December 31, 2013

2013 End of Year Book Survey


I initially wanted to join the annual Book Kaleidoscope again just like last year, but then I changed my mind and decided to join the fun on Jamie's annual end of year book survey :D





1. Best book you read in 2013?
Well I CANNOT mention just one!
Golden, Inferno, Me Before You, Eleanor & Park, Stolen, Tangled, These Broken Stars. I also reread Where She Went and On the Jellicoe Road, both my all-time favorites. For locals (Eventhough I hardly read them this year!) my vote goes to Pulang and Melbourne: Rewind.

2. Books you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn't?
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book you read in 2013?
Mara Dyer series! I honestly thought the books were pure contemporary with a little dash of horror (I know, silly me!), so I was surprised when the story got to the paranormal part, haha, but I loved it!

4. Books you read that you recommend to people most in 2013?
Me Before You and Eleanor & Park. You haven't read those? You're missing BIG THINGS!

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
I don't think I read that many series this year (I stick to standalones & companions) and I'm kinda embarassed to admit this, but I enjoyed the Crossfire trilogy by Sylvia Day a lot more than I initially thought I would!

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2013?
Jessi Kirby! And perhaps Emma Chase, too.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or a new genre for you?
I don't usually read horror, mystery, thriller and anything similar to it, and since goodreads categorized Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn as psychological thriller, I'd have to say that one. I love the book! Got it from my secret santa :)

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Inferno and Stolen! Also These Broken Stars. I stayed up until 4 am to read that book.

9. Book you read in 2013 that you are most likely to re-read next year?
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is such a re-readable (?) material. Looove it!

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
Why BOOK, why not BOOKS? Ugh, this is hard. Though I think this one is the absolute answer.


11. Most memorable character you read in 2013
Beatrice Prior. Her utmost act of bravery & selflessness deserves a lifetime award.

12. Most beautifully written book in 2013
If you're going for the lovely prose, it's of course Unravel Me. Night of Cake and Puppets, too, though it's actually a novella.

13. Book that has the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Golden actually guided me when I had to make the most important decision in my life yet (which was, apparently, choosing college majors) and pushed me to believe that I should prioritize what makes me happy, not what I think will impress people of me :)

14. Books you can't believe you WAITED until 2013 to read?
The Help! It's such a good book but I was initially intimidated by it. After I saw the movie I decided to pick the book and didn't regret it at all!

15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2013
Gah, I think I have to pass this one. I love quotes and I live for quotes, but there are SOOO MANY good quotes that I've read this year so I don't think I can really thin it out to one!

16. Shortest & longest book you read in 2013?
The Transfer by Veronica Roth (it's a novella) with only 34 pages. The longest was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte with 688 pages (yawn, yawn). But I think if you count Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 (I read the translated edition, which was splitted into three parts, but originally they were one book) it could be the longest with nearly 1000 pages.

17. Book that had a scene in it that had you REELING AND DYING to talk to somebody about it (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss etc etc) Be careful of spoilers!
ALLEGIANT, OF COURSE!ALLLL DA FEELZ.

18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)
For friendship, I love Eva & Cary's from the Crossfire trilogy. Romance.... Hmmm this is hard so I have to say Mia & Adam's (I reread the book this year, afterall! *winks*) No family in the books I've read this year was fun enough to make me want to be a part of them as much as I wanted to be one of the Garretts from My Life Next Door, so, none.

19. Favorite book you read from an author you've read previously in 2013
Melbourne by Winna Efendi (I know I can always count on her books), Where She Went, Unravel Me.

20. Best book you read in 2013 that SOLELY based on a recommendation from somebody else:
Cheeky Romance by Kim Eun Jeong. There were some LOL moments in the book that had me in tears because I laughed so hard!

21. Genre that you read the most in 2013
Contemporary YA! All my resolutions of reading more genres like fantasy, historical fiction, and nonfiction were forgotten. Well, I read ONE non-fiction though, and some fantasy, so it wasn't a total failure!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Mentioning just ONE is cruel!
Here is my list of 2013 new book boyfriends (Ha!): Tarver Merendsen from These Broken Stars, Park from Eleanor & Park, Levi from Fangirl, Maximilian Prasetya from Melbourne, Henry from Second Chance Summer, and Ryan from Dare You To (my baseball boy!). Warner from Unravel Me is also a new crush since I used to hate him on Shatter Me tee-hee.

December 20, 2013

Changes, Plans, and Secret Santa 2013

December has been such a lovely month so far! Selalu deh di akhir tahun rasanya terbingung-bingung kok bisa ya 12 bulan sudah hampir terlewat begitu saja. Di post kali ini aku mau ngobrol tentang beberapa hal, diantaranya perubahan-perubahan di IPR, rencana untuk tahun 2014, daaaaan Secret Santa!

