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Friday, September 30, 2011

Book Review: Letters to Sam

 BOOK review
  
Started on:  27.September.2011
Finished on: 30.September.2011

 after several days reading the book during mid-term exam, i finally finished this! :) it's quite difficult for me to rate this book, since there are good things and not so good things while reading this. here's the review in indonesian (i read the translated version of the book):

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 Letters to Sam adalah kumpulan surat yang ditulis oleh Daniel Gottlieb (seorang psikolog) yang lumpuh kepada cucunya (Sam) yang lahir dengan mengalami PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), kelainan yang berada dalam lingkup autisme. surat-surat yang ditulis oleh Dan berisi berbagai macam petuah dan pelajaran penting; tidak hanya untuk Sam yang mengalami kelainan saja, tetapi juga menjadi pelajaran yang berharga bagi siapapun yang membacanya.

ada banyak sekali pelajaran dan nilai moral yang bisa diambil dari surat-surat Dan. terlebih lagi, Dan sangat mengerti perasaan Sam yang akan merasa berbeda dengan orang lain karena kondisinya yang lumpuh dan seringkali membutuhkan bantuan orang. dalam salah satu suratnya, Dan menulis:
"Sam, aku ingin kau tahu bahwa menjadi berbeda bukanlah masalah. Ini sekedar menjadi berbeda. Tapi merasa berbeda bisa menjadi masalah. Ketika kau merasa berbeda, perasaan itu bisa benar-benar mengubah caramu melihat dunia."

hal ini mengajarkan bahwa cara pandang kita terhadap kehidupan ini akan mengubah juga perasaan kita. ketika kita merasa pesimis dan merasa bahwa hidup kita buruk, maka perasaan kita pun akan ikut terpengaruh.

dalam buku ini, terdapat satu bagian yang benar-benar menyentuh menurutku, karena pesan moralnya yang benar-benar mengena. berikut isinya:
"Seorang kawan perempuanku baru-baru ini bilang bahwa dia memiliki banyak kesulitan dalam hidupnya. Dia merasa bagaikan hidup dalam mimpi buruk yang berkepanjangan dan tak tahu apa yang harus dilakukannya. Aku menyuruhnya mencari terminal bus, lalu menunggu sebuah bus! Dia melihatku seperti orang gila. Kukatakan kepadanya bahwa segala emosi yang bisa kita rasakan sifatnya sementara; kita bisa menunggu emosi itu berlalu seolah kita sedang menunggu sebuah bus. Kita bisa menunggunya dengan rasa frustasi, kemarahan, ataupun merasa menjadi korban, tetapi itu semua tidak akan membuat bus datang lebih cepat. Kita bisa menunggu dengan sabar dan santai, tetapi itu juga tidak membuat bus datang lebih awal! Seperti umumnya bus, kendaraan itu akan datang ketika waktunya tiba."
--

banyak sekali poin moral yang bisa diambil dari buku ini. kisah yang diceritakan oleh Dan tentang hidupnya juga sangat inspiratif. namun sayangnya ada beberapa bagian yang sedikit membosankan.
tapi secara keseluruhan, Letters to Sam adalah buku yang bagus yang bisa mengajarkan pelajaran yang berharga :)


4/5 stars
by.stefaniesugia♥

I'm Smurfed!


 THE smurfs
today is the last day of my mid-term exam week ! so i decided to give myself a little treat by buying some DVDs to watch at home :) i choose to watch The Smurfs first, because i lovee cartoons/animated movies. the story begins with smurf village being all happy and smurfy, until suddenly Clumsy lead the evil wizard Gargamel into the village and destroyed everything! this event lead the Smurfs into some sort of black hole that brings them to New York. Gargamel kept chasing the Smurfs around to catch them and gain more powers; but the Smurfs have made friends with Patrick and Grace and got some help.

overall, the movie is very enjoyable (even though the plot is simple and not that exciting) and sometimes funny too ;) my favorite characters in the movie are Papa Smurf and Smurfette ♥. Papa Smurf is very wise and loving to all his children, while Smurfette is the only girl in the village and is very sweet :)


and after the tiring week, i feel like sleeping all the time :X maybe i'll go watch another movie to prevent myself from sleeping too much. or read a book, maybe.

