IPR'S FIRST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY: THE WINNER(S)!

Malam urang sadayana!
Hehehehehehe. Alhamdulillah giveaway pertamanya IPR sudah selesai dan ospeknya juga sudah beres jadi bisa diumumin malam ini (meskipun dengan badan masih super pegal-pegal ea /curhat)

Pertama-tama, terima kasih banyak ya buat semuanya yang udah ikutan! Nggak nyangka juga pesertanya bakal sebanyak ini. Tirta bacain rekomen buku dan komennya satu-satu kok. Terima kasih sekali sudah mau meluangkan waktu buat join. Jadi terharu sendiri :')

Setelah aku teliti entriesnya, dominannya yg komen bilang kalo tulisan di IPR kekecilan, atau tentang header yg nggak nyambung sama buku, atau katanya layout keramean dan nggak fokus karena di tengah (banyak yg saranin enakan dua bagian aja, hihi) Thankyou so much atas semua masukan! Insya allah bakal dijadiin pertimbangan lagi kalo nanti mau ganti blog designnya. Banyak juga yang bilang aku harus rajinin post update-annya..... Oke deh jendral :') #eh #masihkebawaatmosfirospek

Udah kenapa sih Ta, nggak usah banyak basa-basinya. *didorong*
Iyak jadi pemenang yang beruntung untuk giveaway perdananya IPR ini  berdasarkan pilihan si Rafflecopter adalah..................................

Top Ten Things That Make My Life as a Blogger/Reader Easier

 This week's topic is

TOP TEN THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER AS A BLOGGER/READER

Goodreads
Well, of course. Friending lots of people on Goodreads (Here's mine. Add me up!) or reading people's reviews of a book on this site really, really help to decide what book should I read next. Also, it's easier to find quotes and the book details when you write a book review! :)

Tumblr
Social medias are awesome! There are lots of book tumblrs out there right now, and I loooove browsing through all the lovely pictures of books or fanarts. And tumblr posts tend to be shorter but also straight to the point, which I love about it. Check out IPR's tumblr!

Twitter
Yay for twitter! Now I could follow awesome people in the book industries (local or international), and it helps getting to know some infos or tidbits such as what book this publisher will translate next, or if my favorite translator/editor is planning to read these books that I love, the progress of a book's production, fun tweets from authors, giveaways(!) that are going on, andddd many others!

Bookmarks
I refuse to dog-ear my books, no thankyou very much. So I really, really like it when I buy a new book and the publisher provide a cute, lovely bookmark inside. Seriously, eventhough I could just as easily remember what page I'm up to, bookmarks help. And I could use almost everything as a bookmark: tickets, cards, sometimes my money, receipts or bills... Once, I used my socks. It was clean, I promise!

Awesome book blogs and its equally awesome owners out there!
Really. I love finding people who has pretty much the same preference of books and read their reviews; it's important to me. Sometimes I also get encouraged to try to read books that are out of my comfort zone, and I've never been more thankful. My fave book bloggers inspire me a lot in so many ways that they don't even know. To know my favorite book blogs that I frequently read and regularly visit each time I'm on the internet, click the Preference page. It's now back on!

Book Bloggers/Readers Community
Being a member of Book Blogger Indonesia and Goodreads Indonesia helps a lot especially when I want to decide what local books to read next. There's lots of interesting topics about books discussed and I always love reading them. And also, getting more people to read my blog ;) Some time ago, I also joined Underrated Books Project that started on Tumblr by Rebecca Day; the goal is to get people to read more good books that are underrated. I love finding hidden gems!

