Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer - Rick Riordan

After books about Greek mythology came the books about Egyptian mythology  then the books about Greek and Roman mythology, now Riordan tells the story of Norse mythology. 

Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother's mysterious death, he's lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers. 

One day, he's tracked down by an uncle he barely knows-a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god. 

The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years. 

When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision. 

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . . 

Little spoiler alert: Magnus Chase is Annabeth Chase (from Percy Jackson and The Olympian series)' cousin.  Annabeth herself made an appearance in the book. 

For me it's quite hard to remember all the "new" names. I was more familiar with Greek and Roman mythology. Even Egyptian mythology a little bit easier than Norse mythology. 

Compare to The Olympian or Kane Chronicles (like it or not, you'll compare The Gods of Asgard with those two), Magnus already 16 years old. And he's dead. 

According to Dito, he already finished reading the book first, Valhalla reminded him of Hogwarts. I can see why he thinks that, with all the magic and the wonder. Magnus Chase' world is completely different than the Kanes or the Olympian (or the Roman). 

In his adventures, Magnus is not alone. He had help from his friends. Sam, a Valkyrie, she's an Arab and wears hijab and can kicked-ass. Blitz, a dwarf with interesting parentage and highly sense of fashion. Hearthstone, a deaf elf who choose to study magic instead of...well something else. 

These four work together to delay Ragnarok, and in doing so they also have to "help" other Gods (buying a pair of earring, find a missing hammer that wasn't missing, find a replacement rope made of paradoxes, and prevent Thor from drowning)

We also meets some Gods. Freya, who has cats, and listening to Taylor Swift; Thor who love to watch television series (he mention League of Assassins from Arrow!!); Ran, who likes to collect things, anything. 

Don't forget sword that can talk, goats that also can talk, be killed, eaten, and then live again. Bar tools that have history. Giant squirrel that can trash-talk. 

And nine ducks which apparently a door to another world. 

I love this books because it's funny, Magnus remind me a little bit of Percy even if he's not as sassy as Percy. And like Percy, he's ready to sacrifice himself for his friend. This book is full of action, noble deeds, sacrifice, love, friendship, and acceptance. 

At some point in the story, some how my mind compare it to Harry Potter. Maybe it's because of the missing nose. I really don't know why I'm thinking about Harry Potter, because when the bad guy start monologing, it's not different from The Olympian, about what he's done, why he's doing it, bla bla bla. 

But near the end, it really reminded me of Harry Potter, especially the part where Dumbledore begin to give final house point. In this book there aren't any house point, but the way...ehm...that man praising Blitz, Sam, Hearthstone and Magnus, and then gave them prizes, for me it's like what Dumbledore did at the end of the school term. 

Worth to buy, even worth more to read. Especially if you enjoy The Olympian and Kane Chronicles. 

IKEA

Happy New Year 2015!!!

Di hari pertama tahun 2015 ini....gue mencoba untuk menulis blog, berhubung pengalaman hari ini lumayan menarik untuk gue bagikan ke banyak orang hahaha....

Tahun 2014 merupakan tahun yang "menyedihkan" untuk blog ini karena sedikitnya posting...semoga tahun 2015, bisa kembali aktif.  Amin!!

So...mari kita mulai!

Dikarenakan satu dan lain hal, maka pada tanggal 1 Januari 2015 ini, gue sekeluarga (yang berarti mom and dad and li' sis) pergi jalan-jalan bersama.  Ide my mom untuk pergi ke IKEA yang mana memang udah dari sejak buka di Jakarta, pingin banget dikunjungi.

Menurut sumber yang ada, IKEA Indonesia buka 15 Oktober 2014 kemaren.  Gue tau soal IKEA cuma dari novel-novel yang gue baca dan cerita teman gue yang sempet mengunjungi toko IKEA di China dan di Singapore.  Jadi gue cuma tau sedikit soal IKEA.

Dan akhirnya gue ke sana.  RUAME BANGET!!!! Entah karena hari libur besar, atau memang setiap Sabtu/Minggu/hari libur keramaian yang terjadi memang seperti tadi yang gue alami.  

Yang pasti sih, tadi gue dateng sekitar setengah 1-an....itu parkiran udah penuh...dan semakin sore...semakin tidak terkontrol mobil-mobil yang datang hahaha...

Oke....sebelum gue memberikan semacam "bagaimana berbelanja di IKEA", gue mau cerita dulu soal IKEA ini.

Dari soal harga....well...jujur, tidak bisa gue bilang murah, karena toh harga-harga dia, meskipun ada beberapa yang dibawah 50rb, lebih banyak yang diatas 100-200rb.  

Design yang ditawarkan IKEA harus gue akui, memang unik dan menarik.  Konsep IKEA adalah bagaimana ada memaksimalisasikan ruangan yang ada.  Jadi banyak sekali tempat-tempat penyimpanan, atau laci dan lemari yang kecil.

Yang menarik adalah, di IKEA terdapat display isi rumah, dengan 3 ukuran rumah; 55m2, 35m2, dan 25m2.  Jadi pengunjung bisa mendapatkan ide, barang-barang apa yang bisa ditempatkan atau bagaimana memposisikan barang-barang tersebut.

