September Wrap-Up // October TBR | 2014

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image source: here. edited by me.

I can't believe it's almost October already, we're nearing the end of the year! A lot of things happened to me this month - including my college graduation which was on the 27th. As for my reading this month, it wasn't as productive as I hoped it would be - because I spent a lot of time playing games ㅋㅋㅋ I read a balanced amount of Indonesian and English books, but the number of books I finished this month is pretty similar with last month. I read a total of 6 books this month, and finally finished my super long review on A Game of Thrones. So here are the books I've read and reviewed this month, non-review posts in September, and a list of books I'm planning to read in October.

September 2014: Book Haul

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image source: here. edited by me.

I didn't read any banned books this month, but we are celebrating Banned Books Week in September. I was never really aware of this issue until I watched Epic Reads' tea time video that briefly mentioned about banned books. I never expected to find out that books like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and even Eleanor & Park are also banned. I don't know much about banned books, but I am happy that people are celebrating their freedom to read during Banned Books Week. This month, I bought some books.... I know I said I will try not to buy any books this month; but I can't because there's just too much temptation. Thankfully some books in this pile I got for free from publishers, which is awesome. But unfortunately, I haven't started reading any of this book yet - so they've got to go to my TBR pile. Anyway, here are the books I got in the month of September.

Movie Adaptation Review: The Maze Runner

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image source: here. edited by me.

MOVIE ADAPTATION of The Maze Runner read my book review on The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1) by James Dashner

“Just follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does.”

I was so excited with the release of The Maze Runner movie adaptation, and want to quickly go see it. I finally got to see it while I celebrated my friend's birthday, and it was so action-packed and full of thrilling excitement. I had mixed feelings though after I finished watching it; I was satisfied but also disappointed a little bit at the same time. But still, I was on the edge of my seat most of the time because the scenes are so gripping - even though I already knew how it would end.  So here's my non-spoiling review on the movie adaptation of The Maze Runner.

Book Review: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

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BOOK review

Started on: 9.September.2014
Finished on: 14.September.2014

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

Title : The Best of Me
Author : Nicholas Sparks

Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
Pages :  292 pages
Year of Publication : 2011

Price : $ 8.95 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
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"As he sat alone in Tuck's garage, he knew he'd been lying to himself in thinking that he'd moved on as well. He hadn't. He always assumed she'd left him behind, but it was confirmed now. Somewhere deep inside, he felt something shift and break loose....
It was one thing, after all, to know his feelings for Amanda hadn't changed; it was another thing entirely to face the future with the certainty that they never would."

Dawson Cole's life was a complete ruin because of his last name. He was born in a family full of criminals, and so people in the small town of Oriental always had a judgment about him. As a child, Dawson was constantly abused physically by his father but at the age of sixteen he can finally stood up against his father. He left home and took refuge in Tuck Hostetler's garage, an old man who lives alone and fixed cars for a living. And Dawson's life changed when Amanda Collier became his lab partner. She lived a completely different life from Dawson; Amanda was born in a rich family and a popular girl at school. When their relationship progressed to something deeper, everyone was against it - especially Amanda's parents. And even though their relationship ended due to various reasons, both Dawson and Amanda never thought they would see each other again.

Books & Beyond Online Bookstore Review

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http://booksbeyond.co.id/

Setelah me-review tiga online bookstore (Periplus, Opentrolley, dan Book Depository), kali ini aku ingin me-review online bookstore yang baru saja aku coba (karena memang sedang gatal pengen beli buku). Books & Beyond tidak hanya melayani pembelanjaan secara online, tetapi juga memiliki store di berbagai daerah di Indonesia (seperti Periplus) - namun sayangnya Books & Beyond masih belum ada di Surabaya. Oleh karena itu aku memutuskan untuk mencoba berbelanja secara online. Books & Beyond ini dulunya dikenal sebagai Times Bookstore - dan mengubah namanya pada tahun 2012. Saat ini, Books & Beyond sudah memiliki 36 stores di Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Bali, dan beberapa tempat lainnya. Bagi pecinta buku impor/bahasa Inggris, Books & Beyond bisa menjadi alternatif tempat berbelanja :) Berikut adalah review singkatku dari pengalaman belanja pertama di Books & Beyond.