Not stressing about the amount of....
Books I read or reviews I posted here. Seriously, obsessing over the number is not healthy for me. Sometimes when I see a blog that successfully come out with a new, fun post almost every day (twice a day, even!) I get amazed. But then I just decided to go along with the flow (read: my mood...) when reading. If I don't feel like reading, okay I'll put the books on hold for a while. If I don't want to write a review yet, okay, let's move onto the next book. I know some people want me to review more regularly, but with the amount of tasks and activities I have to do in this first term of college, I think it'll be hard. Not that I won't, but I'll try! ;)

Google!
The main reason why google is helpful for my blogging life is when I want to design my blog (because, let's be honest, I don't have the budget to afford an amazing blog design *sad face*). I know, saying 'Google it' is so not specific and lame. But seriously, all the tips of how-to and easy tutorials of making things (like, those lovely 'quick search', 'the reader', 'blog archive', or how to style my blockquote), I get it by looking on Google. You just have to find the right keywords, and voila! And beside, I love learning new things ;)

Aldiko
I don't own Kindle, iRiver or any e-reader. I only have my phone and Android tab with me. So when I discovered Aldiko it was like getting a birthday present! From all the ebook reader apps I've tried, Aldiko book reader is the one that I feel very comfortable to use. Pdf, epub, mobi, no problem! Aldiko also provided some free books which are listed as public domain (Les Miserables, Jane Austen's books, Oliver Twist, and many others).

Blogging tips written by other bloggers
I check out Parajunkee's and Nose Graze's blogging tips almost every week; they're awesome. I need some serious learning on how to manage a book blog and surviving, so I read and google lots of tips. The Broke and Bookish also had brought this 'top ten tips for new book bloggers' subject on their Top Ten Tuesday and I'm so happy to be swimming on people's opinion on this!

Also, another one:
Memes and Reading Challenges!
Seriously. Participating in a meme like this one has given my blog an awesome impact. I learned how to beautify my blog (because I feel itchy everytime I open up a blog that has a wonderful design, ugh, sooo envy of them!), discover more books that maybe I haven't heard of but turns out to be AWESOME!, keeping up with my pile of books that I still need to read and getting to know more readers out there. It's cheesy but true, I feel like I learn something new everytime I visit another book blog.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Nantucket Blue

by Leila Howland
Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance/Summery Book
published May 7th 2013 by Disney Hyperion
294 pg
Stand-alone

***

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams.

Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.

When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer.

But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on--most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits--that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality.

A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue.

Why do I like Nantucket Blue enough to recommend it to anyone who read this post?

First, Nantucket Blue is so fun to read. It's a summery book so it didn't take long for me to like it. The opening scene of the book, which was a lacrosse game, instantly engrossed me to read more. Cricket is kinda a strange name for a girl, but she's a lovely main character. I love the voice/tone that Leila used when telling the story from Cricket's point of view. And Nantucket Blue is one of those books that made you want to go there. The author described the setting pretty clear and I love that about Nantucket Blue. I googled lots of pictures of Nantucket after I finished reading and spent some time dreaming myself being in that lovely island for some good days, wearing a big hat and sunglasses, feeling the heat, basking in the sun while sipping on a glass of cocktail. Hmm, lovely image.

A beach on Nantucket. Picture credit to Adriana Casey

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait!

by Robin Benway
Published in April 2nd, 2008 by Razorbill
320 pg
Young Adult/Contemporary/Music/Romance
Stand-alone

***

California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, “Audrey, Wait!” a break-up song that’s so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

You said your piece and now I've got to say mine

I had you and you strung me on the liiiiinnnneeee!

We said we loved and it was a lie

I touched your hair and watched you die

You crucified my heart, took every part, and hung them out drrrrrryyyyy!

'It's all good', you always say

But save it for another day,

'Cause now I'm watching you walk awaaaaayyyy!

So, I read Audrey's story on my way back home from Palembang (or Prabumulih, to be exact) and finished it at the exact moment my car finally touched the ground of my house's garage after a week. Okay, that's such unnecessary things to say, but believe me when I tell you that I was smiling and giggling like a mad girl all the way!