 

Dan tentu tidak hanya display rumah saja, nyaris di tiap bagian, akan terdapat display sehingga pengunjung bisa melihat bagaimana hasil akhir sebuah perabotan jika telah disusun.

Dikarenakan tadi itu suasananya sangat padat, dan gue juga masih agak terkesima dengan IKEA, jadi foto itu sangat sedikit sekali.

Jika ingin info atau lihat seperti apa isi dalem IKEA, silakan mampir ke blog anakjajan.com, yang isinya dilengkapi foto, termasuk harga makanan di cafetaria.  Tadi kami tidak mampir, karena antrian yang sangat panjang.


Oke...sekarang soal "Hal-hal yang perlu diperhatikan".  Yang harus segera diingat adalah konsep belanja IKEA adalah SELF-SERVICE yang berarti layanan-sendiri.

Tidak ada tukang parkir di IKEA.
Jika anda menggunakan mobil pribadi, ingat bahwa tidak ada tukang parkir di area parkir IKEA.  Ada petugas keamanan, tapi bukan tukang parkir.  Jadi perhatikan baik-baik dimana anda parkir dan jika kendaraan anda terhalang kendaraan lain, maka anda sendiri yang harus mendorong mobil yang menghalangi mobil anda.  (Tadi gue kudu mendorong 2 innova dan 1 jazz hahahaha)

Baca tata cara berbelanja di IKEA
Mungkin terkesan konyol, tapi ini adalah hal yang penting.  Pada saat anda masuk, memang langsung terdapat bagian informasi, tapi juga banyak terdapat petunjuk arah.

Pada saat anda tiba di area belanja, ada akan bertemu dengan dua hal di bawah ini. 

  
Gambar di atas adalah info tentang bagaimana anda berbelanja di IKEA.  Silakan ambil lembar yang biru, lembar yang putih, pensil, dan penggaris kertas.  Tersedia juga buku katalog IKEA, yang boleh anda ambil dan anda bawa pulang.  Semuanya gratis anda bawa pulang, kecuali pensil yang harus anda kembalikan pada waktu anda tiba di kasir.

Sekali lagi ingat, SELF-SERVICE.

Di samping papan info tentang bagaimana berbelanja di IKEA, terdapat peta direktori tata letak barang-barang IKEA.  Jika anda seperti saya (kami) yang baru pertama kali ke IKEA, mungkin peta ini tidak terlalu penting.  Meskipun begitu, cukup perlu juga dibaca setidaknya untuk lebih tau, seperti apa tanda petunjuk yang tersedia.

Kenapa harus mengambil dua lembar (biru dan putih) serta pensil dan penggaris? Karena semua itu anda butuhkan jika anda hendak berbelanja.  

Pada saat anda hendak membeli meja, atau kursi, atau lemari, yang perlu anda lihat, bukan saja harga barang tersebut, tapi juga kode barang, dan dimana barang tersebut diletakkan. Jadi, jika anda hendak membeli meja, meskipun di sana terdapat banyak meja, anda tidak bisa langsung mengambil meja tersebut.  Anda harus mencatat kode barang atau posisi dimana barang tersebut diletakkan, baru kemudian anda pergi menuju "gudang" untuk mengambil barang tersebut.

 

Foto di atas adalah "gudang" tempat anda mengambil barang yang telah anda pilih.  Itulah gunanya lembar putih dan biru. (Lembar putih sepertinya hanya petunjuk cara berbelanja, sementara lembar biru yang bisa dipakai untuk mencatat).

Dan di sinilah letak SELF-SERVICE-nya.  Karena anda harus mengambil sendiri barang yang telah anda pilih (ya minta tolong diambilkan gue rasa boleh sih...apalagi kalo gak nyampe hahaha), dan rakit sendiri semua barang yang dibeli.

IKEA juga tidak menyediakan kantong belanja.  Jadi, anda harus menyiapkan kantong belanja sendiri, atau membawa trolley hingga tempat yang telah disediakan....gue masih ragu apakah boleh dibawa ke tempat parkir atau tidak. 

Yang satu lagi cukup menarik dari IKEA adalah display boleh digunakan.  Jadi, kalau melihat meja, kursi, tempat tidur, itu boleh anda duduki dan tiduri hahaha...serius.  Jadi buat yang membawa anak-anak...bakal seneng banget untuk ke IKEA.  Berbeda dengan toko furniture lainnya yang cenderung melarang pengunjung untuk duduk di bagian display, IKEA justru mempersilakan pengunjung untuk memanfaatkan display yang ada.  Yah...yang penting tau diri aja...jangan kemudian juga malah pecicilan.

Jalur di IKEA itu ONE WAY. Well...ini menurut gue gak penting sih hahaha....tapi memang kayaknya jalurnya tuh satu arah...kita balik ke tempat sebelumnya boleh aja sih, tapi karena tadi padat banget, jadi agak susah untuk 'jalan mundur' hahaha...

Apalagi ya...oh ya...parkir gratis di IKEA.  Mungkin karena self-service itu kali ya? Yang pasti sih tadi emang enggak ada gardu untuk ambil tiket karcis.