by.stefaniesugia♥

Thursday, September 29, 2011

On My Shopping List ♥


SHOPPING list

i really don't know why, but i've been wanting to buy sooo many things recently. maybe because it's near to christmas day :| i'm hoping to get these things as presents, but my birthday is still a long time to go. 
anyway, i want to buy these things, but i'm still wondering if it's really necessary to buy them.
here's the list of things i want to buy now: 

1. Speck See-Thru case for 15" Macbook Pro Unibody (Aqua)
isn't this case very pretty? :(
 2. Apple iPhone 4 64gb

3. Instax Fujifilm Polaroid Camera

4. a pretty laptop bag ;;)
5. ...and tons of books ;) 

i don't want to mention anything else :X because that'll make me look like a shopaholic. i think this is the side effect of reading Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series. i'm contaminated by Becky Brandon.
i hope i'll get all these things i want, or i hope i'll forget them and never want them anymore. :D

by.stefaniesugia♥

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

My Amazon package arrived !


yayy!

 after almost one month i keep waiting and waiting, FINALLY the package arrived! :)
i honestly didn't expect it to come until the 30th, because the e-mail said that's the ETA.
anyway, i'm just very excited when i got it since it's my first order on amazon. the book i ordered is The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. the book is in hardcover binding, and is very big. i think i will remember it as my first amazon order in my life. :D


and anyway, i finished reconstructing the blog! yayy again! :D even though i'll probably make another few changes these few days, but so far i'm very satisfied :)
i'm really getting immersed in this HTML/XML thing. i even had this scary thought that i'm going to really study it :S i don't know, it's a probability, but we'll see in the future ;)
i hope i won't be wanting to change the layout of my blog anymore. because reconstructing takes hours of really hard work looking at the codes and stuffs. 

by.stefaniesugia♥

Major Reconstruction

 MAJOR reconstruction

as you guys can see, the layout/template of my blog has changed - probably a lot. 
i'm trying out a new template from blogskins.com (they have many great skins actually), but i have to revert to classic template :| hmm... i got confused a bit, because it is slightly more difficult (since i can control anything now, and not just dragging and placing things). there are still lots of things unsettled, but i'm going to finish reconstructing it in a while. if things doesn't really work out with this classic template thing, i might have to revert back to the easy, modern version. :D have to go get ready and go to campus now :)

by.stefaniesugia♥

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Book Review: Heaven on Earth

BOOK review
  
Started on:  26.September.2011
Finished on: 26.September.2011

i finished the book yesterday, it was a really quick read, because there's really nothing much. :|
so here's the review (i wrote the review in indonesian, since it's an indonesian book).

----
kesan pertama waktu beli buku ini adalah pertama liat dari covernya. kebiasaan buruk memang: judge a book by it's cover. tapi memang sebenarnya cover buku secara visual itu sangat berpengaruh dalam membeli buku :P kedua karena judulnya yang terdengar cukup berkesan, meyakinkan - seperti ada sebuah cerita menarik di dalamnya. ketiga, sinopsis di balik buku-nya terkesan sangat emosional. meskipun sinopsisnya tidak menyinggung plot, kata-katanya yang lumayan puitis berhasil merayuku untuk membeli buku ini.

namun ketika membaca buku ini, awalnya sangat biasa sekali. dimulai dengan adegan si adik (Alon) yang menunggu dijemput kakaknya. Kemudian mulai diperkenalkan karakter si kakak (Carla) dan sahabatnya (Lorent). meskipun sedikit kecewa, masih ada sedikit harapan, mungkin ceritanya akan berkembang lebih lanjut lagi. tetapi sayang sekali, aku dikecewakan sampai pada akhir buku ini :(

