TV Series & Korean Dramas Recap Part IV

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I can't believe it's been more than a year since my last recap 🫠. As we've been slowly returning to our usual life routine these days, I didn't have much time to watch as many TV series/Korean dramas this year. It was also quite hard to spare time to write this recap because I was busy catching up on my book reviews 🤣. Now that I'm all caught up with my book reviews, I decided to work on this post as a change of pace—it's been a while since I last wrote a non-review post on this blog. In today's post, I will share my thoughts and opinion on 12 TV shows I've watched from March 2022 until March 2023. Hopefully, it won't end up being too long to read 😆.

Book Review: The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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BOOK review

Started on: 27 March 2023
Finished on: 12 April 2023

 

The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

Title: The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Pages: 374 pages / 385 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2020
Price: Rp 178,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 3/5

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"I don't think I'm turning anything into a riddle. I don't think I have to. You are a riddle, a puzzle, a game—my grandfather's last."

Avery Grambs plans to survive high school, win a scholarship, and set herself up for a better future. However, Avery's life changes instantly when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her virtually his entire fortune. The problem is Avery has no idea why—or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into the Hawthorne House filled with secret passages and rooms full of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately, the Hawthorne House is occupied by the family members that Tobias Hawthorne dispossessed; including the four Hawthorne grandsons, brilliant boys who grew up with the very expectation that one day they would inherit billions. Grayson, the heir-apparent, is convinced that Avery is a con-woman and he's determined to take her down. While his younger brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's twisted riddle and a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself to survive.

"Nothing about my life was normal anymore."

Book Review: Mulai Mengerti by Edward Suhadi

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BOOK review

Started on: 21 March 2023
Finished on: 22 March 2023

 

Mulai Mengerti by Edward Suhadi

 

Title: Mulai Mengerti

Author: Edward Suhadi
Publisher: Insight Unlimited

Pages: 244 pages
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 120,000 (https://insight-unlimited.com/)

Rating: 5/5

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"Yang pasti, saya tidak lebih bijaksana dari kebanyakan orang, dan yang pasti, saya tidak mengerti segala hal dan segala arti."

Mulai Mengerti adalah kumpulan tulisan Edward Suhadi yang lahir dari kegelisahan dan pengamatannya sehari-hari, bagaimana seseorang dipenjara atau dimerdekakan sesuai isi kepalanya. Ide utama buku ini satu, yaitu hidup, walau sepertinya acak, tidak punya aturan, dan tidak bisa dipecahkan, sebetulnya tidak demikian. Edward Suhadi membagikan pemikirannya melalui tulisan-tulisan pendek dengan harapan untuk membuat pembaca menyadari bahwa hidup sebenarnya bisa lebih mudah.

"Harapan saya untuk buku ini, dan kenapa saya akan terus menulis, ya, cuma satu itu.

Yaitu semoga para pembacanya sadar bahwa ternyata insan-insan, perasaan-perasaan, dan kejadian-kejadian yang berderet berbaris membentuk kubus yang namanya kehidupan, bisa dipelajari.

Sehingga di dalam kehidupan, kita bisa bukan hanya tubruk sana tubruk sini, coba putar sana coba putar sini, tapi kita bisa, mulai mengerti."

Book Review: Lebih Senyap dari Bisikan by Andina Dwifatma

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BOOK review

Started on: 12 March 2023
Finished on: 13 March 2023

 

Lebih Senyap dari Bisikan by Andina Dwifatma

 

Title: Lebih Senyap dari Bisikan

Author: Andina Dwifatma
Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Pages: 155 pages
Year of Publication: 2021
Price: Rp 54,000 (https://www.gramedia.com/)

Rating: 3/5

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"Barangkali inilah mengapa aku merasa perjuangan hamil sebagai saat-saat paling sepi dalam hidupku. Rasanya aku sendirian mengejar sesuatu yang tidak pasti."

Setelah menikah selama delapan tahun, Amara dan Baron tidak kunjung dikaruniai seorang anak, yang membuat mereka senantiasa dikepung dengan pertanyaan mengapa mereka belum memiliki momongan. Selama tiga tahun terakhir, usaha keduanya untuk mempunyai bayi menjadi begitu ekstrem. Namun, saat Amara akhirnya dinyatakan positif hamil, persoalan dalam pernikahan mereka tidak usai begitu saja. Konflik demi konflik perlahan hadir di antara keduanya, membuat pernikahan mereka diuji sedemikian rupa sejak kehadiran anak yang selama ini mereka dambakan.

 

Book Review: Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller

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BOOK review

Started on: 19 February 2023
Finished on: 10 March 2023

Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller

Title: Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better

Author: Siobhan Miller

Publisher: Piatkus

Pages: 272 pages

Year of Publication: 2019
Price: Rp 85,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4/5

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"Giving birth—however you choose to do it—is truly the most amazing thing you will experience in your life, and meeting your precious baby for the first time is one of life's most unforgettable moments."

Siobhan Miller, an expert hypnobirthing teacher and founder of The Positive Birth Company, has made it her mission to change the way women around the world approach and experience birth. Through her teaching she seeks to educate and empower women so they can enjoy amazing and positive birth experiences, however they choose to bring their babies into the world. In this book, Siobhan Miller debunks common myths about hypnobirthing and explains how it can make any type of birth a better experience. Hypnobirthing is essentially a form of antenatal education, an approach to birth that is both evidence-based and logical. It teaches you how your body works when in labour and how various relaxation techniques ensures you are working with your body, making birth more efficient and comfortable. Siobhan Miller's advice and guidance will change your mindset and enable you to feel relaxed, capable, and excited about giving birth.

"You look forward to the amazing and empowering experience that is giving birth, trusting that you, your body and your baby know exactly what to do."

Book Review: True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

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BOOK review

Started on: 8 February 2023
Finished on: 18 February 2023

 

True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

 

Title: True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Author: Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 176 pages
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: Rp 331,299 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway

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"This isn't the way my life was supposed to go! we cry. To which Solomon tells us with a shake of his head: this is exactly the way life goes. It's not our life that's gone off the rails but our expectations. We are the ones who got it wrong, who mistakenly thought the "bus of life" was headed on a garden tour instead of into a war zone."

The book of Ecclesiastes offers a guide for life that doesn't always turn out the way we expect. In this book, the authors lay out 14 lessons that can be learned from Ecclesiastes, helping readers see what it looks like to fear and obey God in the day-to-day. It is full of practical advice and encouragement applicable in every season of life. By examining the way life truly is, we can find the wisdom needed to endure life's hardships and enjoy life's pleasures to the fullest.

"It has been said," writes J.I. Packer, "that the Psalms teach us how to worship; Proverbs, how to behave; Job, how to suffer; Song of Solomon, how to love; and Ecclesiastes, how to live."