Buat gue sih...seru ke IKEA, meskipun mungkin yang bisa dibeli cuma yang murah-murah, tapi tetep menarik untuk dikunjungi.  Paling tidak, kita belajar untuk jadi lebih mandiri.  Mandiri dalam berbelanja dan juga mandiri dalam memperhatikan lingkungan sekitar.  Belajar membaca rambu-rambu.

Next time ke IKEA lagi, pasti bakal foto lebih banyak...dan hopefully enggak serame tadi hahaha.


 

Journey of A Girl with A Camera Tatoo - A Blog

The picture above is a snapshot of my beloved friend's blog.  The blog itself is quite new, but the girl who made it is one of my old friends.

Her name is Lisa.  She's a photographer.  Right now, she's working as a wedding photographer, in Edward Suhadi Production.  

I knew Lisa while we're at Tarumanaga University ages ago, we met in our University Choir.  Both of us are Altos, but she has better voice than me hahaha...  Our singing time together has long gone.  I don't even singing in a choir anymore, but Lisa until a few years ago still do.  Until her work almost take over her life - hyperbola mode on.

I don't think I realize her talent in photography, maybe because at that time, owning a digital camera was a luxury.  Even mobile phone was still a new thing back then.  

Later, after every one of my friends has their own life and work, I began to see her talent. And I must say, she's good.

Back in June 2014, both of us went to Bali, to attend another of my (our) friend get married.  Because it was a small wedding, almost every person that come to the wedding has a job to do.  But not Lisa.  She's purely come as a guess.  (Well some are also come as a guess, but mostly were come because they has a job to do).  Nowadays, digital camera is a common thing. And Lisa, as a photographer, hardly leaves without her camera.  The moment the bride arrived at the church, she's already taking pictures.  Maybe not as much as when she's working, but still...she's taking pictures.  

 

My friend, Dito and I, quite jealous of her hahaha...because we want to have eyes like her (and Eric, another friend of ours).  We want to be able to see the beauty and capture it.  I think the ability to capture it was the important part.

Her works nowadays is not just for wedding, although maybe mostly are from wedding, but I know she also works for family pictures, even for clothing lines and beauty lines too.

She's really talented, and yet still eager to learn new things.

So...if you please go to her website lisamargaret you can see some of her works and her journey.

I'm so proud to call her my friend.

(proof that I really know her hahahaha)

Broadway ke Java 2014

On August 2014, on behalf of Bibie's request, some of us gathered for lunch.  I think it was on Eid al-Fitr holiday.  Anyway, before I go to the place where we're going to have lunch, I decided to go to Starbucks on Skyline Building first, to meet Lisa.  Lisa was already there  when I finally arrived.  She apparently wasn't alone, she was with her friend. After a standard introduction, we got to talk, and I simply forgot what we talked about at first, but we suddenly talked about Broadway Musical.  He, Lisa's friend was a he, he said that there will be a performance that will show some snippets from Broadway musical on September.  As we said goodbye later, I said to him, as he wasn't coming with us, that I will be waiting for the invitation.

August went away then come September.  I keep remembering the information that tucked on the back of my mind.  I keep waiting for the invitation.  When I was planning on texting Lisa, she texted me first and voila...she asked me to accompany her to Broadway ke Java.

Broadway ke Java [Broadway goes to Java] was held from 26-28 September 2014 at Ice Palace, Lotte Shopping Avenue.  If you can see the picture, you'll see that on Saturday and Sunday, they have 2 shows; matinee or 12 o'clock show and afternoon show.  Lisa asked me to choose. After talked to her back, about her schedule, we decided to watch the show on the Saturday at 7 pm.

There was some misinformed on Lisa's part, so we're late to attend the show.  We arrived at the door at 7.45 pm, thinking that the show was started at 8pm, so we're late. But, since we arrive precisely at the end of one number, we're allowed to enter, but can't get to our seat.  So we stand near the door, right by the stage, and watch the show from there.  What we saw? A song from The Producers, "Keep It Gay".  Love it!! I really can feel my eyes got bigger, my smile got wider, and try to listen the words carefully.

Brodway ke Java have 2 Act and each act consist of 8 songs or numbers.  

Act 1

• The New World (Songs For A New World)
• Live In Living Color (Catch Me If You Can)
• You Don't Know (Next To Normal)
• The Song That Goes Like This (Spamalot)
• With You (Ghost)
• Keep It Gay (The Producers)
• One Night Only (Dreamgirls)
• LaVie Boheme (Rent)

Act 1

• Biggest Blame Fool (Seussical The Musical)
• Omigod You Guys (Legally Blonde The Musical)
• Heart (Damn Yankees)
• Love Is My Legs (Dirty Rotten Scoundrel)
• My Stronger Suit (Aida)
• If Only (The Little Mermaid)
• One Day More (Les Miserables)
• Evolution Of Broadway

From 16 numbers, I only familiar with The Producers, Dreamgirls, Rent, Aida, and Les Miserables. But surprisingly I kinda like "Heart" from Damn Yankees.  The song was catchy.  And I like the tenor hahaha.  If Only from The Little Mermaid was also good.

