Today is December 31st of 2020. Well, I never thought that 2020 will over in just about 12 hours. To be fair, we should agree that 2020 is a very tough year for everyone in the world. The pandemic has changed everything in life. Then, so many sad and depressing event has happened throughout this year.

In this post, I would like to try to recap what happened in my life in 2020. Of course, it won't be full of sunshine. There will be a lot of downfall state in my life. But, to write it all down could make my heart feel easier, right? So, let's begin.

Source: Google, edited by me

January

My highlight in January was when I finally got a chance to spend almost one month at home. After I got my job in early December 2019--and the fact that I could do my job at home, I decided to go home. I spent most of my time working and meeting some of my friends that month. To be honest, there is not much going on this month, but I was very grateful because I could be at home for almost a month.

February

After I got back to Jakarta, the day after it, me and my best friend, Nurul and Supri, went to Semarang to attend our senior's wedding, Kak Rina. Well, actually we got her wedding invitation from around November 2019. So, we decided, no matter what happened, we should come. 

Because we only had a very short time to stay at Semarang, we couldn't explore much. I am sad when remembering this. But after all, it felt so good that we can escape for a while.

Ps. This is my last trip before the pandemic. So, I felt very grateful.

March

Have you ever imagined that we will get experienced life on pandemics? To be honest, I never imagined that. I just thought that pandemic would only happen in movies or novels.. but, seems like my assumption was wrong. For as long as I remember, the first cases of COVID-19 in Indonesia were found in March. After that, everyone had panicked. They did a lot of panic buying and most of the government try to implement large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). 

Starting from this month, I know that this pandemic won't be over immediately. I have ready to not come back home at Eid of Mubarak. I have prepared myself.

Ps. I finally fell for BTS' rabbit hole and I am very grateful.

April

It's my birthday month. I am officially 24 in 2020. I spent my time working and exploring a lot of things. Anyway, since I could do my work remotely, the work-from-home policy didn't affect me as I had to do WFH from the very start.

But, I have to remember that in April, I reluctantly go anywhere. I always decline to go out because I was very scared of this pandemic situation. I bought most of my necessities online. I only go out of my rent room to buy some food supplies at the Supermarket. It felt so scary, tho.

Anyway, for my birthday, I was very flattered because he remembers it. But, I never know that it will be our last message before he was completely gone without saying anything.

May

I think May is my BTS' month since I put a lot of my energy to learn about BTS. I learned about their journey and struggle. It made me realize that BTS was not your typical boy band. Most of the songs from BTS has helped me to love myself more.

Well, It would be a lie if I didn't say that my heart shattered because he was gone from my chat. I still can cry if I remember everything that happened in the past few years. Then, when I learned BTS' discography, I could get a lot of new perspectives. Those perspectives at the end of the day helped me to be more grateful and rise up from a ton of negative thoughts that I had.

I was very happy this month because I finally can divert my attention from him to BTS. I no longer felt that sad. I tried to be more positive and leave my thought about him behind.

Ps. I made it to join 30 days BTS' song challenge on my Telegram. You could see how much happy I am, right?

June

It's BTS FESTA's month. Because I have drowned in the BTS' rabbit hole, I was fully aware of every event that BTS held. This was my first FESTA experience and I am really excited. The final event for BTS Festa was Bang Bang Con the Live that broadcasted through Weverse. I and my fake big sis decided to buy the ticket and were very excited because this was the first online concert held by BTS and Big Hit. 

When I had ready to watch the concert, I realized that there is a notification on my hidden chat. I almost cursed that time because I never expect that he will come back after two months has passed. At that time, I realized that I still want him even though I knew that I am just another person in his life. 

Aside from that, I found that TXT--BTS' little brother is also interesting. So, I decided to follow their journey too.

July

My working life is still the same. So, there is not much happening. 

Then, my fangirling life has gone deeper. I decided to explore the Bangtan Universe because it is so damn interesting. It is very exciting to learn about the connection between the story, music video, and all in BU. It's full of mystery and theory. Finally, I tried to read the notes from the album and the book. It's fascinating to me.

