang dari dua hari. Itu termasuk cepat buat saya yang kecepatan bacanya lelet banget, dan lagi selama dua hari itu pun saya sibuk ngurus sesuatu.

Mara Dyer Trilogy (Book 1-3) – Michelle Hodkin [SPOILER, obviously]

Hodkin, Michelle. 2011, 2012, 2014. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, The Retribution of Mara Dyer. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Overall Rating 2,5 stars.

Sigh. Another stellar debut, another love to give. I decided to pick it up and read it, solely because of the amazing cover on the first book of this series, the other two are not very satisfying but I couldn’t care less after I finished the first book. I think that is the kind of cover that will always attract my attention. You know, mysterious, dark, sharp picture, and doesn’t show any particular face to be judged. Totally my type of cover, yes. Safe to say, I knew nothing about this book until I read it, I even didn’t know its genre.

I know now, I should never judge a series if I don’t read its whole series. By that, maybe I did an unfair judgment with Marked, but that is one awful book though, ugh. I love the first two book of Mara Dyer Trilogy, but after reading the final installment, my love was fading pretty fast. I’m bumped because I can’t give more than 2,5 stars for this series, believe me, I really want to love this more. But the last book crushed me, and not in a good way either. Despite the failed ending of this series (I’m getting to that later), I really like Michelle Hodkin’s writing style (she has good humor) and I still will pick up her future novels, I guess. Now, shall we talk about who Mara Dyer is?

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 Transcriptionist - Amy Rowland [DNF!]

Rowland, Amy. 2014. The Transcriptionist. North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Rating no star whatsoever!

(not going to review this in Indonesian, 'cause who cares anyway?)

I received this via NetGalley, but I wish I didn’t.

I don’t want to sound like an ungrateful douchebag because, well, I did requested it in the first place, and I didn’t finish reading it. Seriously, I had tried really hard to, at least, finish it. I even didn’t expect to be able enjoying the story anymore, I JUST WANTED TO FINISH IT.

Just now, I peeked reviews of this book in Goodreads... and shocked. I saw MANY glowing reviews about The Transcriptionist. Almost all the people that have read this, praise it. And now I get hesitated about my own brain capacity. The thing is, this book is constructed by supposedly ‘smart’ and ‘deep’ words and lines, and the author inserts some supposedly interesting facts and details (that BORED ME TO HELL). I felt the author just tries too hard to impress, really. And to be honest,

The Husband – Dean Koontz

Koontz, Dean. 2007. The Husband. Jakarta: Pustaka Alvabet.

Rating 5 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

Thank you, Pustaka Alvabet, for giving me this book in exchange for honest review.

Why I read it in the first place?

I was surfing in the internet, hopping from one online book store to another. In one certain store, I saw The Husband by Dean Koontz, the English version, cheap, used but still in good condition. Somehow, I interested to check the information about the book. After some searching, I was kind of curious with it and simply added The Husband in my wishlist (like my wishlist needs to be longer). One day, I was just checking books in Pustaka Alvabet’s website, and found myself surprised. I didn’t know The Husband by Dean Koontz has been translated into Indonesian, and apparently it’s published by Pustaka Alvabet. They publish many great books really, but somehow I don’t see their books in book store as much as other books from different publishers. So, I e-mailed them, asked them to send me this book in exchange for honest review in this blog. And here it is, the said review.

The Husband – Dean Koontz

Koontz, Dean. 2007. The Husband. Jakarta: Pustaka Alvabet.

Rating 5 bintang
(review in English, click here)

Terima kasih kepada Pustaka Alvabet yang telah memberikan saya buku ini sebagai ganti ulasan yang jujur.

Kenapa saya baca buku ini?

Kebetulan saja saya sedang berselancar di internet, dari satu toko buku daring ke yang lainnya. Ada yang jual The Husband versi Bahasa Inggris dengan harga murah, buku bekas sih memang, tapi saya jadi tertarik mengecek itu buku tentang apa. Setelah tengok sana tengok sini, sepertinya ini buku bagus, jadi saya masukkan ke wishlist saya (yang sudah bejibun itu). Suatu hari, saya sedang mampir ke website Pustaka Alvabet, lihat-lihat bukunya, dan kaget. Ternyata The Husband-nya Dean Koontz sudah diterbitkan oleh mereka. Buku-buku terbitan penerbit ini bagus-bagus, tapi entah kenapa kok seperti jarang ditemui di toko buku yah? Jadi, saya coba minta mereka mengirimkan buku ini ke saya, sebagai ganti ulasan buku di blog saya. Jadi, inilah ini, ulasannya. Hehe.

The Maze Runner Trilogy (Book 1-3) – James Dashner [SPOILER ALERT!]

Dashner, James. 2009, 2010, 2011. The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. New York City: Delacorte Press.

Rating 3 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE (YOU MIGHT NOT SEE IT AS A REVIEW, IT’S MORE LIKE A REACTION) CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILER. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE MAZE RUNNER TRILOGY, I DON’T SUGGEST YOU TO CONTINUE READING THIS. UNLESS YOU ARE OKAY WITH SPOILER (JUST SO YOU AWARE, I'M GOING TO SPOIL EVERYTHING AND PROBABLY WON'T EXPLAIN BASIC DETAILS) OR YOU’VE ALREADY READ THE TRILOGY, PLEASE PROCEED.

What the...?

Yup! Three books in one article! In my review for this trilogy in Indonesian, I blabber about how I feel that something seems odd with the translated version. I give some examples like the use of words ‘shank’, ‘shuck-face’, ‘klunk’ and many others that are kind of weird when it’s translated into Indonesian. I just felt something was not suit there. I couldn’t really enjoy reading it while the story was actually captivated me. Before I realized why, my reading experience with this book was slow and I was distracted too easily. I even thought to buy the other two books, just so I have a complete trilogy, I even haven’t finish The Maze Runner when that thought came up to me. It’s like I was really trying to distract myself. And somehow, I got my hands on the e-book version for The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, in English. I also got The Maze Runner e-book because I was curious to read it in its original language.

