The earliest memory I have of forcing myself to read a book I don't like was To Kill a Mockingbird. I was 11. Mockingbird was, and is, the only English classic I've ever read in my life.

I didn't enjoy it. But when I decided to read it, it felt like injustice to start a book without finishing. So I did. It must've taken me months, but I finished it.

Little did I know that this odd, slightly self-punishing habit, would prolong until — well, until recently.

It was a Saturday. The sun shone on the city mercilessly, with a heat that blanketed every inch of the crowded streets. Sounds of traffic mixed harmoniously with shouts from the tired parking staff. And in the morning of that hot Surabaya day, a helpless bookworm finally convinces her mother to take her to the biggest book sale of the year.

BBW 2017 stands for the Big Bad Wolf book convention, a massive book sale event that happens yearly in our region. Until last week, it took place in my hometown, and sure enough, I was dying to go. On Saturday morning, my mom finally agreed to take me there. So we went across town, stepped into the building, already crowded, and filled with thousands of high-grade books all sold at a much cheaper price. In a word? Heaven.




Above - 
One of the first books I picked up was titled Take This Bread. Labeled as a spiritual memoir, it displays the story of one Sara Miles–a once atheist, Democrat-minded journalist–and how she'd rediscovered Christianity when she wandered into a church and joined communion, at the age of 46. Here, she narrates her views on a faith that goes beyond "church culture" or "good behaviour." I've never owned a book quite like it before, so I wanted to try getting into it.

Pictured on the right is a plain notebook I got at an excellent discount. For no more than US$3, I was granted 192 plain pages, a gorgeous binding, with an inside pocket. Because my current journal is running out, this was a good find, and I'm eager to continue journaling in it.

Below - 
The Answer to the Riddle is Me tells the story of a young man who woke up in a train station in India, with no memory of his identity, how he got there, or anything about himself. I've read books that feature mental illnesses before, but never one about amnesia, so I figured this story was too fascinating to miss out on.

Also, I have a deep love for books that portray the different perspectives of people from all walks of life. Hearing a good story from one person can expand your mind, but a good story told by several different people can expand how you see the world. That is why I bought Astray by Emma Donoghue (author of Room), whose story here "lights up four centuries of wanderings that have profound echoes in the present, and offers us a moving meditation on restless times." It won my heart.

Scanning through the Crime & Mystery section, the book I picked up was titled The Daughter. It tells you about a once successful, loving mother, whose life became torn apart by the disappearance of her daughter. Digging into the mystery, she discovers secrets surrounding her family, and how nothing was ever as she believed them to be.

So now, I have a good feeling that these will be some great additions to my shelf. I'm also determined to finish at least one of them by the end of the month.



The biggest (and heaviest) I purchased that day was this hard-cover, 560-page book titled TIME: 85 Years of Great Writing. As far as magazines go, Time is quite legendary, and lately, the world of media and journalism has been appealing to me more significantly. It's no secret that I love writing, and I like to admire and learn from a good, well-written piece every now and then. So when I found this book, I was completely amazed.

The book contains boundless stories; a plane crash in Washington, the war in Cambodia, the Berlin Wall, all the way up to a number of articles featuring the world's most influential leaders; Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, Churchill, and more. With more than 80 different stories and coverages, this was a book tailored to my heart's desires.

A book that makes you more well-educated by the time you finish it is a book you don't want to miss.

(Also, the convention didn't sell it for any more than US$6. I call that Heaven-sent.)

I've always loved to read, for as long as I can remember. But with enough tasks and distractions, it's astounding how I can completely neglect my books for months on end. However, upon taking a week off of social media, I started to re-connect with this bookworm inside of me. 

Since then, I've been catching up with several books kept on my bedside table, and started to continue my "book flow" (reading, finishing, buying more books, and repeat.) Re-incorporating reading into my daily activities is one of my best decisions. I'd forgotten how much I missed being lost in the pages of a good story. Listed below are the books that I'm currently in the middle of and still reading through to this day.

Indonesia, Etc. by Elizabeth Pisani

This is one of those books that's very complex to explain. Every time someone asks me what it's about, I end up talking a whole mouthful. That's because Indonesia, Etc. features Elizabeth Pisani's many, various, eventful experiences surrounding Indonesia. When she was working together with Indonesia's Minister of Health on issues surrounding HIV/AIDS more than a decade ago, she visited the country frequently, mostly spending her time lobbying or finishing up jobs in Jakarta (including being exposed to the prostitutes, drug users, and transgenders living in the capital city's slums.) For this book, she'd flown back to Indonesia; this time with her journalistic skills, determined to travel to its islands and experience every part of the country, immersing herself in the different cultures and norms found all across Indonesia. Seeing Indonesia through her eyes and through her writing is both relatable and revelating, so much so that it got me scribbling on some of its pages.