Another highlight from this month was finally Indihome open their restrictions for Netflix. Finally, I can watch Netflix from the original apps and not use VPN. Because of that, I started binge-watching K-drama, starting from Sky Castle until Itaewon Class. Then, I tried to start my journey to learn Korean. Well, at least I can read and write hangul for now.

August

Life is full of Dynamite! 

It's BTS' comeback month. Dynamite was finally released and has topped most of the charts in the world. It's BTS' first number 1 on Billboard Hot 100. I am very proud of them, tho. Then, I took an interest to play BTS World. At first, I didn't understand how to play the game, but after trying it here and there, finally, I know how to manage that game. 

Since I want to make a little contribution to BTS' achievement, I included Dynamite to my playlist and play it all day. It was exciting to wait for the Billboard Hot 100 announcement and get that ARMY experience.

September

How do I start to talk about this month? 

August and September are In the Soop's time. I enjoy watching these BTS' new shows. I can push all of my worries aside and enjoy the show.

Then, even though there are a lot of ups and down in my delusional life, I still can manage to send my birthday wishes to him. In some way, I felt like a fool for still being nice to him after a lot of things that happened. But, maybe, I just can't help.

One thing that I never expect could happen is when he literally buy me GoFood. Well, to be honest, I thought he would decline and didn't bother about my wish. So, I was very surprised because he really did that. Do I happy? Of course, I am. 

After that, I don't know how it starts... but our conversation is going to be deeper and deeper since then.

October

Did I enjoy my working life? Of course, I am. It's very flexible and not that much stress. One day, my former supervisor told me about a new vacancy at one of the NGOs. That moment, I just give it a try. I never set any expectations and was very surprised that I got the interview invitation after passing the written test. I tried my best and just can hope for the result.

My fangirling life still happening. Map of the Soul ON:E concert is one of my agendas in October. It was my first experience at BTS' official concert. Even though it was an online concert, it was still amazing.

About my delusional life, finally, I know the truth from him. Sadly, even though I've been very blunt, he still didn't get my point.

November

The highlight from this month was, I finally got a new job, that actually that I didn't plan at all. Therefore, I decided to come back home. Well, this was my first trip since the outbreak. I was anxious back then but fortunately, nothing happened.  

I spent 10 days at home happily. I met my friend, cooked with my sister, and etc. I feel very recharged after all of my up and down this year.

Well, this month, I and he didn't really talk that much--because he was very busy like usual and never look me as his priority. But, I never know that at the end of November, I will have a very serious talk with him.

It only started with my opinion regarding smoking. Then, it leads up to so many things. I felt very moved because finally, he is open to me--literally open. Some of his confessions are not really surprising for me because I have expected that. But, it would be a lie if some of them didn't make me a little bit shocked. 

December

I am starting my new job. So many things that I should learn and it makes me excited. In some way, I know that I am still lacking, but my supervisor and all of my colleagues at the office really help me out. I hope, I can give a positive contribution when I am taking this role.

About him again, it felt so surreal that he is there almost every day in December. I still didn't know about how he looked at me since our serious conversation in November. But, I've been very blunt to him and he noticed it. I don't know what the future will hold for me and him. I couldn't set my expectations that high because I know it will hurt so much if I did that. Therefore, I just want to embrace this moment with him until it last.

Anyway, I don't know what's happening, but please, be safe and healthy. I just can hope there is no something bad happened to you. I would pray for you, tho. Well, you haven't promised me anything, but let's meet next year... and please keep another promise that you've ever said.

Well, that's a wrap for 2020. I don't know what will happen in 2021, but I would like to do my best for my job and life. I just wanna be happier as much as I can.

Goodbye, 2020! Thanks for making me learn a lot throughout this year.

Sincerely

Ra

2020.12.31 12.53 PM

Malam Terakhir

"Matanya menangis, tapi tidak ada air matinya. Itu pasti karena dia sudah kehabisan air mata, karena dia sudah lelah menangis." -- Rain.

Sumber: Goodreads.com

Judul: Malam Terakhir
Penulis: Leila S. Chudori
Tahun terbit: Februari 2018 untuk cetakan kelima
Tebal buku: 119 halaman
Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Jujur, saya tidak ingat kapan terakhir kali saya membaca cerita serius seperti Leila S. Chudori. Bukannya saya sudah kehilangan rasa akan kisah-kisah yang demikian. Akan tetapi, saya memang sedang tidak ingin membaca kisah yang terlalu gelap dan menampar realitas.