I made some big changes on the blog! Aku orangnya termasuk bosenan, dan seringnya sehabis blogwalking ke blog-blog lain yang designnya cantik-cantik, jadi gatel pengen utak-atik blog sendiri. Selain ungu, warna yang lagi aku favoritin belakangan ini adalah aqua! Menurut aku warna aqua ini cantik banget. Karena design terakhir udah penuh dengan ungu (with a little touch of yellow, red and blue too) sekarang IPR balik lagi ke warna dominan putih ditambah aqua, deh. For those of you who are reading this post, what do you think of the new design? Shoot me with your words! I'm open to any opinions :)

Meskipun udah lebih dari setahun dibuat, IPR masih payah banget dalam urusan update konten dan isi blog, sampai-sampai banyak juga yang bilang supaya aku lebih sering update. Kalau mau cari-cari alasan, bisa sih, diantaranya 2013 ini hectic banget sama persiapan UN SMA, ujian masuk kuliah, ospek di kampus baru dan sebagainya. Tapi toh banyak juga blogger lain yang sibuk dan mereka bisa tetap nyeimbangin waktu antara blogging dan kegiatan sehari-hari, ya? Jadi alasanku kayaknya nggak kuat, deh. Akhirnya aku memutuskan untuk pasang beberapa goals buat IPR di tahun 2014 nanti, diantaranya:

  • Dalam sebulan, harus posting minimal 5 postingan. Harus. Biar nggak sepi-sepi amat... Hehehe. Isi postingan juga usahakan lebih bervariasi, nggak cuma review aja (Inget ya, Tirta!)
  • Pasang target Goodreads Reading Challenge 100 buku lagi, dan harus berhasil. (I'm really strunggling to accomplish my 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge right now! It says I'm now '8 books behind schedule', eeeek)
  • Lebih aktif berpartisipasi di BBI. *mesem-mesem sendiri*
  • Tapi harus tetap bisa nyeimbangin waktu antara kuliah, social life dan blogging! Mungkin ada teman-teman yang mau kasih saran atau masukan gimana caranya supaya poin yang ini bisa berhasil? :)

Secret Santa adalah kegiatan rutin tahunan yang diadakan oleh divisi event BBI menjelang natal. Cara mainnya sama aja sih seperti Secret Santa yang udah umum dilakukan dimana-mana, yakni masing-masing partisipan mendapat tugas untuk kasih hadiah ke targetnya, dengan merahasiakan identitas pengirim. Hadiahnya adalah buku-buku yang ada di wishlist si target tersebut, boleh satu buku, dua buku, yang penting tidak kurang dari nominal Rp 50.000

Sewaktu Secret Santa tahun lalu, aku udah jadi anggota BBI, tapi belum ikutan karena masih pengen jadi observer. Setelah diliat, ternyata seru juga. Jadi kita masing-masing akan dapat hadiah + riddle dari Santa, dan melalui riddle itu kita harus bisa nebak siapa identitas si Santa. Nanti akan ada waktu untuk posting review buku dari Santa sekaligus nebak siapa Santanya. Lalu sehari kemudian, Santa akan nge-reveal dirinya ke target masing-masing.


Tahun ini, aku memutuskan buat ikutan Secret Santa 2013. Lalu, karena sibuk sama persiapan pentas teater buat Petang Kreatif Festival Budaya di kampus, aku malah jadi agak-agak lupa tentang event ini. Baru ngeh ketika tanggal 9 Desember (batas seharusnya pengiriman hadiah buat target), waks, aku belum kirim buku untuk targetku! Bahkan bikin riddle-nya aja belum (jadi, buat targetku, maklum aja ya kalo riddle-nya rada lame, hehehe). Hadiah dari Santaku sendiri pun belum datang. Aku sedikit-banyak jadi agak worried juga waktu itu. Kalo kadoku nggak datang, gimana ya? Untungnya 3 hari kemudian yang ditunggu-tunggu sampai di rumah :D




Dan ternyata setelah dibuka.... Di dalamnya ada 3 items! Yang pertama adalah buku Gone Girl, karya Gillian Flynn. WAKS! Aku rada-rada histeris juga. Soalnya aku yakin banget buku yang bakalan aku terima itu Shadow & Bone karya Leigh Bardugo. Habis isi wishlist-ku agak-agak kurang ajar sih, hampir semuanya adalah buku-buku yang belum diterjemahin gitu, kecuali Shadow & Bone (HEHEHE). Ternyata Santa ngirimnya Gone Girl ini.  