As an Indonesian, I have so much love for this book. It's so fascinating that through reading about her travels, I could learn so much more about the parts of this country that I'd never even heard of before.  When she talks about the social situation, or the little quirks Indonesia has, I would laugh and think "how true!" I also love how she entertains the readers by providing well-written summaries of Indonesia's history, government, and chaotic bureaucracy. Now, I'm still in the middle of the book because it becomes hard to keep up with some of the challenging vocabulary, and her chapters surrounding heavy politics, finances, or import-export policies. But through this book, I'm re-learning about my own country in a very interesting, unconventional way.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just For Teenagers

Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Library by Brittany Rubiano

Poetry has always found a way to inspire me. I read it on social media, little book excerpts, framed quotations on walls. More often than not, poems are just one of the things that kind of lure me in. When I discovered Rupi Kaur on Instagram, I noticed that a) her feed was very pretty and b) she had a very fascinating style of writing that made me want to go deeper and deeper into the poems she wrote. So when I found out she actually had a book, I made a promise to myself to buy and read it.

Earlier this year, I finally got myself a copy, and I quickly finished reading all of it. For those of you who don't know, Milk and Honey is a collection of poems written by Rupi Kaur. The book's divided into four main chapters that will feel a lot like she's taking you through the different phases of her journey: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing.

I think it's important to note that this book covers a wide spectrum of emotion, from falling in love to heartbreak, but it also has a few notes on things like sexual assault and physical abuse. With that said, I should mention that this might become trigger warnings for some.

Before buying this, I'd never owned any poetry book, so when I first got this, I was actually pretty stoked. I think it's a very different approach to what is considered art as well, and I like that Rupi Kaur pours her heart and soul into her writing. You just kind of take it with you and feel it as you read the book. The art featured alongside some of the poems were quite fascinating as well.

However, I'll be honest, as much respect I have for Rupi Kaur and her poetry, at times, I did find the book a little cliché. I liked a lot of things about it, but I understand how some would bash on this book saying "it isn't poetry". Upon finishing it (perhaps a little too quickly), I'd already marked all the pages that I liked, but I just don't feel like it made an ~*iMpacT*~ on a deeper level for me personally, which was kind of a letdown. Some of the paragraphs or poems are very heartfelt and beautiful, so much so that it made me admire the book a lot more. But then you flip to the next page and you see that she'd basically taken up one whole page for a tiny poem consisting of three lines. I felt that these pages carried strong messages, sure, but writing down a quote (even if it's a lovely one) and then just breaking it down into three to four lines for the concept of being ~*aesthetic*~ isn't very ideal. For Tumblr, sure, but not for a published, bestselling book.

Aside from that, I think it's an interesting book. I mean, the poet has definitely come a long way throughout her life, and is very brave for opening up so vulnerably in this book. Although I probably was too excited at the thought of having my "first poetry book" that I might have overestimated this piece. I did hear that Rupi Kaur is working on a second book, so I just hope that it'll be in some ways better. Meaning that it'll have more words, and more meaning within these words, and less of a blank space. It's just sad because if you're already given such a platform and you're already a very talented, well-known writer, you should put in as much energy as you can into your art, and I think this book only showcased a fraction of what Rupi Kaur is capable of. I'm expecting a lot more from her.

By now, though, I've come across plenty of amazing writers and poets online, and I can't tell you guys how much I love keeping up with their writings. I've been delving deep into poetry slams (spoken word videos), and also into what I call "Instagram poets" like Nikita Gill and Beau Taplin. I also hope that the next poetry book I purchase will be a lot more satisfying. (I've come across a few recently in the book stores but most of them are very romance-themed, and I'm certainly not a big fan of love or romance books.)

And that is the end of my book review! It's been a while since my last book review so I truly hope this gave a bit more insight! Do you have a copy of Milk and Honey? What do you think of it?

Leave a comment below, let's talk about stuff. :)

Talk to you soon!

A few days ago, I have finally finished the book I was determined to finish this summer which was "The Book of Tomorrow" written by Cecelia Ahern. For some reason yes, I feel this way about nearly every book I read, but I really adored how this book turned out!

The book's length goes for around 320 pages. I've owned it for quite some time now and many years ago, I actually have started reading it, only I did it in, let's say, a bad timing so I ended up abandoning the book when I was only halfway through. At the start of this summer, I finally picked it up and decided that I should read it again because I really do want to know how this book goes, so I read it from the beginning until the end and I am certainly not disappointed.

