Taman Api – Yonathan Rahardjo

Rahardjo, Yonathan. 2011. Taman Api. Jakarta: Pustaka Alvabet.

Rating 2,5 stars
(review in Indonesian, click here)

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

We live in a world where being normal is to be attracted toward opposite sex. So, generally any human being who is attracted toward the same sex, known as gay, is considered as abnormal. ‘Normal’ is a situation that is usual compared to most others. In that case, those who are attracted to the same sex are unusual and considered as abnormal. But, what if the normal situation is the contrary from what happened now. What if being normal is when people attracted to the same sex, and those who are attracted to the opposite sex are forced to ‘repent’ and must to be attracted to the same sex. Well? Kind of nauseating, isn’t it? Perhaps that’s what gay people feel all this long. Moreover, how does it feel for those who choose the ‘rougher’ path by becoming gender benders or transsexuals? What are their stories?

Taman Api – Yonathan Rahardjo

Rahardjo, Yonathan. 2011. Taman Api. Jakarta: Pustaka Alvabet.

Rating 2,5 bintang
(review in English, click here)

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

Orang yang mengajak kenalan lewat sms biasanya tidak saya waro (Sunda: pedulikan, memberi perhatian).

Tapi, karena beberapa hari yang lalu saya masih sedang membaca novel ini, saya jadi iseng.

Dia: Mlem.. ?

Saya: ya?

D: Blh knln nich.?

S: ini siapa?

D: Sya deni,lw situ cpa namanya..

S: kalo malem namaku bintang kejora, kalo siang jadi abdullah.

D: Ouh gitu,kalo pg,

S: kalo pagi panggil apa aja boleh. kamu waria juga? dapet nomor aku drmana? pasti dari si flora yah.

D: Astagfiruloh mit amit dech..

S: kenapa den?

D: Gk...

S: dapet nomorku drmana den? kamu mau pesen servis?

D: Sory ya gwe msh normal gk jd dech.

December '13 Book Haul + Giveaway Winner Announcement!

I'M BAAAAAACK!
Sorry guys, I'm not dead yet.

I know, I know. I had been a bad blogger in December 2013. But, it was December! The real life demanded my full attention. For readers who missed me (anyone? LOL), sorry for not being around and very VERY unproductive last month. I'll try to make it up from now on.

Folks, before anything, meet my new puppy, Happy! She's three months old. I love love love my Happy. She's so adorable. You see, she has that permanent sad face. But I already decided the name of my wannabe dog a night before I bought her. So yeah, it's kind of ironic.

Secret Santa 2013! Post #1

Merry early Christmas and happy holiday! We're almost there, guys. The end of 2013 is approaching and it's coming pretty quick, yes? May God's blessing is upon you all, folks! Are we excited? We better be excited!

This December on 2013, I have soooooo much things that are different from my last year December. In the last eleven months, I went through things that made me almost insane, but hey! I went through all of those. So, thank You, God my Father! Relax guys, I'm not going to whine off my boring life problems. But instead, I am going to make a list of what I pay a great amount of grateful for in this 2013. Here they go!

I am highly grateful for,
the job experience, although it's super short but I cherished and enjoyed it anyway
the finished thesis
the loving and supporting warm friends
another chance You gave to my Papa to live in this world
the unexplainable health in rough times
the ending of my Opung's pain, RIP
the strength You gave me this whole year
the problems I had and have, it's showing me You want me to be tougher
the new people I met, they are extraordinary
the relationship You let me fixed up
the smile and laughter from people surround me
the new community You let me joined, Blogger Buku Indonesia (BBI)
and many many more, thank You ;)

Quote #6

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.