The show was played by JPAC, Jakarta Performing Arts Community, which started out as a group of friends who just love to perform, loves theater in all form, acting dancing singing.  Broadway ke Java was JPAC wasy to convey that Broadway appeals to everyone, can appeals to everyone.  (Taken from the book program :D)

I think, since it's "only" a community, I don't expect elaborate costume and props.  Their props was only a big screen and 2 large blocks that can be used as a small stage or a bench to seat.  That's it. The music was minus one, I think.  But the singing was real hahaha.  And they CAN sing.  At least to my ear I don't hear any bad tone.  Some mic having a little trouble, or when four people singing together one voice is stronger than the other.  A little bit annoying but I can tolerate it.

And also, I think, since it's "only" a community, the performers were not a professional performers.  So I don't expect great dancers, although I do expect that they at least can carry a tune (they can). 

After every two songs, the have some kind of "intermission" that kinda explain a little about the next number. This little intermission was like a little comedy sketch.  At first I'm a little confuse about this intermission.  Then Lisa explained, that that was a little intermission.  I think it gives the performer to catch a breath or get ready for the next number.  But near the end, the audience was getting bored with the intermissions, because it felt like they don't have anything fresh or not even funny.  Some even groan when the intermissions happening.  I don't know if they really dislike it, or they just teased them.  

Overall...I really enjoy the performance.  I don't really care about the props or the costume, as long as they can sing, then it's ok on my book.  Beside, the number that were performed don't have lots of dancing number, although...I find it quite annoying when there's a dancing number but you don't dance seriously.

But I do wish that before they sing the song, at least they played or perform some act that lead to the story, because not everyone knows the story. And...instead of little intermission, I would rather have someone explained a little about the play or about the performance, make it look like a Tony award hahaha...

On December, they were planning on performing "A Nightmare Before Christmas" for children.  Let see if I can ask Ingrid to see those.

The Assassin's Blade - Sarah J. Maas

The Assassin's Blade is a prequel of The Throne of Glass series, which I just found out will consist of 6 books #facepalmed#. The face palmed is not because I don't like the book, but because I enjoyed it so much that I don't think I have the patient to wait for 6 books. After Harry Potter, I don't think I have the patient anymore hahahaha. 

(Why do I always bring HP to the conversation??)

Anyway, even though The Assassin's Blade is the prequel, the book itself was released in 2014, after the release of The Throne of Glass in 2012 and Crown of Midnight, the second book of The Throne of Glass series, in 2013. So I feel lucky that I haven't read TOG and COM, so I can really enjoy TAB more. 

I don't know what made me like the book. Maybe I like the title, Throne of Glass, or maybe I like the synopsis, about an assassin, a young girl assassin. No matter what, I felt that I like the book (series) instantly. 

And TAB doesn't dissapoint me. TAB is a novella, which I found out that it mean was consist of some short stories. The setting in TAB happened before the story in TOG begin. 

Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord

The Assassin and the Healer

The Assassin and the Desert

The Assassin and the Underworld

The Assassin and the Empire

If you have read TOG then you know what will happen to Celaena and you know that this story won't end in happy ending. Knowing me, it should make me dislike this book, but since the story is so good, I really enjoyed it. 

I like Celaena. I like her ability, her confidence, her pride, even though sometimes I think she's a little too proud, too arrogant, but I think she's all that because she's so sure about her ability. 

I also like her relationship with Sam. Although for me, it's a little too fast.  I mean, at the beginning Celaena was described as a girl who doesn't like Sam. There were some kind of rivalry between them. Even though Sam was a year older than Celaena, she's always better than Sam and she's chosen to be the protege and heir of Arobynn Hamel instead of Sam. When Hamel sent Celaena and Sam on a mission together, Celaena start to see Sam in a different way, a little bit, especially after what happened in the pirate island. 

Story number 2 & 3 found Celaena on an away mission from Hamel, this is where Celaena really start to see and think of Sam in a really different way and it concluded at story number 4, continued to the end. 

Since it's only a backstory so I think I understand why the story between Sam and Celaena was quite fast, and still I enjoy it. 

And about the mission itself, well sometimes I hated when Celaena just do what Hamel told her to do. I wished she do some recon or at least investigate deeply the person she's supposed to kill. But then I rethink again. She's an assassin, I don't think assassins really do much investigation. I mean even if the person she's supposed to kill was a nice person, I think she still has to kill them. But I can't help feel that Celaena should be smarter than just do what she's told. On the other hand, that was she trained to do. 

When I read the last story, even though I kinda know how it will end, I still cried when it happened. I can feel Celaena pain, her despair, and her broken heart. And also when she finally decided to live, not to be broken, I also feel it. 

Now...I don't know if I can begin to read Throne of Glass. Because if I start to read it, then I will read Crown of Midnight and I  don't think I can wait for Heir of Fire which will be released on September. It still 5 more months! Not to mention book 4-6! 

I think, other than Harry Potter books, the other series that I read the minute the book was released was Percy Jackson series and Kane Chronicles. Other than that, either the first three books already released (The Mortal Instruments) or I wait for the whole books to partially complete. 

