Book Review: Tentang Kamu by Tere Liye

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BOOK review

Started on: 10 September 2022
Finished on: 21 September 2022

 

Tentang Kamu by Tere Liye

 

Title: Tentang Kamu

Author: Tere Liye
Publisher: Penerbit Sabakgrip

Pages: 503 pages
Year of Publication: 2016
Price: Rp 80,100 (https://www.gramedia.com/)

Rating: 4/5

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"Apakah sabar memiliki batasan? Aku tahu jawabannya sekarang. Ketika kebencian, dendam kesumat sebesar apapun akan luruh oleh rasa sabar... Selemah apapun fisik seseorang, semiskin apapun dia, sekali di hatinya punya rasa sabar, dunia tidak bisa menyakitinya. Tidak bisa."

Zaman Zulkarnean adalah salah satu pengacara yang bekerja di firma hukum Thompson & Co. yang terletak di London. Secara tiba-tiba, Zaman ditugaskan untuk menyelesaikan harta warisan yang bernilai sangat besar milik seorang wanita bernama Sri Ningsih yang baru saja meninggal di Paris. Tanpa adanya surat wasiat yang sah, harta tersebut bisa menimbulkan perdebatan yang panjang dengan pengadilan untuk menyelesaikan kasusnya. Oleh karena itulah, bermodalkan buku diary milik Sri Ningsih, Zaman menelusuri perjalanan hidup wanita tersebut dari masa kecilnya di sebuah pulau terpencil di Indonesia hingga masa akhir kehidupannya di kota Paris.

"Aku tidak pernah melihat wanita sekokoh Sri, yang bisa memeluk kejadian semenyakitkan apapun. Tidak membenci, tidak mendendam... Hanya dia."

Book Review: The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word by Greg Gilbert

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BOOK review

Started on: 1 September 2022
Finished on: 9 September 2022

 

The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word by Greg Gilbert

 

Title: The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word

Author: Greg Gilbert

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 176 pages
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 265,873 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 4/5

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

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"A trek. That's exactly what it is when you decide to read the entire Bible. After all, it's sixty-six different books with thirty-some different authors, written over the course of a millennium and a half. And it's long—almost 1,200 chapters and three-quarters of a million words, meaning that if you decided to read the entire thing aloud, all at once, it would take you just under three days to do it—about seventy hours and forty minutes if you're an average-speed reader."

Each year, many Christians set out to read through the Bible using one of many reading plans, only to eventually abandon these plans after the detailed narratives, seemingly antiquated laws, and confusing prophecies leave them feeling lost. How can we make sense of a book written thousands of years ago? This book serves as a guide for readers embarking on a journey through Scripture. Written in an easy, conversational style, Greg Gilbert examines major themes woven throughout the Bible and shows readers how to understand its various genres, illustrating how the Bible is meant to be understood as one sweeping story. This book hopes to help both new and seasoned Christians to feel better equipped to read the Bible from beginning to end.

Book Review: Perempuan yang Menangis Kepada Bulan Hitam by Dian Purnomo

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BOOK review

Started on: 26 August 2022
Finished on: 31 August 2022

 

Perempuan yang Menangis Kepada Bulan Hitam by Dian Purnomo

 

Title: Perempuan yang Menangis Kepada Bulan Hitam

Author: Dian Purnomo
Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Pages: 319 pages
Year of Publication: 2020
Price: Rp 69,750 (https://www.gramedia.com/)

Rating: 4/5

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"Magi tak tahu dosa apa yang dimilikinya sampai harus menjalani semua ini. Namun, dia tidak mau menyerah sebelum berjuang hingga titik darah penghabisan."

Di tengah perjalanannya melakukan pekerjaan, Magi Diela tiba-tiba diculik oleh sekelempok orang suruhan Leba Ali yang ingin mengawininya. Magi memiliki impian yang besar untuk membangun Sumba, namun sejak kejadian penangkapan secara paksa itu, kini ia harus berjuang melawan orangtuanya, seisi kampung, dan bahkan melawan adat yang merenggut kemerdekaannya sebagai seorang perempuan. Ketika budaya memenjarakan hati Magi, ia harus mengambil keputusan yang sulit: pergi meninggalkan orangtua dan tanah kelahirannya, menyerahkan diri kepada si mata keranjang, atau mencurangi kematiannya sendiri.

Book Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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BOOK review

Started on: 7 August 2022
Finished on: 25 August 2022

 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

 

Title: Pachinko

Author: Min Jin Lee
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 490 pages / 490 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2017
Price: Rp 161,500 (Link: Periplus)

 

Rating: 4.5/5

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"For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life—but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves." 

It was in the early 1900s in Korea when Sunja was born. At the age of sixteen, she met a wealthy fish broker named Koh Hansu who's attracted to her. After spending time together, Sunja's unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame her family. Feeling betrayed by Hansu, Sunja finds unexpected salvation when a young minister named Baek Isak offers to marry her and bring her to Japan to start a new life. And so begins the story of many different people in exile from a homeland they never knew and got caught in the arc of history. In Japan, Sunja's family had to endure harsh discrimination, catastrophes, and poverty—yet they also encounter great joy as they pursue their passions and rise to meet the challenges presented to them. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, they are bound together by deep roots as their family faces questions of faith, family, and identity.

"Man, life's going to keep pushing you around, but you have to keep playing."

8 Years With My Kindle

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I have been planning this post since February 2022, exactly 8 years after I first purchased my Kindle Paperwhite 2 back in 2014. I finally got the chance to write it now because I'm done catching up on my book reviews 😂. As of today, I have bought a new Kindle Paperwhite (review for that one will be coming soon in a separate post) and have sold my 8-year-old one second-hand 🥲. It was actually quite difficult to let the old one go because it's been with me for so long and I feel quite attached to it. However, I realize that I have no need for 2 Kindles and hopefully the person who purchased my old Kindle will get to love it as much as I did. I've shared my Kindle experience in 2015, so let's consider this an updated version of that post 7 years later 😉.

Book Review: Cinderella Addiction (哀愁しんでれら もう一人のシンデレラ) by Akiyoshi Rikako

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BOOK review

Started on: 3 August 2022
Finished on: 4 August 2022

 

Cinderella Addiction (哀愁しんでれら もう一人のシンデレラ) by Akiyoshi Rikako

 

Title: Cinderella Addiction (哀愁しんでれら もう一人のシンデレラ)

Author: Akiyoshi Rikako
Publisher: Penerbit Haru

Pages: 264 pages
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 99,500 (Owl Bookstore)

Rating: 3.5/5

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"Inilah, kehidupanku.

Mengerjakan pekerjaan rumah demi kakek, ayah, dan adik. Bekerja di luar rumah juga. Sampai tubuhnya habis.

Pasti seperti inilah yang juga dirasakan Cinderella."

Sakura merasa hidupnya seperti Cinderella, seorang gadis yang hidup merana, sengsara, dan diperlakukan tidak adil oleh banyak orang. Namun kisah Cinderella berubah drastis berkat kemunculan seorang pangeran yang kaya dan tampan. Sakura mendambakan kehidupan itu dan menantikan saat ketika ia tidak perlu mengkhawatirkan soal uang, tidak perlu lagi bekerja keras, dan tidak harus memikirkan orang lain. Angan-angan itu terasa jauh ketika Sakura mengalami banyak musibah bertubi-tubi, membuatnya hampir menyerah dan merasa amat putus asa. Di saat itulah, Izumisawa Kota muncul dalam kehidupannya, membangkitkan kembali harapan Sakura untuk bisa memiliki hidup yang bahagia selamanya seperti Cinderella.