20 (Bookish/Random) Facts About Me

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image source: here. edited by me.

I was really aware of this challenge kind of thing, especially on Instagram - because so many people did it already. And I was recently tagged by Elbert Reyner @ A Cinephile's Diary, who's my university classmate and he also writes amazing movie reviews, to do this challenge as well. So although this post might not be book related (although I will mention many bookish facts about myself), I guess this is quite a refreshing change from all the book reviews that I write. So here are 20 Facts About Me that you might or might not know :))

3rd Anniversary Clearance Sale 19 September - 5 Oktober 2014

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My books are in desperate need for new homes.

Dalam rangka merayakan 3rd Anniversary Bookie-Looker yang sudah lewat (tanggal 15 September), kali ini aku mengadakan sesuatu yang sedikit berbeda. Dua tahun sebelumnya, aku mengadakan giveaway untuk merayakan anniversary blog ini. Tetapi karena tahun ini pengeluaranku cukup banyak, aku memutuskan untuk mengadakan Clearance Sale - yaitu menjual buku dari koleksi pribadiku dengan harga yang murah :)) Clearance Sale ini akan diadakan hanya sampai tanggal 5 Oktober 2014; lewat dari tanggal itu, buku-buku yang tidak terjual akan aku sumbangkan ke tempat yang membutuhkan :)) Berikut adalah list buku-bukunya beserta harga & foto (gambar ada cukup banyak, jadi mohon bersabar kalau loading-nya agak lama) ;)

Book Review: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

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BOOK review

Started on: 6.September.2014
Finished on: 8.September.2014

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Title : Where Things Come Back
Author : John Corey Whaley

Publisher : Atheneum
Pages : 228 pages
Year of Publication : 2012

Price : $ 10.28 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 3.5/5
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"That's what happened in Lily. People dreamed. People left. And they all came back. It was like Arkansas's version of a black hole; nothing could escape it.... So, the fact that Gabriel believed our town needed that bird to exist made absolute sense to me, whether I liked it or not. They needed something to be hopeful about."

Cullen Witter lives in Lily, Arkansas, where not a lot of things happened and everything seems to be dull. Until a man named John Barling thinks that he saw a rare woodpecker species in Lily - which was supposed to be extinct in the 1940s. The news definitely shook the whole town, and in a short time everyone was focused on the Lazarus Woodpecker. Even though everyone was excited with the fact that their small town finally had something exciting going on, Cullen doesn't feel the same way. Because at the same time, his younger brother, Gabriel Witter, suddenly went missing.

Book Review: Simple Thinking About Blood Type 2 by Park Dong Sun

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BOOK review

Started on: 5.September.2014
Finished on: 5.September.2014

Simple Thinking About Blood Type 2 by Park Dong Sun

Judul Buku : Simple Thinking About Blood Type 2

Penulis : Park Dong Sun

Penerbit : Penerbit Haru

Tebal : 320 Halaman
Tahun Terbit: 2014

Harga: Rp 53,550 (http://www.pengenbuku.net/)

Rating: 3/5
*images are originally scanned by me.
Review Simple Thinking About Blood Type by Park Dong Sun
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Simple Thinking About Blood Type 2 adalah kelanjutan komik pertamanya yang mengilustrasikan berbagai macam sifat setiap golongan darah. Jika buku pertamanya mengupas setiap golongan darah satu-persatu, di buku kedua ini komikusnya memposisikan setiap golongan darah dalam situasi-situasi tertentu - dan menggambarkan bagaimana reaksi masing-masing golongan darah. Buku kedua ini terdiri atas 4 bagian; Bagian 1: Taman Kanak-Kanak, Bagian 2: Sekolah, Bagian 3: Kantor, dan Bagian 4: Kehidupan Pribadi. Masing-masing bagian terdiri atas berbagai macam skenario yang menampilkan reaksi serta tingkah laku setiap golongan darah.