But overall, I really enjoy this Assassin's Blade. You've got action, fantasy, intrigue, and romance in one book.  And I'm sure Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight will have more of those. 

Back to Cibubur

 

Well...I'm back to Cibubur again.  Back to "teach" the kids English again.

Ada yang beda kali ini.  Bokap sakit, jadi enggak bisa ikut. Tapi ya itu, jadinya baweeelllll banget. Susah deh, biasa apa-apa dikerjakan sendiri, kali ini terpaksa didelegasikan ke gue dan yang lainnya. 

Jam 6 pagi udah berangkat dari rumah, mampir Sanmar dulu untuk jemput Tia, anak dari Pasuruan, dan bawa terpal. Nyampe Buper untung aja baru beberapa yang dateng dan udah ada Kak Pur.  Jadi setelah nuraninya barang, pasang meja,  gue cabut cari makan. Beli makan pagi di McD!!! Terus mampir beli Starbucks hahahaha...demi cap dan juga supaya gue enggak ngantuk. Terus buru-buru balik.

Jadwal mundur 30 menit, karena masih menunggu beberapa anak, tapi mulai juga sih upacara bendera jam setengah 9. Baru abis itu tante Elly dateng, mobilnya mogok bo di tengah tol, tapi jadinya malah pas. 

Kak Pur yang isi acara pertama.  Mendirikan tenda dan merapikan tenda. Abis itu tali-temali.  Seru juga ngeliatin mereka belajar tali-temali. Salah satu kelemahan gue di Pramuka hahaha. 

Berhubung udah jam makan siang, jadi sesudah acara Kak Pur, kita makan siang dulu, baru abis itu conversation sama gue.  Kali ini gue merasa lebih siap dan lebih tau mau ngapain.  Mungkin karena kemaren belum lama ini ke Philippines, dan sebelumnya ngajarin Bahasa Inggris juga buat mereka yang mau ke Jepang. Sampe sempet bingung tadi, karena ternyata yang ke Korea merupakan kegiatan taun lalu dan ke Jepang dan NZ taun ini.  Tadi conversation cuma sebentar, karena gue liat mereka udah pada bisa semua. Dan abis itu sempt ngebahas kegiatan dan situasi di Jambore. 

Sekarang mereka lagi jalan, itung-itung belajar jalan hahaha. 

Di sini panas sekaliiii. Semoga nanti malam adem. 

The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes

 

France, 1916:  Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything—her family, her reputation, and her life—to see her husband again.

Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is—putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test.

I just finished reading this book on my ebook reader.  Since I read it on my ebook, and it doesn't have any brief synopsis about this story, I just read it.  To tell you the truth, if I've known the synopsis, I don't think I'll read this book.  This definitely not my kind of book.

The story divided into two parts.  Part  1 set at a little town in France around 1916, where the town was occupied by the Germans.  It tell about the town, about the people, and about the sisters, Helene and Sophie, both are married and their husbands are away at war.  And it tell about the painting that Sophie's husband made for her.  

Part 2 set in London year 2006, about Liv whose husband has been dead for 4 years and yet she doesn't seem can move on, and she own the painting of Sophie, that bought by her husband, David, as a wedding gift on their honeymoon.  And suddenly, the Lefevre demand that the painting, "The Girl You Left Behind" is returned to the rightfull owner, the Lefevre family.  And through this second part, we learned what happened to Sophie, to Eduard, and the painting.

As I said before, this is not my kind of book I read.  I never liked the story with war as a background. especially when the war is still going on.  I find it too depressing.  Even if in the end they have a happy ending, I tend to avoid any story with war in it.  And the truth, I don't even know why I keep on reading this book.

The pace is slow, maybe because I can almost feel, see, and sense the depressing mood or atmosphere of the story.  Everyday seems like a dread, waiting something bad to happen, and you have to be extra careful.

At the beginning, I admire Sophie, for her courage, her positive attitude, her hope.  She's never give up, and when she found out that her husband has been captured and send to reprisal camp, she'll do anything to keep her husband alive.  And that's when I started to dislike her hahahaha....

There are points where I really think that Sophie was stupid, too naive, too trusting, but I have to admit that she's really...really perseverance.  And sorry to say but I kinda expected to read about Sophie's death before the book was end. 

When I reached the second part, I feel sooo relieved! Oh finally! We arrived at 2006! But what do you know...it still depressed hahaha....Liv still can't move on after 4 years her husband died, she has no money, she mortgaged her house (it was designed by her husband), and when she finally start to move on, she found out that the guy she's been seeing is the guy whose job is looking and returning the stolen painting, and the painting was Liv's.  Suddenly she has to fight for her painting in court that will cost a fortune. 

If you ever read Heist Society (and the sequels) you know that during WW2, lots of painting (and sculpture) were taken by the Nazi, just because its beauty (and they wanted it).  After the war, lots of the painting and the sculpture were returned to the original owner.  Sometimes the process take a lot of time, because first the painting must be found and the owner has to proof that they really are the owner.