Aku udah sejak lama penasaran banget sama Gone Girl, apalagi setelah Ben Affleck dikabarkan bakal main di adaptasi filmnya. Tapi ragu mau beli pakai uang sendiri, karena genrenya bukan genre yang biasa aku baca #dikeplak. Alhamdulillah Santa kasih yang ini. Dan nggak cuma itu aja! Ada dua bonus di dalamnya, yaitu green tea latte dan satu notebook merah. Santaku baik bangeeeeet :'D




Riddle, jujur aja, adalah bagian yang paling bikin deg-degan buat aku. Gimana kalau Santa ngasih riddle-nya yang susah? Aku lumayan takjub abisnya pas tau cerita-cerita dari Bajay tentang riddle-riddle tahun lalu yang pada super niat bikinnya. Untungnya riddle yang datang justru nggak sesusah yang dibayangkan, hehe. Apalagi karena di poin ke #4 itu jelas banget maksudnya. Sekarang aku udah 100% yakin banget siapa Santa baik pengirim Gone Girl + green tea latte + notebook itu. Makasih banyak, Santa! :D Gone Girl-nya udah aku baca sampai halaman 69. Tunggu reviewnya + tebakan tentang identitas Santa di akhir Januari nanti, ya!




December 14, 2013

Night of Cake and Puppets by Laini Taylor


Night of Cake and Puppets
by Laini Taylor
published on November 26th 2013 by Hodder & Stoughton (UK)
ebook edition
Young Adult/Paranormal/Fantasy/Romance
#2,5 of The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy
79 pages (a novella!)
read in English

***

In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: Herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

"You almost hold up your piece of paper and say, 'The girl I like just gave me a treasure map to herself.'"

Night of Cake and Puppets was a very pleasant surprise! Zuzana and Mik were the secondary characters from The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, and just like other secondary characters in the series like Brimstone, Issa, Twiga... Zuze and her violin boy were special. They're unique in their own way, and I got to love them more after what happened in book two. So it was lovely to get to know more about their first date night. And it was told in dual POV! Yay!

Then again, what do you usually refer a date night to? Awkward glances, cheesy lines, expectation of a first kiss, the butterflies in the stomach.... Oh well, all those cliches. But cliche isn't something that could describe Laini Taylor. No, of course! First of all, Zuzana and Mik were no ordinary characters. Zuze was really cute! Like a ball of cuteness and excitedness bundled with pretty dresses, that's how I always envisioned her. She may be small and tiny, but this energy of her is huge! I love reading her minds, her thoughts... I love getting to know more about her, her family, her views about Karou, her life in Prague....

"Hey! My body may be small, but my soul is large. It's why I wear platforms. So I can reach the top of my soul" - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

"I might wear lace collars and laugh flower petals and pearls. People might try to pat me. I see them think it. My height triggers the puppy-kitten reflex- Must touch-and I've found that since you can't electrify yourself like a fence, the next best thing is to have murderer's eyes."


In Night of Cake and Puppets, Zuzana finally gathered her courage and made Mik a treasure hunt map to follow. A treasure hunt as a way of telling someone how she feels about him! And the treasure itself was Zuze herself! How brave, how lovely. See, I told you, there's nothing ordinary about Laini and the way her world works. 

To be honest, from the two previous books, I didn't really have much opinion about Mik, other than this boy seemed to be really in love with his girl. Yes, it showed! Through Night of Cake and Puppets, though, Laini Taylor provided us with much information about how they met, how they first noticed each other, and all about that while we follow Mik going over his treasure hunt. A clue leads to another clue, and another, and another... But then Mik had another plan! So will the treasure hunt ended up as how Zuze wanted it to be?

The setting of Prague in the novella was even clearer and clearer in this book, and this ist exactly one of Laini's strongest point: She's the expert of describing the places in her book. It was so well-described. Prague is, once again, officially on the top list of my most wanted to visit places in the world. The magicalness, eerieness, strangeness of the city... I fell in love with it! It was a blatant show of how much Laini knows the place, the world that she had created in the trilogy.

Another thing that I love from the novella is that the readers could feel how strong the bond between Zuze and Karou, about how special their friendship for each one of them. Zuze is Karou's best supporter, and vice versa. Eventhough Karou couldn't always be around all the times, it didn't deter their closeness at all. Karou let Zuze have some of her scuppies to help with the date night, and troughout the night they kept texting to each other, giving updates of how the night went.