Audrey, Wait! has a very simple premise. You know, just a boy (who happens to be in a band) break ups with his girlfriend, writes a song about it, then suddenly the song gets ALL people's attention, gets famous, and now Audrey has to deal with all the crazyness, newfound fame as the impact of it, because she's the girl in the song. Who thought people will put so much attention to a girl mentioned in a song, right? It kinda made me wonder whether Drew got his life 'changed' after Taylor Swift wrote a song dedicated to him (Remember? Drew look at me, I fake a smile so he won't see etc etc. Or the Dear John one but since we know John Mayer's already famous he doesn't count...)

But Robin Benway's strength in this book happens to be her snarky, fun, witty, sarcastic but fresh writing. And dear god Audrey, Wait! is SO FUNNY! Like, sarcastic-funny. Like, awesome-funny! I swear I caught my mom sneaking a glance weirdly at me numerous times because I was goofy-smiling and trying to hold my giggles in the car. The romance was fluffy and cute, too, it made me happy reading about it.

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You walked out the door and I want you to see me slam it shut!

Audrey, wait! Audrey, wait!

You can say all you want, but I want you to know that this is the cruelest cut!

I PREFER READING'S 1ST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY!

August is here! Yaaaaaaay! *throws confetti*
Agustus adalah bulan favorit saya sepanjang tahun. Selain karena bulan ini adalah bulan ulang tahun saya (hihihi), kebetulan I Prefer Reading juga pertama kali dibuat Agustus tahun 2012 lalu (Coba tebak, tanggalnya tanggal berapa hayoo).

Selama setahun ngeblog tentang buku udah ngapain aja, Ta?
Blog IPR sejauh ini kebanyakan masih berisi review buku. Jadwal postingannya...... masih suka-suka, apalagi kalo real-life lagi hectic huehuehue (misalnya pas persiapan Ujian Nasional beberapa bulan lalu... Dalam sebulan pernah cuma posting satu review /plak). Mudah-mudahan ke depannya bisa lebih teratur yah :')

Post review pertama yang ditulis di IPR adalah review buku Before I Die karya Jenny Downham, yang saya dapat sebagai hadiah giveaway Tell Me Your Wish-nya Reading in the Morning! Kalau post yang paling banyak diintip, ternyata adalah review Twivortiare-nya Ika Natassa (karena pernah disebut Gramedia sebagai #ResensiPilihan), Cinderella dan Empat Ksatria-nya Baek Myo, dan Looking for Alaska-nya John Green. Tapi buat saya personally, saya paling suka waktu nulis review buku-bukunya Laini Taylor, Golden-nya Jessi Kirby sama The Moon and More-nya Sarah Dessen! Entah kenapa.

IPR pernah ikutan Book Kaleidoscope (yang dihost oleh Mbak Fanda) di akhir tahun 2012 lalu, lho. Belakangan ini juga suka ikutan posting Top Ten Tuesday (weekly meme yang di-host The Brooke & The Bookish) meskipun belum rutin tiap minggu. Oh iya, nggak lama habis bikin IPR saya juga gabung ke BBI, tapi sampe saat ini masih rada-rada pasif kalau lagi ngadain acara semacam Posting Bareng BBI atau Secret Santa gitu ( ._.)/|maafkan saya...|

Lalu lewat post ini juga, Tirta ingin berterimakasih pada siapapun yang udah baca IPR selama setahun ini, baik yang sering comment, silent reader ataupun yang cuma lirik-lirik aja (hihihi)... Thank you so much! It's been a wonderful experience having a book blog and knowing that there are actually people who read it out there. :')

Jadi sekalian merayakan bertambah tuanya umur, setahunan IPR, sekaligus ngelaksanain niat untuk berbagi dan syukuran karena (alhamdulillah) udah diterima di PTN (yay jadi anak kuliahan! hehehe), I wanna share this joyfulness with you all. :) TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY! Bismillahirrahmanirrahiiim, pertama kalinya ngadain giveaway, semoga lancarrr.
And the prize is:

WIN ANY BOOKS YOU WANT UP TO 150k!