The painting "The Girl You Left Behind" was rumored to be stolen while WW1 and since it was stolen, according to the law, the painting must be returned to the rightful owner.  The Lefevre.  Liv, who doesn't want to part with the painting, start to look for the story behind the painting.  She's began to look about Sophie's family.

And in second part, we also begin to know what happened to Sophie, and later about Eduard.

Oh wow...for not my kind of book, I wrote a lot about the book :D

I really don't know why I keep on reading this book.  Maybe because I want to know what will happen to Sophie.  I want to know if her sacrifice will fruitful. And in the end, I want to know what happen to the painting, to Liv.

Thanks God it has a happy end, so I'm quite happy with the result hahaha.

While I read this book, I can't keep myself from comparing the sensation I felt, and one book come to mind.  The Gargoyle.  The story is definitely not the same, but both books are drama, with slow pace, quite lots of descriptive, and have a somber mood. 

I don't know if I'll buy her books, but at least I know I enjoyed reading this book.

 

Frozen

 

Frozen is finally here!

Seneng akhirnya bisa nonton ini film, hari Sabtu kemaren, bareng Ingrid's family.  Kita nonton yang jam setengah 8 malem di Blitz Grand Indonesia, karena di PI adanya yang 3D (Nicole belum betah nonton 3D), dan harga tiket di Studio XXI @75rb...lebih murah di Blitz yang cuma 55rb.

So...Frozen.

Frozen merupakan animasi karya Walt Disney Animation Studio.  Frozen adalah saduran bebas "Snow Queen" karya Hans Christian Andersen.  Sadurannya bebas banget, karena enggak ada mirip-miripnya sama sekali dengan Snow Queen hahahaha.

Seperti cerita karya Disney lainnya, terutama yang animasi dan ada Princesses nya, pasti ada lagu-lagunya.  Kali ini pun juga sama, film dilengkapi dengan lagu-lagu yang ikut ambil bagian dalam cerita. Gue suka banget lagu yang dinyanyiin Olaf "In Summer"...OMG it's so hilarious!! Dan lagunya Kristoff "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" juga lucu, meskipun pendek.  Terakhir, yang mungkin menjadi 'gong' nya adalah "Let It Go", dinyanyikan Elsa.  Tapi setelah gue pikir-pikir, gue lebih demen lagu opening scene-nya hahaha...enggak ada liriknya, cuma semacam hymn, tapi dari pertama kali gue denger gue udah langsung suka. 

Frozen bercerita tentang dua kakak beradik Elsa dan Anna yang merupakan putri Kerajaan Arendelle.  Elsa, sang kakak, ternyata punya kemampuan sihir, bisa mengeluarkan es melalui sihirnya.  Sampai suatu ketika tanpa sengaja Anna terluka karena sihirnya Elsa.  Sejak saat itu, Elsa jadi takut dengan kemampuannya dan atas desakan kedua orangtuanya, mengurung diri.  Pada saat Elsa naik tahta menjadi Ratu, kemampuan Elsa yang selama ini ia sembunyikan tiba-tiba muncul karena emosi.  Elsa semakin panik, semakin tidak terkontrol kemampuan sihirnya, hingga menenggelamkan Kerajaan Arendelle dalam salju, dan Elsa melarikan diri tanpa tahu apa yang telah ia lakukan.  Anna, merasa bersalah, segera mengejar Elsa.  Dalam perjalanan, Anna bertemu dengan Kristoff, Sven, dan Olaf, yang kemudian menemani Anna mencari Elsa.

Kristen Bell mengisi suara sebagai Anna, Idina Menzel sebagai Elsa, dan Jonathan Groff sebagai Kristoff.  Dari ketiganya, gue paling terkesan sama Idina Menzel.  Sejak di Wicked, gue udah terkesima sama dia dan di Frozen, tetep terkesima hahaha. Malah ada beberapa bagian yang gue ngerasa jadi mirip Wicked, terutama pada bagian Elsa dan Anna nyanyi bareng, di saat yang sama, tapi masing-masing dengan kalimatnya sendiri-sendiri.  Jadi mirip sama Les Miserables juga sih. Vokalnya Idina Menzel di lagu ini memang keren, apalagi bagian terakhir.  Gue bener-bener kebayang Wicked.  Suer demen banget gue sama lagunya.

Yang membuat Frozen berbeda dari cerita Disney yang lain adalah...kali ini Elsa dan Anna bisa dibilang tidak membutuhkan pangeran atau para cowok untuk membebaskan mereka dari kesulitan.  Oke, Anna membutuhkan bantuan Kristoff dan Kristoff memiliki peranan yang cukup besar dalam membantu Anna, tapi pada akhirnya Anna sendiri yang menyelesaikan semua permasalahan. Dan adegan terakhir dengan sukses membuat gue berkaca-kaca.  Juga adegan awal waktu Anna masih kecil dan dia ngetuk pintu kamar Elsa sambil ngomong "Do You Want To Build A Snowman" dengan ending yang...sedih...