Sebetulnya, saya mendapatkan buku ini dari supervisor saya sebelumnya. Sebagai orang-orang yang memiliki jiwa sosial tinggi, tentu kisah-kisah seperti Malam Terakhir terasa begitu cocok untuk dibagikan. Maka dari itu, ketika saya mendapat buku ini, saya merasa excited. Kapan lagi saya bisa membaca kisah lain dari Leila S. Chudori.

Saya dan kisah realitas sosial

Pada dasarnya, kisah-kisah yang diceritakan oleh Leila S. Chudori menjadi salah satu jenis tulisan yang saya sukai. Saya tahu bahwa banyak sekali realitas sosial yang tak seindah khayalan. Banyak hal-hal tabu yang sengaja tidak dibicarakan dan menjadi stigma di masyarakat. Maka dari itu, saya menyukai gaya bercrita dari Leila.

Malam Terakhir merupakan kumpulan cerpen pertama dari Leila yang saya baca. Kalau saya boleh jujur, saya lebih suka cerita panjang dari Leila. Pulang dan Laut Bercerita menjadi kisah-kisah favorit saya. Akan tetapi, saya akui apa yang dikatakan oleh Leila itu benar. Menuliskan cerita pendek tentu akan jauh lebih sulit untuk dilakukan. Terdapat aturan-aturan tak kasat mata yang hadir. Dengan demikian, menuliskan sejumlah cerita pendek dan kemudian membukukannya pasti tidaklah mudah.

Kisah-kisah yang diceritakan oleh Leila ini kalau boleh saya bilang merupakan jenis kisah yang frontal dan vokal, apalagi mengenai berbagai realitas sosial yang ada. Mulai dari identitas gender, eksplorasi diri, agama, seksualitas, hingga keberadaan dari minoritas.

Kisah favorit saya

Sumber: wallpaperflare, disunting oleh saya.

Salah satu kisah favorit saya adalah Air Suci Sita. Saya mengagumi cara Leila yang menganologikan kisah dari tokoh-tokohnya dengan kisah Rama, Shinta, dan Rahwana secara tersirat. Menurut saya, banyak hal yang ditekankan dalam kisah itu yang nyata adanya. Terkadang, berbagai kisah yang ada, bahkan dalam dunia wewayangan, masih banyak upaya mendiskreditkan keberadaan perempuan. Maka dari itu, kisah ini menjadi begitu menarik.

Lalu, ada juga kisah Untuk Bapak yang cukup menyentuh. Hubungan antara anak dan orang tua yang begitu syahdu selalu bisa membuat saya merasa hangat. Terakhir, Sepasang Mata Mentapa Rain juga menunjukkan bahwa di balik kepolosan anak-anak, tersimpan agensi yang begitu kuat. Anak-anak dengan caranya sendiri mampu menunjukkan bahwa mereka mengerti dan peduli akan sekitar.

Oh, iya, rasanya tidak adil apabila saya tidak menyinggung kisah terakhir di buku ini, yakni Malam Terakhir. Jujur, pertama kali membaca kisah tersebut, saya langsung teringat pada Laut Bercerita. Iya, kisah tersebut lagi-lagi menyentil kondisi ketika mahasiswa direpresi oleh para penguasa. Suatu hubungan yang jauh dari simetris dan begitu pilu. Ahh, membaca Laut Bercerita dan Malam Terakhir menimbulkan kesan yang sama bagi saya. Betapa tak adilnya orang-orang yang selalu menutup mereka.

Kesimpulan

Saya memang tak pandai membuat resensi sebuah kumpulan cerpen. Akan tetapi, kisah yang disajikan oleh Leila ini seolah menjadi peingat bahwa realitas sosial di sekitar kita tidaklah semuanya bahagia. Bagaimana kita bersikap dan memahami apa yang terjadi di sekitar kita menjadi sangat penting untuk memanusiakan manusia.

3.5 dari 5 bintang untuk Rain yang begitu polos dan murni.