Yup. Saya akan bagi-bagi buku apa aja yang diinginkan oleh pemenang. Jumlah bukunya boleh satu, boleh dua, boleh tiga, berapapun asalkan bukunya tersedia di toko buku Gramedia atau di www.bukabuku.com. Ingat, total maksimalnya Rp 150.000 (exclude ongkos kirim) yaaa :D

Giveaway akan berlangsung sejak 1 Agustus sampai 25 Agustus 2013 dan diperuntukkan bagi teman-teman yang berdomisili di Indonesia. Pengumuman pemenang akan saya post di blog ini pada akhir bulan (Mudah-mudahan bisa dapet waktu luang sedikit di sela-sela ospek universitas... Hup hup hup) Siapapun yang menang nanti akan saya hubungi via Twitter atau email segera setelah pengumuman (paling lambat akhir Agustus)

Untuk ikutan giveaway-nya, gampang kok! Silakan isi Rafflecopter di bawah ini dan ikuti perintahnya ya. Jangan lupa cantumkan nama, akun twitter dan alamat email yang bisa dihubungi di comment page.

Once again, thank you for reading IPR, aaaand good luck! Enjoy August ❤

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Evergreen by Prisca Primasari

Evergreen

oleh Prisca Primasari
Terbit 2013 oleh Grasindo Publishing
Indonesian fiction/Romance
203 hlm
Buku lain dari Prisca: Eclair, Kastil Es & Air Mancur yang Berdansa, Paris: Aline

***

Konichiwa! Selamat datang di Evergreen, kafe es krim penuh pelayan baik hati, lagu The Beatles akan melengkapi hari-harimu. Tempat yang menghangatkan, bahkan bagi seorang gadis pengeluh dan egois sepertimu, Rachel!

Di kafe itu, kau menemukan sebuah dunia baru, juga pelarian setelah dipecat dari pekerjaanmu. Menurutku itu bagus! Apa enaknya sih kerja jadi editor?

Namun, sebenarnya butuh berapa banyak kenangan dan sorbet stroberi untuk mengubah sifat egoismu? Atau yang kau butuhkan sebenarnya hanya kasih sayang? Mungkin dariku, si pemilik kafe? Hmmm?

"Kalau suasana hatiku sedang kacau, aku biasa datang ke kafe es krim Evergreen,"

Rachel Yumeko River—selanjutnya lebih sering dipanggil dengan Rashieru/Riba-san—baru saja dipecat dari pekerjaan yang sangat ia cintai di Sekai Publishing. Ia marah, kesal, kecewa dan merutuki diri serta nasib buruknya. Lebih sedih lagi ketika mengetahui teman-temannya malah meninggalkannya berlibur bersama tanpa mengajak Rachel sama sekali. Rachel merasa tidak dipedulikan. Ia juga sangat frustrasi, sampai-sampai sempat berniat untuk jisatsu—bunuh diri.

Dalam keadaan kacau, Rachel pergi ke Evergreen, sebuah kafe es krim manis yang terletak di Komazawa-dori, Shibuya. Disana ia bertemu banyak orang: Yuya si pemilik kafe, Gamma, Fumio, Kari, hingga Toichiro-san, pelanggan yang tiap hari datang ke Evergreen. Kunjungan Rachel ke kafe Evergreen berbuah baik. Atas kebaikan hati Yuya pula, Rachel ditawari untuk bekerja di Evergreen. Awalnya Rachel menolak. Ia gengsi. Tapi karena butuh pekerjaan, dengan berat hati ia menerima tawaran tersebut.

Evergreen seolah punya dua cerita utama. Yang pertama tentang Rachel dan usahanya membangun hidupnya kembali—berkenalan dengan orang-orang di Evergreen yang sedikit demi sedikit membuatnya menyadari dan mau mengoreksi diri serta memperbaiki kesalahan yang membuat ia dipecat dari pekerjaan. Yang kedua adalah tentang Fumio dan Toshi, adik Fumio yang menderita Alzheimer. Fumio berusaha sedapat mungkin supaya sang Adik tidak melupakan kenangan-kenangan keluarga mereka yang paling berharga, tapi usahanya kian berujung kecewa karena penyakit itu terus menyerang ingatan-ingatan Toshi tanpa ampun.

