May 07, 2013

Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun


Tuesday is not over yet, right? Right? Hehehehe
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Brookish. This is my first time participating! And here I present you my list (in no particular order, of course) of this week's topic, that is:

TOP TEN BOOKS WHEN YOU NEED SOMETHING LIGHT & FUN

My Life Next Door Hi!Miiko The Princess Diaries Fairish Nguping Jakarta Cheeky Romance Love Button Yotsuba!& The Naked Traveler Anna and the French Kiss

I have to be honest, it was hard for me to remember books that are actually light and fun, because lately I've been reading a lot of YA and most of them, even the contemporary ones, deals with some serious problems/situations (such as suicide, heartbreak, rape, parents' divorce, et all) not to mention the dystopian or apocalyptic ones. There were always angst, always. So that's the reason why I put some comics/manga and one traveling themed book in this list.


Sam is a girl who lives with an authoritarian super-busy mother who's rarely home. While next door, live Jase and the Garretts. This family is loaded with kids (there are seven of them), crowded, noisy but full of life and are a real family. I will always be happy to re-read about Sam & Jase anytime. Their romance is fluffy and fills up most of the plot, with only slight drama in the middle and towards the end. And I'm not gonna get tired of saying how Jase would be a really, really, perfect unfictional boyfriend in real life ;-)

Hai!Miiko series is a comic about the daily life of Yamada Miiko, a 5th grader kid who lives in Japan and loves having so much fun times with her lovely friends. It's, by my opinion only, one of the most popular comics in Indonesia (and Japan). Every installment will surely bring laughters to the readers, for most of them are so, so funny, light and enganging. There are 25 volumes already out in public here, but you don't need to read in order to enjoy the stories.

I used to worship the life of Mia when I was still in middle high. I love how Meg Cabot tells the story in a quirky way. And isn't the premise of an ordinary girl suddenly challenged to be a princess of a totally unknown country sounds exciting and interesting to us girls? There are lots of romance and humor mixed, a perfect combination. Also, not so much angst.

There is a genre called Teenlit here in Indonesia, it's similar to YA, with the characters being in high school and the stories situated in teenager's life. Fairish was actually one of the books that made this genre became big. Opposite attracts, maybe that's the best way to describe the two main characters. Fairish is an easy-going girl, quirky and doesn't care much about her looks or her love-life, until a new boy named Davi comes and asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend while they're at school. And this is not an easy task, with Davi being a cold, tempered, distant person and hard to get along with. The story turns out to be very funny and well-written, but also dig deep to our emotions.

Nguping Jakarta is a printed version of Nguping Jakarta, a site that adapts the famous Overheard in New York. It's a great company to read when you're bored, waiting, or in a public transportations.

I read this book recently, and it was hilarious! The main characters are of a woman reporter and a famous gynecologist doctor who happened to have a misunderstanding over the fact whether the woman's pregnant or not. Quickly their relationship changed into a romantic one and there were lots of funny moments that will break your laughters. :D

Usami Maki is one of my favorite mangakas. Her works are neat and the comics are pretty, with light plots and fluffy theme. Love Button is currently being translated (up to volume #8 here).

Another manga. Yotsuba is a five year old kid with green hair and loads of curiosities about things in her life. The stories are of her daily life with her dad and friends who often come along to their house. Yotsuba is such a darling character. It's wonderful to see the world through the perspective of a cheerful, naive, totally cute but has a lot of energy 5 yo kid. Her relationship with his adoptive dad who has never had any parenting experience before is also sweet. The series is such a fun read and so re-readable at anytime, the kind os story that will put a smile to your face everytime.

Book version of Trinity's traveling blog. Since traveling is a very appealing activity for me, the books of Trinity are kinda my 'escape read'. Traveling stories bring you to places you've never been before, and you gain more knowledge of the destination place, whether it's the society's tradition, life situation, or things that you've never known. Plus point, her writings are totally not boring to read.

Because, of course. American girl in an english school in Paris. Etienne St Clair. The romance. And don't forget the sister-book, Lola and the Boy Next Door!

4 comments:

  1. Nope Tuesday's not over! Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! And we have some books in common on our lists! New follower!
    Deidra @ Simply Books.
    My TTT

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Deidra. Your blog is awesome! :D

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  2. waah tirta, top ten tuesday kan meme internasional paling banyak pesertanya kan ya? kereen kamu decided utk bergabung. aku sendiri sempet liat sih jadwal top ten tuesday-nya beberapa hari lalu, but i dont dare to join. takut nanti ada tema yang aku mesti berpikir kerasnya untuk postingnya aj :-D
    belum lagi postingannya berbahasa inggris ya,
    hmm.. semoga konsisten sama meme ini,
    i'll gladly follow your next top ten tuesday update.

    by the way, i love usami maki too and i shoul agree that love button is a light & fun choice one!
    salam kenal :-)

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    Replies
    1. Salam kenal! :-)
      Hehehe aku nggak akan maksain kok, kalo bisa dijawab ya ikutan, kalo nggak mungkin absen, sekalian buat terus latihan nulis full post pake bahasa inggris, masih kagok-kagok soalnya

      Delete

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