Sincerely,

Ra

Source: Netflix.com

Title: Enola Holmes

Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama

Director: Harry Bradbeer

Writer: Nancy Springer (novel), Jack Thorne (screenplay)

Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge, etc.

Date of released: Septermber 23rd, 2020

Duration: 150 minutes

When Enola Holmes-Sherlock's teen sister-discovers her mother missing, she sets off to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right as she outwits her famous brother and unravels a dangerous conspiracy around a mysterious young Lord.

One day, Ceilla told me about this movie. As a fans of Sherlock Holmes and also many detective stories, I am very excited. Therefore, when this movie has released on Netflix, I tried to watch it immediately. Well, I could say that I like most of it.

The missing mother

Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) woke up to find her mother (Helena Bonham Carter) has disappeared. She has no idea where her mother gone or why. Technically, Enola still a minor, therefore, both of his brother come to "educate" her being a young lady. Well, the one who enforce that idea is only Mycroft (Sam Claflin). At the other hand, Sherlock (Henry Cavill) seems to understand more about Enola's personality.

Mycroft wish Enola could enter a woman education, but she refuses and decided to run away. In the middle of it, she finally met Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge), a viscount who decided to run away from his house. Since then, Enola's adventure became more complicated and not only about her missing mother.

Thumbs up for Enola

Source: variety.com

Well, it's been a while for me to watch detective movie. So, Enola has given me a refreshing looks and story. To be honest, I love how Millie Bobby Brown taking her role as Enola. As you can see, somehow her character at Stranger Things is very strong. But, in this movie, we can see Millie as Enola, not as Eleven. 

Then, I should admit that the story of this movie maybe not that much complicated like Sherlock series. I believe it is caused by the target audience for this movie is a teenager. After all, I still can enjoy this movie.

Another things that I have to underline about this movie is, don't try to compare Sherlock's original character here because you won't find it. In my opinion, for Sherlockian, maybe Sherlock's character here is very different. Therefore, maybe some people won't satisfy with his character. This statement also applied for Mycroft too.

Other than that, I have to praise Helena Bonham Carter too here. As long as I remember, Helena is a great actress. She can take so many different roles and she killed it. Even though in this movie her appearance not that really much, I can see how's her character is very fresh from another character that she ever played.

Conclusion

After watching this movie, I realized that the story is based on novel. So, I assumed there will be more sequel for this movie and I couldn't wait for it. I wonder what's exactly Enola do after deciding to live by herself in London and how she can deal with his two older brother. It would be very interesting.

8 out of 10 for Elona's wittiness.

P.s. I just know that Millie is also the produce of this movie. So, claps for her for being such a talented young woman.

Regards,

Ra

Source: imdb

Title: Extracurricular

Original title: Human 101, Human Class

Genre: School, crime, psychological, life

Director: Kim Jin Min

Screenwriter: Jin Han Sae

Number of episodes: 10

Stars: Kim Dong Hee, Park Joo Hyun, Jung Da Bin, Nam Yoon Su

Available on Netflix

A model high school student who's steeped in a world of serious crime finds his double life upended when a classmate takes an interest in his secret.

***

To be honest, I had interest tow watch this series because of Kim Dong Hee. After I watched his performance at SKY Castle and Itaewon Class, I think I should appreciate more about his work. Therefore, I decided to watch Extracurricular.

In my opinion, Extracurricular is the darkest teen k-drama that I've ever watched. I never thought that the crime that involved the main character is about underage prostitution.

The untold story of the model student

Oh Jisoo (Kim Dong-Hee) is a model high school student. He is very smart and obedient. Unfortunately, he knows that he need to do something to pay his university tuition fee. Long story short, Jisoo is involved in such a shady business that you will never think of.

One day, Jisoo's classmate, Bae Gyuri (Park Joo-Hyun) took interest on his secret. At the end, Jisoo reluctanly agree to let Gyuri involved in his business. At the other, there is Minhee (Jung Da-Bin) and his boyfriend, Kwak Kitae (Nam Yoon Su) that to some extent will have a relations with Jisoo and Gyuri.