All in all, I love Night of Cake and Puppets! Zuzana and Mik were such a lovely couple, and this kind of cuteness that Laini Taylor wrote about their magical date night is something different altogether from all the cuteness that we usually read from other books! Also, beautiful proses, beautiful proses everywhere. Love, love it. Zuze and Mik's story was a pleasant bridge while we wait for the final book in the trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, which will be out in 2014! Eeeeek, can't wait!

“His eyes are blue, and blue eyes up close are a celestial phenomenon: nebulae as seen through telescopes, the light of unnamed stars diffused through dusts and elements and endlessness. Layers of light. Blue eyes are starlight.”

December 02, 2013

Help, I'm Broke and Drowning in Books! (AKA, Another Book Haul)


November kemarin adalah bulan yang bahkan dari awal aja udah bikin bangkrut sampe harus nahan-nahan jajan selama sebulan. Sebabnya tak lain dan tak bukan adalah karena.... Indonesia Book Fair! Yak. Acaranya berlangsung tanggal 2-10 November kemarin, di tempat biasa, Istora Senayan. Dari awal aku udah berniat buat berburu buku-buku impor yang kabarnya lagi dibanting-banting tulang harganya (dapat laporan dari Bajay kalo TFIOS dan Every Day dibanting jadi 25k saja... Kalap lah Tirta)


Tapi ternyata dua buku diatas justru nggak ketemu begitu aku kesana tanggal 5 November, huhuhu. Aku cuma mampir ke 4 booth: Periplus, Sabana Used Books, Dhita Books, sama Yusuf Agency. Bahkan Mizan dan kelompok Agromedia pun nggak aku hirau-in. Paling seneng begitu di Sabana! Disana banyak buku-buku YA yang nyempil tersembunyi, dan butuh usaha ekstra buat ngintipin judul-judul dan narikin bukunya keluar. Harganya nggak terlalu ramah sih, setelah diskon masih kisaran 50-60k (Makanya agak-agak bengong juga pas ngitung total belanjanya sewaktu di rumah), tapi bahagia banget begitu tau mereka punya buku-buku Melina Marchetta dan Sarah Dessen! Wuoh. Juara. Kondisi bukunya pun bagus-bagus, nggak mengecewakan :D #bukanpostberbayar


My apology for the shitty quality of the photos....

Ini beli karena impuls, di booth Periplus IBF. Bener-bener belum pernah denger judul ataupun tau siapa penulisnya sebelum liat buku ini (ternyata beliau adalah yang nulis The Virgin Suicides). Tertarik sebagian karena desain covernya yang minimalis, sebagian karena sinopsis. Ceritanya gimana? Well, lumayan sih, tapi agak boring, hehehe. 

Yak, sepuluh ribu saja! Beli di bazaar buku murah fakultasku, seperti biasa, waktu acara Falasido-nya anak Sastra Indonesia (waktu itu Sapardi Djoko Damono datang jadi pembicara salah di satu seminar dalam acara tersebut... Tapi aku nggak bisa ikutan karena ada kelas. HIKS)

Re-read. Pinjem dari Sania. Kali ketiga baca buku ini, emosinya udah nggak seheboh waktu baca pertama kali, tapi tetep aja bikin miris meringis ya.... Nggak sabar buat filmnya tahun depan! :D

Akhirnya! Setelah nunda cukup lama buat baca buku terakhir dari seri Delirium, aku pinjem Requiem dari Sarah karena penasaran. Abis banyak yang bilang kalo buku ketiga ini mengecewakan dan jelek endingnya (di Top Ten Tuesday edisi Best/Worst Series Ending, Requiem termasuk paling sering masuk daftar Worst). Setelah aku baca, well... Sempat mandek beberapa hari sih, tapi anehnya aku suka-suka aja tuh :))

Setelah sekian lama, bulan lalu beli buku dari Penerbit Haru lagi! Makin kesini aku akuin udah makin enak baca terjemahannya Haru, udah nggak kaku bahasanya, font lebih besar, rapi, fisik pun membaik: kertas bagus, cover juga bagus. Sayang terkadang masih ada pemilihan kata/diksi-diksi yang aneh, menurutku. Untuk cerita dari Hyun Go Wun sendiri, jujur aku lebih suka buku beliau sebelumnya, 4 Ways to Get a Wife.

Seri STPC Gagas kedua setelah Melbourne, nih. Sayang sampe sekarang aku belum berhasil nyelesaiin. Entah kenapa....