Tipikal buku-buku Prisca Primasari lainnya, world building di buku ini juga bagus dan kuat. Setelah Rusia, Prancis, kali ini Jepang. Saya selalu terkesan tiap kali baca buku beliau karena deskripsinya bikin imajinasi di kepala kita tentang latar tempat dan suasananya jelas, seolah-olah kita benar-benar ada di Evergreen yang manis, yang dapurnya senantiasa menguarkan wangi harum yang berasal dari menu-menunya.

Tembok kafe berwarna krem, dengan aksen garis-garis tipis cokelat tua yang mengesankan kulit dan kambium pepohonan. Papan bertuliskan Evergreen dirakit dari jati pipih dengan pinggiran yang mengikuti bentuk huruf-hurufnya. Jendela-jendela mungil di sana bergorden putih tipis, diikat menyamping dengan pita emas. Boneka-boneka beruang kecil tersemat di beberapa bagian gorden.

Rachel melihat banyak kursi puff, sofa mungil, dan meja-meja bertaplak handmade. Tembok dipenuhi kertas dinding nuansa oranye dan kuning, dengan motif bunga-bunga kecil. Para pengunjung dapat duduk dan menikmati es krim dimanapun.

Ten Words or Topics That Will Make Me Ignore a Book

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish

You know sometimes when you visit a bookstore or going through books trying to find a new one to read, there's a book that interests you, but after knowing one thing or two about the book, you decided to pass it on and look for another one. Happens a lot, right? I really don't want to sound bitchy by writing all these points, so I apologize if I do, but here is my list of

TEN WORDS OR TOPICS THAT WILL MAKE ME NOT PICK UP A BOOK

There were moments when my parents would buy be religion-themed books, but now I just had enough of them...

I would never, ever, ever buy a book where the characters/the characters' parents cheat. I could stand divorce, and I've read books where the MCs were abused as a kid (and ugh aren't they painful to read) but I could never understand cheating, I loathe people who do, and I would never want to own a book where the characters are cheaters.

Words like For Fans Of ___ or The Next ___ annoys me, to be honest. It's like, using other book's names & fame to attract people to read your books. And I'm sure authors won't want their works to always be compared with another books, right? Next publicity tactics, please.

I've had my fair share of reading Twilight, Vampire Academy, Blue Bloods, Shiver, Hush Hush, Wicked Lovely... Basically, books with vampires/werewolfs/fairies/angels and their friends. It's now time to move on :D ((But my dear Akiva, my lovely angel, is an exception. I'm still here, patiently waiting for his finale *wink*))

 I hate Jacob, I hate Julian, I hate everyone who comes in the middle of my lovely, favorite couples. Everytime I find sequels which added new boy to the circle I was like, "UGHHHH" 
But I could not hate Warner :( He's awesome :( Dear Tahereh Mafi, please just let Juliette be with Adam so I can have Warner all for myself, okay?

I'm not talking about those Twilight fanfictions because I've actually read one or two of them *eheheh!* But I'm talking about this trend in my country where many people have published their fanfictions without changing the names. Mostly it's asian fanfiction (where the characters are named after members of Korean boybands...), but there IS actually a fanfiction book (written by an Indonesian) titled Robsten Story where the author blatantly wrote her own version of Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart's relationship and published it. I don't know whether to laugh or cry whenever I think about this book...

I don't know what's the appeal of using a celebrity's face on the covers of fiction books when s/he isn't even the author of that book, lol. I would never pick up a book like this. Movie tie-in, of course, is a different story....

I once read a book where some guys were pranking another guy (their rival, kind of) by kidnapping his girlfriend in the middle of the night, dunked the girl to a pond and burned her hair. And it was described graphically! I just... Ugh, I nearly puked.
I also can't stand animal abuse :( I cried a bit even by just reading the part where Murphy the dog had been left alone by its previous owner in Second Chance Summer...