Sejak Rapunzel (Tangled), Disney Princesses agak berbeda, lebih punya girl power, lebih independen dan lebih berani.  Mungkin sesudah  Frozen, Disney Princesses nya bisa lebih independen lagi hahaha.  Sebenernya ada satu kejutan lagi sih di film ini, yang membuat gue sampe kaget dan agak tidak percaya, karena menurut gue tumben gitu lho Disney buat cerita seperti ini, tapi ya ternyata memang iya hahaha...so better see it for yourself.  Bukan sesuatu yang besar, tapi yah cukup mengejutkan.

Buat gue sendiri, gue lebih seneng Tangled, karena ceritanya lebih romantis dan ada lagu "I See The Light" yang menyentuh banget.  Sedangkan Frozen lebih ke sisterhood dan courage yang diselipin roman.  Tapi biar begitu, gue tetep suka Frozen.  Satu lagi film Disney yang masuk daftar film favorit.

The Naturals - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

OK...setelah berbulan-bulan enggak nulis blog, setelah baca buku ini, gue terdorong untuk nulis review-nya. 

The Naturals, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie. 

What Cassie doesn't realize is that there's more at risk than a few unsolved homicides-especially when she's sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive. 

Yang gue beli di Periplus ini terbitan UK. Yang terbitan Amrik, cover ya agak beda, tolong dilihat di Amazon sendiri ya. Anyway, di buku yang gue beli ini, sinopsis singkatnya ada menulis soal 'profiler', berhubung gue termasuk yang senang dengan film seri Criminal Minds, kata profiler mau enggak mau membuat gue tertarik dengan buku ini, jadilah gue beli.

Akhirnya buku ini selesai juga gue baca dan tebakan gue bener.  Kalau Ally Carter "Heist Society" merupakan versi remaja Ocean 11, "The Naturals" adalah versi remaja Criminal Minds.  Di Amazon ada ditulis perpaduan antara The Mentalist dan Pretty Little Liars. Buat gue sih agak kurang pas. Berhubung gue enggak baca ataupun nonton Pretty Little Liars, jadi memang enggak bisa bikin perbandingan. Soal The Mentalist, well....bisa dimengerti sih kenapa bisa muncul kesimpulan itu, tapi gue tetap pada pilihan gue, Criminal Minds.

So...meet Cassandra Hobbes (Cassie), 17 tahun, yang tiba-tiba direkrut oleh FBI, untuk diasah menjadi Profiler.  Kemampuan Cassie merupakan kemampuan alami, yang kalau tidak diberikan pengarahan yang tepat, kemampuan tersebut lambat laun bisa berkurang.  Sealami apapun sebuah kemampuan, kalau tidak dilatih tentu akan memudar. 

Cassie tidak sendirian, ia kemudian akan bertemu beberapa remaja lain yang kurang lebih sebaya dan sama berbakatnya dengan Cassie sendiri.  Ada Lia, Sloane, Michael, dan Dean.  Masing-masing dengan kemampuannya sendiri-sendiri, kecuali Dean yang sama seperti Cassie adalah seorang Profiler.

Tentu semuanya tidak lengkap tanpa adanya cinta segitiga.  Udah ketebak tentunya antara siapa dengan siapa, dan sayangnya sampe buku pertama ini selesai, cinta segitiga itu masih berbentuk segitiga, sesuatu yang sangat gue sayangkan, karena gue benci cinta segitiga hahahaha...

Terlepas dari itu semua, gue menikmati banget buku ini.  Mungkin karena memang mirip Criminal Minds kali ya. Plus, kita juga jadi sedikit banyak tahu soal victimology, soal MO, soal observasi, dan hal-hal lain.  Kadang jadi mirip Sherlock Holmes, terutama pada saat Cassie atau yang lainnya, menguraikan jalan pikiran mereka.  Jadi cukup banyak yang bisa dipelajari juga di buku ini.

One thing for sure, cant wait for the next book, next year. 

Harry Potter - The 15th Anniversary Edition

I literally opened my mouth when I see this.  Flabbergasted too, I think.  And after that...wishing so hard that I can buy this book.  Oh God!! Please!!!

(anyway, this is not a book review although I did talk about a book, but I still put it under label: book review)

So...I was looking for books from Suzanne Brockmann on the internet, searching for another books from her series that I didn't get yet, but since it's from 1999, it kinda hard to look.  Then, I start to look in bookstore like Periplus, Book Depository, and Open Trolley.  When I get to Open Trolley then my eyes stumble upon something.  

Harry Potter.

Dito and I (or is it Dito and ME? I always get confused), anyway, both of us is still crazy about HP.  And it seems like every book we read, some part of it always back to HP.  It really droves us crazy.  Until now, I still can see HP movie without getting hyperventilating (yeah I know it's hyperbola).  We may never dressed like a Hogwarts students, or visited Pottermore everyday, and I may never remember all the words from the book, but I assure you, both of us is Potterhead :D

Back to the bookstore.

Apparently, this year, commemorating 15 year of HP (I can't believe it's been 15 years already!!), Scholastic was going to release a new cover for HP books.  And I love it!! 

And here they are..

And according to  Book Depository and also Open Trolley, "This special edition of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has a gorgeous new cover illustration by Kazu Kibuishi. Inside is the full text of the original novel, with decorations by Mary GrandPre." And on Open Trolley there's a little bit more information, "and bonus material in the back." 