PLOT:
Heaven on Earth bercerita tentang Carla, yang tinggal bersama Bunda dan adiknya, Alon. Ayahnya baru saja meninggal, sehingga Carla dibebani dengan pekerjaan merawat adiknya. plot ceritanya berkembang secara pelan sekali menurutku, sehingga terasa sedikit membosankan. kemudian tiba-tiba fokus utama berpindah dari Carla kepada sahabatnya, Lorent. Lorent berada dalam keluarga broken home: ayah dan ibunya bercerai; dan pada akhir pekan Lorent tinggal bersama Ayahnya. Kemudian ia mendapati berita buruk bahwa Ayahnya akan menikah dengan wanita lain. Lorent sangat sedih dan tidak setuju dengan keadaan tersebut. Fokus juga kembali kepada Carla, yang menemukan lelaki idamannya - Naga. Seperti cerita-cerita remaja/teenlit pada umumnya, mereka pendekatan, berkencan, lalu jadian.


menurutku, buku ini seperti tidak jelas arah masalahnya dan banyak masalah bercampur aduk menjadi satu. karena ada dua pokok masalah pada saat yang bersamaan, ceritanya seperti terbagi menjadi dua: kisah tentang Carla dan tentang Lorent. perkembangan plot-nya juga tidak jelas; aku juga tidak tahu dimana titik klimaks ceritanya, sehingga keseluruhan novel ini terkesan flat/datar.
kata-kata puitis di bagian belakang buku (yang berhasil merayuku) juga sepertinya tidak mempunyai relevansi dengan cerita yang ada di dalam buku. aku juga tidak bisa menangkap arti dari Heaven on Earth setelah membaca buku ini.

overall, bukunya bukan tidak bagus. bisa dibaca sebagai bacaan ringan, tetapi sangat datar dan kadang-kadang membosankan. tipikal novel teenlit biasa :)


3/5 stars
by.stefaniesugia♥

Reading: Letters to Sam

  CURRENTLY reading

the previous book i read (Heaven on Earth) is a very quick read. i finished it off in less than one day - the review is coming up ;) so i have to choose another book to read now. i choose this book: Letters to Sam by Daniel Gottlieb; i think it's suitable for my busy schedule since it's not very thick. i'm reading the translated version of this book, and i'm hoping the message will be delivered well by the translator. this is a non-fiction book, a little bit memoir/biography kind of story. looking from the blurb, it's going to be an inspirational story; the kind of book which is sad and very touchy. 

here's the blurb in indonesian version :)
"Aku tak sanggup memikirkan hal ini, tetapi aku tahu, satu hari nanti, kau akan mendengar seseorang berkata, ‘Dia autis.’ Kalau hal itu terjadi, aku khawatir, kau akan menyadari bahwa ketika orang melihatmu, mereka tak melihat seorang Sam. Mereka melihat sebuah diagnosis. Sebuah masalah. Sebuah pengelompokan. Bukan seorang manusia.

Dalam kekhawatiran dan ketidakpastian itulah, Daniel Gottlieb memutuskan untuk menulis surat-surat kepada Sam, cucunya. Bagi sang Kakek, Sam adalah sahabat sejiwanya karena dia sendiri mengalami kelumpuhan akibat kecelakaan.

Sang Kakek ingin membagi pandangan tentang menjadi berbeda, bagaimana menghadapi ketakutan, merajut harapan, dan mengambil hikmah dalam setiap rencana Tuhan. Inilah kisah yang dibagi Daniel Gottlieb untuk Sam dan untuk kita semua—tentang menjadi manusia.

…Berterimakasihlah kepada siapa pun yang datang… karena setiap tamu dikirimkan dari atas sana sebagai pemandumu.—Jalaluddin Rumi"
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i think the story will be great! :)

by.stefaniesugia♥

Monday, September 26, 2011

Reading: Heaven on Earth


first day.
well today wasn't a day just like any other for me :P
today is my first day on mid-term test week! i hope i will do well on every subject. really hoping that i could increase my GPA this semester :)
but even so, i still got time to read at the moment. i've chosen an indonesian book to read this time ;) (it's been quite a long time i haven't read any indonesian books). i'm also quite behind on my yearly-challenge, so i have to stop reading english books for a while. here's the book i'm reading at the moment:


