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Review: If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late

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If You're Reading This, It's Too LateIf You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What keeps me reading the series is the narator character. It was like I didn’t care at all about the story. I guess I just can’t lie about my age.

And I think that’s the only problem I have with this book. I mean if the author someday decides to write something that has more appeal to adult, I would definitely put it in my shelf. He is creative in way that he is able to come up with various detail in presenting a story. When I read the books (the first two of the series), I feel like each chapter has one extraordinary detail at minimal.

For example, there is a chapter in which he only writes an apology for losing the chapter, a quiz chapter with absurd questions. Then there is a chapter that teaches us a polite way of saying that something is unordinarily different (which is a polite way of saying weird). He also provides a prologue and appendix in similar way. If I were to read this in my younger years, I would probably be drown in full satisfaction.



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Written by Elfira Y S

February 19th, 2011 at 12:50 pm

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I Scream For Ice Cream

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Since things turning this way, the picture above should have been of someone/something I despise. But hate is no good, right? So, allow me to present you one amazing man~~ :P

Go, go, Power Rangers!

Mnyt, ternyata Cuco tampan juga..

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. Psalm 73:28

Written by Elfira Y S

February 18th, 2011 at 10:52 pm

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Note to Self: Book Rating

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1 star

This book is never meant to be for my eyes and mind. I wish I could burn this book. speechless

2 stars

I manage to finish reading it. It’s o-k-a-y.

3 stars

Hey, what’s this? I like it! Hm.. Fascinating!

4 stars

Love it, love it! I’m grateful to have read this book. There are many things to say about this book.

5 stars

amazed How can there be a book like this? This book… I read it more than once in acceptable period of time.

Written by Elfira Y S

February 13th, 2011 at 11:34 am

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Review: The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, #1)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Me likey: the competition. Me no likey: the love seasoning.

Yes, the love thingy is just a bit and the way it is staged is reasonable but I guess it doesn’t suit my taste. I surely hope that it will not come out strongly in the rest of the trilogy or turn out in such different way.

And yes, the competition is scary. A reality show in which the viewers get to see 24 teenagers kill each other? Luckily it’s only fiction. Oh, please stay in fiction for eternity! I notice that I enjoy the book because I always enjoy the story of competition. You know, like watching Running Man with Yoo Jae Suk as MC (this shameless analogy is brought to you by my honest adoration to the humble and witty MC xP).

Anyway, this first book of the series is recommended to be a weekend reading (since reading it in weekdays would risk in sleep deprivation or uneasiness from having to put down the book for a while.

Cheers!

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Written by Elfira Y S

February 11th, 2011 at 10:11 pm

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The Missing Ingredients

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I don’t cook often. I just do it when I feel like it, like today.

The dish is called bala-bala, in Indonesian, or bakwan or ote-ote, depending where you come from. It’s a mix vegetable fritter, usually served as a snack with chili to bite along with.

This is my second try. My first bala-bala didn’t turn out delightful. I recall a very bland taste instead of yummy salty it should have been. It was so bland that I decided to trash it. My mistake was not to taste the seasoning and go straight into frying. It seems that my confidence likes to show up in just the wrong time.

For both times my making bala-bala, I’ve been using the recipe from here. I happily went out to the nearest warung (small stall selling groceries) to find out that 3 of my ingredients were not available, bean sprount (kecambah/tauge?), green onion (bawang daun?) and kemiri. My cooking desire had just picked the wrong date to arrive. I was really lazy today to go to another warung and ended buying only whatever available.

Back in my room in the third floor, I suddenly realized that if I once made an unedible bala-bala with complete ingredients, things could be worse with lacking 3 of them, especially because  green onion and kemiri are for seasoning. Despite the possibility, I still didn’t want to go out again and then decided to take the risk.

About an hour later, I munched gratefully the hot from the pan bala-bala! Yayyy! The reason? Just sprinkle a bit of magic and yum yum, people!

See the mighty MSG up there? We can loose ingredients here and there but once the mighty MSG is here, it’s here to save us all! Heil mighty MSG!

Written by Elfira Y S

February 3rd, 2011 at 7:33 pm

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The Ringtone

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ᄀ

I hope this old train breaks down Then I could take a walk around

And see what there is to see And time is just a melody

괜

All the people in the street walk as fast as their feet can take them

괜ᄎ

I just roll through town And though my windows got a view

괜찬

the frame I’m looking through seems to have no concern for now

. So for now

.