Wehehehe. Ini juga karena impuls, pengen tau kayak apa sih tulisannya Ayu Utami? Beli di bazaar acara Falasido juga. Status: Belum dibaca. #keprukTirta #eits #nimbunituhalal

Seneng banget dapet buku ini di Sabana! Sebenarnya waktu itu ada dua buku lain dari Sarah Dessen: Keeping the Moon, yang aku belum pernah baca (tapi nggak tertarik) dan What Happened to Goodbye, yang udah dibaca. Cuma diantara What Happened to Goodbye dan This Lullaby, aku lebih milih This Lullaby, hehe. Kembali bertemu lagi dengan Dexter <3

Ini juga termasuk best buy dari IBF kemarin. Melina Marchetta, buat aku, udah nggak diraguin lagi deh kemampuannya buat nulis YA (baik contemporary maupun fantasy) yang menyentuh dan 'dalem'. Selain Looking for Alibrandi, aku juga rekomendasiin banget On the Jellicoe Road ini. Bagusnya nggak nanggung-nanggung!

Sejujurnya, aku sama sekali nggak tau apa-apa tentang The Carrie Diaries maupun seri Sex and The City buatan Candace Bushnell ini. Baca bukunya nggak pernah, nonton serial TV-nya pun belum. Cuma tau aja bahwa seri TV The Carrie Diaries yang lagi tayang sekarang dibintangin sama Austin Butler (yang charmingnya minta ampun). Beli deh, he he he. Penasaran.

Entah kenapa aku beli Fever ini.... Udah denger dari lama sih tentang bukunya, tapi INI BUKU KEDUA, EUY, TIRTA. Buku pertamanya aja bahkan belum baca... Semoga bagus ya, semoga.

Waktu SMA dulu pernah coba baca seri The Mortal Instruments, yang hasilnya gagal total. Bukannya nggak suka, gimana ya? Menarik sih, tapi males aja gitu bacanya. Nah, seri Infernal Devices ini sering seliweran di Tumblr dan banyak yang bilang lebih bagus dari TMI. Ayok, deh, dicoba. Buku satunya dulu tapi....



Nah, ini dia buku pertamanya dari Infernal Devices. Itu ada kertas HVS nyempil buat nandain udah baca sampe mana, ehehe (Iya, aku bisa pake apa aja jadi bookmark. Bon, uang, penggaris, bahkan pernah sekali waktu pakai.... kaos kaki. Ew Bersih tapiiii) Sebelnya, baru baca sedikit, kemudian buka Tumblr dan TIBA-TIBA NGGAK SENGAJA LIAT SPOILER. HUHUHU. Bete. Nggak seru lagi deh mau ngelanjutin juga. Jadinya di-stop bacanya sementara ini, mau ngumpulin niat dulu.... #hah #alasanmacamapa


Ini yang lagi dibaca sekarang, saat ini juga! Belinya pun baru kemarin siang, di Books&Beyond kampus. Bulan Desember ini lagi penuh promo buat member B&B (UYEAH), aku senaaaang :D Kenapa beli Where She Went Ta, padahal udah punya dan udah baca berkali-kali? Jawabannya cuma satu nama: Adam Wilde, Adam Wilde, Adam Wilde <3
Btw, If I Stay lagi proses filming, lho! Lumayan excited juga sama deretan pemainnya: Chloe Moretz jadi Mia, Jamie Blackley jadi Adam (less-known actor, yay!), Jakob Davies jadi Teddy, Liana Liberato jadi Kim.

Although, me no fancy your hair in the movie, Adam. Bleh.

Sementara itu, ebooks yang berhasil aku baca selama November kemarin cuma tiga: These Broken Stars, Crash Into You, dan Angelfall.


These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner - Loved it! Such a well-written debut with lovely main characters and unique setting. Will be published this month, on the 10th of December.
Crash Into You by Katie McGarry - Another book by Katie McGarry... It's now show time for Isaiah! Not as intense as Dare You To but better than Pushing the Limits.
Angelfall by Susan Ee - Well, that awkward moment when you do not like a book as much as you want to, while other people can't stop praising the book over and over again. Don't know what's wrong with me. Almost all the people I befriended on Goodreads gave Angelfall 5 full stars and have been saying nothing but good things about this story of Penryn. But I just cannot fall into it and ended up giving it 3 stars... Will still continue on with book #2, World After, though.

Jadi sebenernya, nggak begitu banyak sih (apalagi kalau dibandingin sama teman-teman BBI yang lain, yak? Huehehe) Tapi aku agak sedikit overwhelmed juga dengan jumlah buku-buku fisik yang numpuk dan nunggu dibaca. Udah lama nggak beli buku sebanyak itu, tahun ini lebih suka baca ebooks soalnya...

PS: Sama seperti sebelumnya, post ini aku submit ke Buying Monday :)


Have fun and read some more!