CURRENTLY reading

first of all, the cover looks very nice. (i sometimes judge books by its' cover - which i know is a bad habit) the title also sounds very promising. somehow filled with emotions. but i've never read any of this author's work before, so i guess i'll try this one out.
unfortunately, the blurb on the back of the book doesn't give away the plot of the story. so i have no idea what the story's going to be about. somehow it sounds quite sad and emotional. but i'll see how the story goes inside the book. ;) will write a review after finished reading :)
*off to go read now*

by.stefaniesugia♥

Sunday, September 25, 2011

i miss going to the bookstore. really :(


it's been 9 days.

this is just random actually. but is really important to me. 
it's probably been more than a week that i haven't go to the bookstore, and not buy a single book during those times :( it's a really sad thing. i miss the bookstore already. all these days, i have been looking through pictures of libraries and bookstores on tumblr. i know this makes me sound very nerdy, but honestly that's who i am. i am, truly, very nerdy and the bookworm type of girl.
SO i'm planning to visit the bookstore sometime this week; even though it's mid-term test week :P
and anyway, i'm also waiting for my package from amazon.com that i ordered around a month ago. it's supposed to arrive on the 30th, but i'm so impatient this time! (maybe i'm too anxious because it's my first time ordering from amazon). well, that's it for now :)
*off choosing a date to visit the bookstore* yayy!

by.stefaniesugia♥

Book Review: Shopaholic and Baby (Shopaholic, #5)



thank goodness i finally have time to read now! yayy! :D i got to finish reading Shopaholic and Baby this morning, and it was another superb journey with Becky Brandon :) towards the end of the story, i literally can't stop reading just because the story gets really exciting! so here's a short review i had about the book (just a short one, because i have to go back to my assignments :X). and i don't have much to comment, because i love Sophie Kinsella! yayy! :D
 

BOOK review

Started on:  17.September.2011
Finished on: 25.September.2011

As usual, Becky is still very funny (sometimes stupid) and entertaining. The story in this book is Becky's journey of being a mother! But then she was taken care by an obstetrician called Venetia Carter. Who is actually Luke's ex-girlfriend! From that point on, there have been a lot of mystery - whether Luke had an affair or not- because Luke and Venetia are going out together a lot to reunion parties. Well that is the only point of the book actually. Even though it's a simple story, but i think Sophie Kinsella delivered the story very well and i enjoyed it very much.

What i really really love about this book is how Luke became so adorable and sweet to Becky. There are also lots of funny moments happening in the story - which of course you have to read and enjoy for yourself ;)
will be reading the next series soon :) *off choosing another book to read*



5/5 stars
by.stefaniesugia♥

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

College Life: Just... Tired.

really tired. phew. these last few days have been very tiring for me. so many assignments need to be done in such a short time. i really wish i have time to nap...
this month is the time for me to have my mid-term test, so i'm busy and nervous at the same time. i really need to get good marks to improve my GPA this semester. the very sad thing about it is: i don't have much time to read. after doing so many assignments, i'm so tired and sleepy; all i want to do is sleep afterwards. one of my works recently is for Design Methodology class. (honestly i don't really understand why i need to take this class .__.) the assignment is to make a poster with the theme "Hip Hop music Festival". here's the picture for you to see :)


so for the next few days i think i won't be able to update anything. i hope i can do everything well this semester and pass with good grades. ;)


oh how i miss reading ;'(

by.stefaniesugia♥

Saturday, September 17, 2011

tumblr.


HI there!

this post will be a quick one. i recently started using my tumblr (even though i created it some time ago, i dont remember well). honestly, i still don't know how to use it properly. i kept reblogging things but don't dare to post anything yet :X visit my tumblr when you have time ;) or even better, you can teach me how to use it :P hihi 
visit my tumblr by clicking this link: go to my tumblr.

by.stefaniesugia♥

Reading: Shopaholic and Baby (Shopaholic, #5)


 CURRENTLY reading

 after finished reading Training Camp, i'm looking around my bookshelves to choose the next book to read. i've been reading the Shopaholic series, and i really enjoy it! :) so i've decided i'm going to read the fifth book of the series: Shopaholic and Baby (Shopaholic, #5) by Sophie Kinsella :) i want to post my reading progress here as well, and i hope i'll have time to do that (remembering that i have so many assignments to do :X) ;)