And... oh boy. I found out that Dashner uses ‘uncommon’ words and sentences in this trilogy. I actually like it, and I wouldn’t notice this fancy thing if I read the Indonesian translated version. Since I started to read the trilogy in English, I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. After I finished with The Maze Runner, I didn’t have it in me to sit still and patiently write the review for it. The freaking mysteries were killing me! So I just continued reading the rest of the trilogy. I purposely review it in one go in order to be more efficient, and it will be one long article (for my standard). So be it.

Trilogi The Maze Runner (Buku 1-3) – James Dashner [SPOILER ALERT!]

Dashner, James. 2009, 2010, 2011. The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure. New York City: Delacorte Press.

Rating 3 bintang
(review in English, click here)

TULISAN BERIKUT (AGAKNYA BUKAN ULASAN, HANYA SEBUAH REAKSI) MENGANDUNG SPOILER, YANG BELUM BACA TRILOGI INI TIDAK DIANJURKAN MEMBACA TULISAN INI. SILA LANJUT MEMBACA BAGI YANG TIDAK KEBERATAN AKAN SPOILER MAUPUN BAGI YANG SUDAH PERNAH MEMBACA TRILOGI INI.

Apa-apaan?

YAP! Tiga buku sekaligus! Pengalaman saya membaca trilogi ini agak berbelit-belit, jadi kalau enggak penasaran-penasaran banget, langsung loncat saja ke bagian selanjutnya. Jadi begini ceritanya, awalnya kan saya baca The Maze Runner terjemahan Bahasa Indonesia, saya bacanya memang entah kenapa jadi agak lambat dan lebih gampang enggak fokus, tapi tetap senang dan bahagia. Lama-lama, kok saya merasa ada yang enggak ‘klop’? Malahan, saya kepikiran ingin beli buku kedua sama ketiganya. Padahal yang buku pertamanya juga belum kelar. Akhirnya pilihan saya jatuh ke e-book buku kedua dan buku ketiga, dalam Bahasa Inggris. Sekalian juga saya coba baca e-book buku pertamanya karena saya ingin coba baca versi bahasa aslinya.

Ternyata oh ternyata... James Dashner memang bermain di kosa kata dan bentuk-bentuk kalimat yang tidak biasa, dan pembaca baru bisa benar-benar menikmati tulisan Dashner kalau membaca bukunya dalam bahasa aslinya. Misalnya penggunaan kata ‘shank’, ‘shuck-face’, ‘klunk’. Kemudian pola kalimat Dashner yang tidak biasa itu jadi hilang di versi terjemahannya, contoh, “just slim yourself nice and calm” diterjemahkan jadi “santai dan tenang sajalah”. Jadi kalimat yang biasa banget kan? Padahal di trilogi ini ceritanya para Glader punya cara ngomong yang unik.

Intinya, saya jadinya baca trilogi ini dalam bahasa aslinya dan benar-benar ENGGAK BISA LEPAS dari buku ini. Setelah selesai dengan The Maze Runner, saya enggak bisa langsung duduk manis menulis ulasannya, karena penasaran habis-habisan sama kelanjutan ceritanya. Jadi, ya sudah saya selesaikan dulu triloginya baru bikin ulasannya. Digabung saja biar efisien, tapi bakal jadi panjang banget nih ulasan. Biarlah.

Inferno – Dan Brown

Brown, Dan. 2013. Inferno. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Bentang.

Rating 5 stars AND BEYOND!
(review in Indonesian, click here)

Is it just me or this book really has the I'm-so-legit wave?

Why I read it in the first place?

Bhahahahhahahaha. It’s a silly question, really. So let’s not dwell too much on this. I read this book because I am obssesed on every piece of Dan Brown’s works. People who enjoy reading, who appreciate art, who adore clever and generous character, and who have curiosity toward science and religion, MUST at the very least puke rainbow on Dan Brown’s books, and this book is no exception. How so? Well, this book successfully made me reach my orgasm point, just like a total nerd when it comes to an awesome book with too much awesomeness to bare. In some point I thought my brain is exploded for consumed over dose of amazingness in this book. So, why read this book? Pfft. That’s not even a relevant question if we’re talking about Inferno here.

Inferno – Dan Brown

Brown, Dan. 2013. Inferno. Yogyakarta: Penerbit Bentang.

Rating 5 bintang ditambah semua bintang-bintang yang ada!
(review in English, click here)

Terasa enggak sih aura 'keren' dari buku ini? Hahaha.

Kenapa saya baca buku ini?

Bahahahahhaahahha. Sebenarnya ini pertanyaan konyol. Jadi mari tidak berlama-lama di bagian ini. Saya baca buku ini karena saya memang terobsesi dengan semua karya Dan Brown sejak awal. Penikmat kegiatan baca, pengapresiasi seni, penggemar tokoh cerita cerdas baik hati, dan orang yang penasaran akan ilmu pengetahuan dan ilmu agama, PASTI sedikitnya memuntahkan pelangi atas karya-karya Dan Brown, termasuk karya teranyarnya yang satu ini. Bagaimana tidak? Inilah buku yang bisa membuat saya mencapai orgasme, persis seperti anak culun garis keras ketika dihadapkan dengan buku yang terlalu menakjubkan. Rasanya otak meledak saking kagumnya. Jadi, kenapa baca buku ini? Pfft. Itu bahkan bukan pertanyaan relevan kalau Inferno yang kita bicarakan.