Giveaway buat Hore-hore 3 Bulanan! *CLOSED*

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." -Oprah Winfrey

Kutipan di ataslah yang menjadi dasar saya untuk mengadakan giveaway ini. Dari dulu saya selalu menyukai angka 3, tanpa alasan apapun. Jadi, mari kita rayakan 3 bulannya page by page! HOREEE... Eh, harusnya kemarin sih, tanggal 4 Desember, tapi sudah beberapa hari ini saya sakit (campak dong. Kayak anak kecil aja kan? ugh.) makanya agak tersendat-sendat mau update, but whatever! I'm doing this! Tadinya saya ragu (abisnya blog ini masih muda sekaleee), tapi kan bulan ini kita akan menyambut musim liburan dan perayaan, jadi saya mantapkan untuk bikin giveaway ini. Semoga bisa jadi kado sederhana untuk Natal dan Tahun Baru 2014 buat pembaca blog ini.

Nah, untuk giveaway kali ini hanya ada SATU YANG BERUNTUNG. Saya akan menghadiahkan dua buku koleksi pribadi saya (kondisi masih layak baca kok), dan satu buku baru (masih diplastik). Ongkos kirim saya yang tanggung (yaiyalaa). Ini dia hadiah giveaway pertama page by page...

Eat, Pray, Love oleh Elizabeth Gilbert, edisi Indonesia cetakan pertama! ;)

Mantra oleh Azisa Noor & R. Amdani, buku grafis keren bikinan anak negeri.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging oleh Louise Rennison, buku teenlit dengan karakter yang lugu dan sederhana.

Berikut langkah-langkah untuk mengikuti giveaway pertama page by page:

1. Ketik kata berikut di kolom komentar, "IKUT". Tulis itu saja. Kalau mau bilang yang lain-lain juga boleh, tapi tulis itu dulu yah di awal komentar.
2. YANG INI ENGGAK WAJIB: Follow blog ini. Bisa melalui subscribe e-mail, Google Friend Connect, Google+, Bloglovin', bebas pilih. Kenapa follow? Supaya kalau saya minta buku gratis ke penerbit, saya punya alasan, "Blog saya lumayan banyak follower-nya loh, Pak." terus dikasih deh buku gratis, dan saya pun akan mengulas bukunya di blog, pembaca bisa baca ulasan saya, kita pun senang sama-sama, hahahaha. Tapi, enggak wajib kok. Sila follow kalau suka, kalau tidak follow pun tak apa.
3. Satu orang = satu suara. Jika ada komentar yang dobel, akan tetap saya hitung satu suara. Komentar dari Anonymous TIDAK saya hitung.
4. Pemenang akan diundi dengan random.org dan diumumkan tanggal 3 JANUARI 2014. Pemenang harus mengirimkan e-mail ke saya berisi data lengkap (nama, alamat, no. telepon) dalam kurun waktu 3 x 24 jam. Jika lebih dari itu, saya akan melakukan undi ulang.

Selamat 3 bulan buat page by page! Semoga bertahan lama dan bisa lebih berkualitas, bacaan dan tulisannya. Semoga kedepannya bisa bikin giveaway yang lebih 'wah' lagi (harapan semua pembaca! hahah). Terima kasih bagi yang sering baca page by page selama tiga bulan ini, giveaway ini khususnya buat kamu ;)

Nightmare Hour – R. L. Stine

Stine, R. L. 2003. Saat-saat Seram. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama.

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

Why I read this book in the first place?

I got up one day and decided to read this book because I wanted to participate in Blogger Buku Indonesia (BBI) monthly event, posting bareng (members post reviews in the same day). For November, the themes were Graphic and Horror. For Graphic, I’ve already posted review of Generasi 90an by Marchella FP, but I only reviewed it in Indonesian. And Nightmare Hour by R. L. Stine is my entry for Horror, obviously. To see Indonesian review for this, here.

FINALLY, after kept it for ten years in my shelf, unread, I managed to finish this book. I don’t know, I’m not a fan of horror anymore I guess. While back then, when I’m 13 or so, I was an official member of Goosebumps fans club. I occasionally received swag from them, sent to my house. Various kind of it, but the most EPIC from them all would be a human-sized poster of a skeleton sits menacingly calm in front of cupboard full of books, having a cup of tea, and IT GLOWS IN THE DARK! Like I said, epic. So, buying Nightmare Hour at that time was only normal for me. But, there’s a reason why I was hesitant to read it until this long....