.

I. need. this old train to breakdown

Oh,

please

just

괜찬아

.let me.

..please breakdown..

괜찮아

Breakdown – Jack Johnson

Written by Elfira Y S

January 27th, 2011 at 10:22 pm

Raining Cats And Dogs

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There is no sunny Bali these days. The sky keeps inviting the rain and the wind comes, too.

Tonight coming home late, the head inside my raincoat was remembering. Was it like this last year?

It seems like the rainy days stay longer and in the morning, the sleepy soul gets harder to drag to the bathroom.

Ha. It feels good to call out the past and catch the differences. At least some things are out of the circle.

Written by Elfira Y S

January 25th, 2011 at 11:29 pm

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My Favourite Sound

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Nothingness.

Because I think it would be relaxing. But the thing is that it is also a sound I have never heard before but I hope to hear. Someday. But just not so soon. Because I think it’s quite scary, too.

Yeah, I’m thinking about death.

Maybe I should revise my answer. My favourite sound is almost nothingness, just give a bit of place to tickle my ears.

Hm.


This guy said that passion is not enough. So with the big help from this site, I promise my self to write more in 2011.

Hm.

Written by Elfira Y S

January 24th, 2011 at 10:14 pm

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Review: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

How did I know this book?

From blog-walking. The blog author was reading it for the n-th time and it is one of his favourite. And I thought the title is a thought-provoking for a moment. This book had been adapted to a famous 80’s movie, Blade Runner.

Any pre-reading thought?

Since the book is from 60s and the setting is around 1990, I was wondering what could be the thought/prediction from someone from the past? Even though it is only a fiction but still it came from one’s imagination. I read that the author died in 1982 so he didn’t get a chance to see if any of his came true. But I bet he had a lot of fun trying to create the future.

What kind of mood this book is setting me while reading it?

Gloomy and suffocated. I don’t want to live in the earth described in it. But from the viewer’s seat, it was nice, I just waited for the next action to come.

And after reading?

This book is 102 pages, I have the Oxford University Press version. It’s a short novel, yet it’s packed. There are many characters and I feel like every few pages I was turning could result in some questions. I think this book is a good resource for discussion in a literature class or book club.

Anything else to add?

Yes, I regret that I stopped in the middle of the story and then continue it after a while. I keep thinking it cuts me a big portion of impression. Hm. Maybe next time.

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Written by Elfira Y S

January 24th, 2011 at 9:53 pm

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Review: Kafka on the Shore

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Kafka on the ShoreKafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book leaves me stunned and in hunger for another Murakami’s works. I just have to read other titles to make sure whether the reading has really found a place in my heart or it’s all just a confusion that I will never understand.

The early chapters got me used to various ways of story telling. In fact, I think it lasted till the end. It was also rich in references. Most of them were about world famous literatures which was understandable and made me wonder how many he had read.

At first, I thought Kafka was only a weird name used to capture the readers’ attention. But apparently, it was from the German novelist, Franz Kafka, and it was a Czech word for an animal, an animal which had certain role in the story. I found several of this kind of connecting detail and I love it.

Back to references, it seems like that almost every characters in this book had made one at some point. It might be one of the drawback of this book because no matter what the background was, whether the character’s 15 year old boy or a truck driver, they eventually could get engaged at heavy topics in which the references helped perform a good analogy.

I said almost every characters because I think the only one who didn’t do that was the old man who couldn’t read. So, I think it has a good point because it teaches me to look pass people or even my own background and take reading as a powerful tool.

The other drawback was few pages here and there that I skipped reading. I took them as accessories to the story and to me they were horrible or gross or things I didn’t like to read.

Last, there are holes in my understanding of the story. There are questions like ‘what exactly happens?’ or ‘what’s the point of that event? why does it seem like a changing course?’, questions like that. But when I came to the last page of the book, I felt satisfied with the whole package and didn’t want to have the story changed for a bit.

.. The drowning girl’s fingers Search for the entrance stone, and more. Lifting the hem of her azure dress, She gazes – at Kafka on the shore

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Written by Elfira Y S

December 27th, 2010 at 10:09 am

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