Compared to other books that I have read, this one has quite a long storyline. The big picture is there lived a rich, spoiled girl named Tamara Goodwin, whose father had committed suicide. She and her mother later find out that they had been swimming in very large amounts of debt, and so the bank had to take away their home, and they were forced to move away from Dublin to a small area called Kilsaney to live with Tamara's aunt Rosaleen and uncle Arthur.

In this new suburban, isolated life, her mother began to completely shut down and fall into something like depression, and Tamara had no choice but to struggle herself. She started exploring the area, discovering new things about the history of not only the town, but also of her own family. What makes it more interesting is how Tamara found a book in a traveling library, and later realised that it was a diary that would tell her everything that was about to come the day after. I should stop. You should read the book.

Frankly, I didn't think "The Book of Tomorrow" was a very nice nor fascinating book title, and I don't think it represented the actual story very well. In my opinion, the actual diary that Tamara found wasn't actually the main thing about the storyline. (Mild spoiler alert) I also don't appreciate how there was no definite explanation about the diary Tamara found. I get if you want to make it magical, but there's simply no background said about the diary. 

However, it's still an amazing book. The events that occurred were very realistic and thrilling, not to mention how the characters were portrayed in such a complex manner. At some parts, it became pretty dull, but the little details keep it from being completely boring. This book has it all: A little bit of magic, a fair amount of sin, and a quite rebellious teenager.

I think Cecelia Ahern, as a very well-known author, really succeeded in making the readers immerse into the storyline and the background, and making this small town seem so alive. I found the book amusing, exciting, and reading it just felt like a metaphorical roller coaster. The fact that this was the Cecelia Ahern book that didn't get a movie (and they chose Love, Rosie instead) is actually pretty disappointing, and proves just how underrated this great read actually is. And yes, I'm obviously planning on purchasing more books by Cecelia Ahern some time soon.

Have you read this book before? What did you think of it? What book are you reading this summer? Leave a comment below and tell me all about it!

From the girl who always loves a good story,

Bloglovin | Twitter | Instagram

Have you read any nice books recently? Have you read this one? What did you think? Leave a comment below, and don't forget to follow me on Bloglovin!

From the girl who loves diving into a world that's not her own,

Hello, everyone!

It's been a while and I've been struggling with coming up with a new post since I have been extremely worn out coming back from my trip, especially with all the school work that follows. But anyway, I'm so excited to finally be doing my second book review, and this time, I'll be reviewing a book by Paula Hawkins called "The Girl on the Train".

So I bought this book a few weeks ago and I was kind of contemplating on whether I should've bought this book or another one I found in the store that day. I am very happy with my decision, you guys. The book is so fascinating and it's terrific. I really enjoyed reading it!

The story is, there's basically a girl named Rachel who's an unemployed, newly-sacked alcoholic and commuter who takes the same train everyday. On her usual route, the train tends to stop briefly at a signal, and from that spot, Rachel always looks out the window into this house near the tracks where a seemingly happy and perfect couple lives. She enjoys looking at how they live and show affection towards each other. And then the book kind of unveils the true story behind this couple ("Jason" and "Jess" is what Rachel calls them) from "Jess"'s point of view. One day, "Jess" suddenly disappears. The plot thickens along the way and it's extremely interesting to follow.  It also shed light into Rachel's rough past (and present condition too). In the end, we realize that everyone's a victim at some point of the story.

I didn't really like, firstly, how the book was constantly jumping from one time setting to another. It was fine, but it did make me a bit bothered with how I must follow through the story. Maybe it's just me, but I find myself going to the previous pages to check which time setting a certain story took place. Other than that, I do like the cover, but I just always feel like the book title on the cover must be as clear and bold as possible. I feel like seeing the cover of this book (with the graphics) makes me pretty dizzy. Such an awesome book should've had a better cover to promote it.

The thing I loved most about this book was actually the plot twist. Actually, there were multiple plot twists, and that just made the book very gripping and fascinating. The first quarter of the book, I felt, was okay, but it literally went better and better from there. I liked how Paula Hawkins dug really deeply into each character, allowing us to understand their reckless "adult" personalities. I felt like she was very insightful in this book. There was a very good amount of mystery, which I loved. I spent so much time guessing and guessing. Literally guys, so much fun to read. To be honest, when the book was described as a "thriller", I had my doubts, but I ended up being very impressed.

Have you read this book? Do you like mystery reads? Have you also been reading some nice books? Tell me all about it in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you today!

From the girl who loves books and mystery and sometimes trains,