The last part really got me curious.  What bonus material?

This what Amazon.com has said about this newest edition:

The deluxe edition includes a 32-page insert featuring near scale reproductions of Mary GrandPré's interior art, as well as never-before-seen full-color frontispiece art on special paper. The custom-designed slipcase is foil-stamped and inside is a full cloth case book, blind-stamped on front and back cover, foil stamped on spine. The book includes full-color endpapers with jacket art from the Trade edition and a wraparound jacket featuring exclusive, suitable-for-framing art from Mary GrandPré.

And not just that...after we (or me, or you) bought all of the seven books, you'll have this..

Even the spine of the book will make a wonderful picture.  I think it's Hogwarts.

So...are you going to buy it.  I think I will.  Hahahaha...although don't know when, but this one is really nice to collect. 

I have HP books.  Bahasa Indonesia edition and also English edition.  Bahasa Indonesia edition, since its only  from one publisher so I got the complete set.  Not the English edition.  I also planned to collect the "signature" edition, where on the cover there's HP' signature, but I don't think I complete it yet.  But this one...I think I will.

Dito...what do you think?? :D

Percy Jackson - Sea Of Monster

So...finally Percy is here...and I decided to see it today.  I saw the 3D.  Not so much different I think from the 2D, I just prefer the 3D version.  Dito asked me to write a review about this movie, right after I saw it.  And here it is...

Hm...mau jeleknya dulu atau bagusnya dulu ya? I have a mixed feelings about this movie.  I did enjoy it, but on the other hand...there are some things that I think shouldn't be put on the movie right away.  But, since the first movie already waaaaayyy off from the book, unless they decided to redo book 1, the second movie just continued from the first movie.

Buat yang udah b'll be disappointed.  Dan setelah gue baca wikipedia...jadi tambah lemes hahaha...karena filmnya bener-bener beda dengan yang versi buku.  Secara garis besar, masih sama jalan ceritanya, mengenai Percy yang pergi menuju Sea of Monster untuk mengambil The Golden Fleece, demi menyelamatkan pohon Thalia, yang kemudian masih harus berurusan dengan Luke Castelan dan Kronos. Tapi cuma sebatas itu aja yang sama, karena runtutan kejadiannya sama sekali dibikin beda dengan yang di buku.

Sedangkan buat yang belum pernah baca bukunya, film ini bakal bisa dinikmati dengan santai dan seru.  Actionnya lumayan banyak, beberapa adegan cukup lucu, dan CHB sendiri terlihat lebih...apa ya...dibandingkan film yang pertama CHB lebih homey, lebih berdekatan satu sama lain.  Gue cukup suka dengan adegan pembukanya.  Mungkin lagu latarnya juga membantu hahaha...tapi gue suka sih adegan awalnya.  Dari adegan awal itu bisa dibilang keliatan banget seperti apa sebenernya kepribadian Percy itu.  Dan buat penggemar Percabeth (me included), bakal suka banget, karena Percy dan Annabeth ditampilkan begitu affectionate satu sama lain.
 

Salah satu tokoh yang cukup gue nantikan adalah kehadiran Tyson.  Setidaknya kali ini, penokohannya kurang lebih sesuai dengan di buku.  Gue suka dengan Tyson di sini, meskipun kalo di buku, Tysonnya lebih terlihat "bodoh" sih, sedangkan kalo di film Tyson lebih terlihat "polos".  Tapi satu yang buat gue terlihat adalah betapa Tyson sangat sayang dengan Percy dan Percy pun, meskipun awalnya agak ragu/cemburu, berusaha untuk bisa menerima Tyson apa adanya.

Sedangkan Clarisse, buat gue mengejutkan.  She's pretty! Hahahaha...bukan berarti Clarisse jelek pas di buku, cuma ya enggak sesuai dengan gambaran gue sih.  Untungnya, kesinisan dan kesombongan Clarisse tetep muncul di film.  

And Grover...he's still funny :D Setidaknya adegan pembuka di buku tetep ada meskipun letaknya sudah nyaris di akhir cerita.  

Gue sempet bilang sama Dito, kenapa yah PJ enggak dibikin seperti Tolkien punya buku atau at least seperti Harry Potter lah.  HP juga enggak sama persis dengan di buku, tapi setidaknya jalan ceritanya kurang lebih masih sama.  Usia tokohnya sama, prophecynya juga sama, tokoh-tokoh yang ternyata menjadi double agent juga enggak ditunjukkin di awal film, meskipun buat pembaca kita udah tau siapa yang baik dan siapa yang jahat.  Nonton PJ ini, menurut Dito, seperti nonton PJ versi fanfiction hahaha...

Bisa gak ya...5-10 tahun lagi film PJ dirombak ulang dan bikin ulang dan dibikin seperti bukunya? Hahahaha...ngayal tingkat tinggi!!

Tapi yah...so far sih...gue cukup menikmati lah film ini.  Ada beberapa bagian yang buat gue enggak perlu, ada beberapa bagian yang menyenangkan dan menegangkan, dan beberapa adegan yang gue harapkan tetep ada.

PS: All posters are taken from teaser-trailer.com