Of course we won't know about it unless we read the book first... It's just this naughty habit of mine, checking on the last page of the book before I actually bring it to the cashier :P No matter how awesome a book is, if it's gonna end tragically I'd rather borrow it from a friend or libraries than having it on my own. I live for happy endings!

This one is definite. I would never ever touch a horror or thriller books, mostly because I will be too scared reading them and won't finish the book anyway. I don't watch horror movies, and I also don't read horror books. What can I say, I'm a coward that way............

What Makes You Like or Dislike a Book?

This post right here is inspired by a post written by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner  on 2011. What Makes A Book Good or Bad? Of course, everyone has their own opinion regarding this matter. We all have our own reasons on why we like a certain book (when our friends basically say that book sucks) or why we don't like another book (eventhough TONS of people love to fangirl over it). I would also love to hear your opinions about it!

**the book doesn't need to have all of these points together, though

1) I like the characters
I admit, I'm a bit of character-driven. If the author could make me like the characters, the author could make me like the book. Books with TONS of readers usually have amazing characters! Or, even if they don't, at least they're interesting enough to make us want to know their stories. I love stories with likeable, fun, interesting and relatable characters. A certain character doesn't have to own all these traits, but at least one. I love seeing them develop into a better person and overcome their problems.
(Example of books on this matter: The brave Tris Prior from Divergent, the fun Emaline from The Moon and More)

2) FEELS!
Books are great when they could make me drowning deep in FEELS. Not just sad, but sad enough to make me sob in the middle of the night. Not just funny, but funny enough to make me roll up into a ball or giggle like a mad girl. I like being emotional while reading a book.
(Example: You want to talk about FEELS? The Fault In Our Stars! If I Stay!)

3) Great World Building
Don't you love it when you could literally feel like you're in Paris with Anna & Etienne? Or being inside a horse-carriage with Laura Ingalls, in the middle of a prairie? Or in Hogwarts, feeling the magic with Harry? Feeling the heat of Australian wilderness with Gemma & Ty? Books with lovely world building that could suck you deep into their world, it's almost as if you could feel yourself being pulled into them. You could feel yourself listening to the conversation among the characters, being there without actually being there. Love it.
(Example of local author: Prisca Primasari. She's so good at describing details of the setting! I've been to Russia, France, and the latest, Japan, through her books <3)

4) Romance, fluff, cuteness, swoony moments
Personally, for me, books with no romance = bleh. Slight or minimal romance is okay, as long as it's there. If the story gets nowhere, at least there's the romance that I could expect to. Exception to this point applied to nonfiction books, though. I love romance!
(Example of book with minimal romance, but I love it: Murakami's 1Q84. While they never actually have direct interaction *in present days*, but Tengo & Aomame are just.... *sigh*)

5) Plot?
I still don't understand what is a good plot or a bad plot, actually. Most of the time, I just depend on my feelings when judging a book. But for me, at least if the turn of events on the story aren't jumbled, the chronogical timeline could be easily understood and the process between conflict-resolution-another conflict-another resolution are clear, then it's okay.

6) The book changes my view on certain things
I love life-changing books. It feels as if a big, dark cloud are being shoo-ed away from your mind, so now your mind's clear. Oh my god, that's so true. Why didn't I realize it before? Or maybe, this is so right. Yes, yes, I totally agree with this book! Or maybe, with no thought at all, but you can sense that your view about certain things in life is being altered. Feels good.
(Example: Every Day, by David Levithan.)

Plus points:

6) Artsy Books
I love when an author filled the blank pages with relatable, good quotes, or things that could spice up the story (song lyrics, pictures, receipts, playlist, doodles, maps, sketch, anything!). Books with gorgeous covers got a plus too. And cute fonts! Cute fonts always makes my day.
(Example: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour with the road trip pictures and cool playlists)

7) Quotable lines
If the books make me want to highlight/quote lots of lines from it, or get swooned away because of its beautiful, breathtaking prose, or simply makes me want to shout:

I heart it.
(Example: John Green is the man. And Tahereh Mafi's books!)