Started on:  17.September.2011
by.stefaniesugia♥

Books on Target



i am so addicted to books. i buy books very often, even more often than i buy clothes. so everyday, i browse through goodreads (probably one of the best site ever! - for bookworms like me :P), and find new released books that i'm going to buy. here are some of the books that has entered my wishlist.


i hope i can quickly get my hands on all these books! *cross fingers*

by.stefaniesugia♥

Friday, September 16, 2011

Book Review: Between Shades of Gray


BOOK review

Started on:  6.September.2011 
Finished on: 12.September.201
  


i had written this review a few days ago on goodreads; but i'll post it here again because i just love and adore this book so much. this is my first time reading a book Ruta Sepetys, and i must say that i am not disappointed at all. the book brings me along through the journey during world war II.
so here's my review of Between Shades of Gray ;)

at first i bought this book just because i had no more book to read during my holiday overseas. i quickly browse in a bookstore in norway - where most of the books are written in (probably) norwegian. well anyway i don't speak or read norwegian. so i had to look through a small shelf of english books. there i see this book: Between Shades of Gray. all the other books doesn't look very interesting, except for this one. so i decided to buy it.
... and it's a decision that i don't regret. :)
the book is just amazing! it's a story of survival, family bonds, friendships, and hope. this book is probably one of the most touching book i've ever read. the emotions of the deportees are described very well in the story, makes me feel what the deportees were feeling during those times of war back then.

Between Shades of Gray tells the story of a family: vilkas. it is written from the point of view of a young girl named Lina Vilkas. one night, she was deported along with her mother (Elena) and his younger brother, Jonas. from that night forward, their journey as deportees begun. on that journey they have made and lost a lot of friends, suffered as slaves, help others even when they suffer too, and fight for survival. they never know, whether they will stay alive or die because of hunger and fatigue. the ending of the story? you'll just have to read it yourself ;) i won't spoil the book :D

my favorite character in this book is of course Andrius :d the charming boy in the middle of suffering is surely refreshing to read. and another favorite character is mama Elena :) she is such an angel. she always shares her food with others, even though she suffered hunger as well. elena is never selfish and doesn't judge other people - just like with Kretzsky.

overall, this is an absolutely wonderful book! a page-turner, and you'll get emotional along with the story. :) definitely 5 stars! ;)


5/5 stars 
by.stefaniesugia♥

Book Review: Training Camp


 BOOK review

Started on:  15.September.2011
Finished on: 15.September.2011

my first book review in my blog ! :) i'll post my old reviews on goodreads here as well later on ;)
so i just finished reading Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else by Jon Gordon. I borrowed the translated version of this book and it was a very motivating story. 

the book tells a story about Martin Jones, a sportsman who play rugby - but unfortunately suffers leg injury after his amazing goal at a game. this leg injury might cause him to be kicked out of the training camp; and he also won't get any money to pay for her mother's operation. during his injury, he met a very special coach who shares eleven life-changing lessons that keep Martin's dream alive-and might even make him the best of the best. even though the story is about a sportsman, the lessons taught can be applied to everyone.

for me, the book is very motivating and has a lot of amazing moral points. by reading this book, i have also learned along with Martin about being the best; and what it takes to become the best. there is no special recipe for being the best. people who become the best now are not born that way; they work hard and fight through their fears and difficulties. i have to say that the only thing that's not really good about this book is the plot. for me, i think the plot is very flat and not dramatic enough. everything seems to be going really fast, and problems past by without details - which make things seems so easy for Martin. the story could be better, but however, it still has its' own good points. :)



4/5 stars
by.stefaniesugia♥

Thursday, September 15, 2011

official announcement


HI THERE! 

this is officialy my first post! yayy :) my blog is called the bookie-looker: which basically means i love to read books :) so this blog will be used as a place to post my book reviews, talk about new releases and probably anything else :) i'm still finding my way around to use this blog thing, but i hope i'll get better with it!

by.stefaniesugia♥ 
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