Book Review: The Chronicles of Audy: 21 by Orizuka

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BOOK review

Started on: 3.September.2014
Finished on: 4.September.2014

The Chronicles of Audy: 21 by Orizuka

Judul Buku : The Chronicles of Audy: 21

Penulis : Orizuka

Penerbit : Penerbit Haru

Tebal : 308 Halaman
Tahun Terbit: 2014

Harga: Rp 48,450 (http://www.pengenbuku.net/)

Rating: 5/5
*Bagi yang belum membaca buku pertamanya, review ini mungkin mengandung spoiler. 
Review The Chronicles of Audy: 4R by Orizuka
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"Aku sendiri tidak mengacuhkannya dan sudah kembali terduduk lemas. Masalah ini bisa membuatku kehilangan segalanya. Mimpiku, gelarku, masa depanku.... Lebih dari apa pun, aku tidak ingin kehilangan ikatanku dengan keluarga ini."

Walaupun sempat berhenti, Audy akhirnya kembali tinggal di rumah 4R sebagai 'bagian dari keluarga' bersama dengan 4 bersaudara: Regan, Romeo, Rex, dan Rafael. Akan tetapi, meskipun Audy sempat merasa terharu karena telah dianggap sebagai bagian dari keluarga 4R, kenyataannya tidak banyak yang berubah; Regan yang baik hati memang telah menganggapnya seperti adik sendiri, tetapi Romeo masih tetap berkutat dengan komputernya, Rex masih bersikap kaku, dan Audy sangat kewalahan karena harus mengajarkan sopan santun pada Rafael yang masih kecil. Hidupnya setelah kembali ke rumah 4R membuatnya bertanya-tanya apa arti kata menjadi 'bagian dari keluarga'. Dan permasalahan yang kini harus dihadapi oleh Audy pun jauh lebih rumit dibanding sebelumnya.

Book Review: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin

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BOOK review

Started on: 26.July.2014
Finished on: 27.August.2014

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin

Title : A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
Author : George R.R. Martin

Publisher : Bantam Books
Pages :  835 pages / 904 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication : 2011

Price : $ 13.84 (www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

The story begins in Winterfell, when Lord Eddard Stark (Ned) discovered the fact that King Robert Baratheon's Hand, Jon Arryn, just died. Catelyn Stark, Ned's wife, received a letter from her sister Lysa Arryn regarding the death of her husband. In the letter, she believed that Queen Cersei Lannister and her family poisoned Jon Arryn to death. And so even though Ned was reluctant to accept Robert's offer to become the King's Hand, he finally agreed to go with Robert to King's Landing - hoping to uncover the fact of Jon Arryn's death. However, soon enough Ned was tangled in the game of thrones, played by the high lords of the Seven Kingdoms.

Book Review: Perfect Mess by Rina Suryakusuma

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BOOK review

Started on: 29.August.2014
Finished on: 3.September.2014

Perfect Mess by Rina Suryakusuma

Judul Buku : Perfect Mess

Penulis : Rina Suryakusuma

Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Tebal : 240 Halaman
Tahun Terbit: 2014

Harga: Rp 44,200 (http://www.pengenbuku.net/)

Rating: 4/5
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"Aku menatap percakapan kami dengan hati nyeri. Ironis. Dulu kami menolaknya, sekarang kami mengharapkannya. Dulu kami berkonsultasi ke dokter bagaimana cara membunuh bayi itu. Sekarang kami bersusah payah agar anak itu datang kembali dalam rahimku."

Kehidupan seorang remaja bernama Karenina Sukmadi tiba-tiba hancur akibat kesalahannya untuk satu malam. Dalam keadaan mabuk, ia berhubungan dengan seorang lelaki yang menyebabkan ia hamil. Karenina berusaha keras mencari jalan keluar untuk permasalahan tersebut, dan cara yang termudah adalah untuk melakukan aborsi. Namun seperti takdir, Karenina menemukan sebuah blog milik Sabina Dinata, yang menceritakan tentang pengalamannya melakukan aborsi dan penyesalannya yang teramat besar. Cerita yang ditulis oleh Sabina itulah yang berhasil membuat Karenina berubah pikiran.