Sensitive topic

From the first episode, I was a little bit shocked because of the topic of this drama is very dark. I am aware that some student could involved in some crime to pay their tuition fee. But, I never thought about the underage prostitution. I believe that this topic is very sensitive, especially at Korea itself. So, it's very interesting to know more about this drama.

Well, to be fair, it's not only about the underage prostitution that has been unveiled through this drama. You can also see about the bullying issue at school. Even though we always try to against bullying, in the real world, those act still happening.

Source: Netflix, edited by me

There is no lovable character

I have to admit that I got difficulties to finishing this drama. Even though it only has 10 episodes, I think the plot is very slow. Then, I think this is the director's intention to give a grey character. I mean, there is no lovable character here. 

Even though I stan for Geun-soo at Itaewon Class, I couldn't do the same toward Jisoo. Jisoo's character is not rely relatable for me. In some way, I understand his struggle, but the way he hide himself and the duality of his persona made me got a lot of headache. 

Then, my opinion another character is just the same. There is no a literally angel or evil character here. I definitely would like to emphasize that every characters in this series is very punch-able.

Am I waiting for the second season?

From the first time I noticed that this drama only has ten episodes, I believe that there will be a second season. Why I think like that? Because, there are so many things that left unanswered.

Moreover, the final scene is very odd. I believe there will be a continuation about Jisoo and Gyuri's life after the final incident.

To be honest, even though this drama made me got a lot of headache, it still give a lot of refreshing theme. I believe because this drama is a Netflix Original Series, they are more brave to tackle a lot of sensitive issues.

Well, 7.5 for the Jisoo and Gyuri's partnership.

Sincerely,

Ra

Fly to the Sky

"But, if this guy, or whoever he was, he is, or he will be, can't handle you at your worst, they sure as hell don't deserve you at your best. Enough said." -- Ihsan

Sumber: goodreads.com

Judul: Fly to the Sky

Penulis: Nina Ardianti dan Moemoe Rizal

Penerbit: Gagasmedia

Tahun terbit: 2012

Tebal buku: 360 halaman

Bertemu denganmu tidak pernah ada dalam agendaku. Begitu pula mungkin denganmu, tak tebersit namaku dalam hari-harimu, dulu. Tetapi, siapa yang menyangka, ujung benang merah milikku ternyata tersangkut di kelingkingmu.

Saat pertama kali bertemumu, tak ada yang asing. Kau seperti
dikirimkan dari masa lalu, seperti seseorang yang memang seharusnya menghuni ruang hatiku. Namun, tak ada dari kita yang menyadarinya. Sampai aku bergerak menjauh, dan kau berbalik menghilang. Padahal, rinai tawamu kusimpan, dan selalu kujaga dengan rindu menderu. Diam-diam, aku membisikkan harap, kapan kita berjumpa lagi?

Bukankah sudah diikat-Nya ujung benang merahmu di kelingkingku? Jadi, aku percaya kau akan menemukanku. Menggenapkan rindu yang separuh.

***

Rasanya, sudah lama sekali saya tidak membaca kisah romans Indonesia. Beberapa hari ini, saya sempat mengalami reading slump. Alhasil, bacaan saya mandeg dan belum saya lanjutkan kembali. 

Akan tetapi, tiba-tiba saja kemarin saya ingin sekadar refreshing. Jadi, saya pun mengambil salah satu novel favorit saya ini untuk saya baca kembali. Hasilnya? Meskipun sudah delapan tahun berlalu, Fly to the Sky masih menjadi kisah manis yang penuh drama.

Edyta dan Andrian 

Edyta Adriannisa Fauzi menyamakan dirinya dengan Midas. Bedanya, segala hal yang disentuh oleh Midas akan berubah menjadi emas, sedangkan apa yang disetuh oleh Edyta akan berubah menjadi bencana.

Selama 26 tahun hidupnya, Edyta terbiasa untuk dibantu oleh semua orang dekatnya. Mulai dari dua abangnya, Ferro dan Ilham (yang anyway, Ilham ini punya kisah sendiri di Simple Lie, Meet Cute, dan Stuck), Ihsan (tetangga dan juga teman dekat Ilham), mami dan papinya, atau sahabat sejatinya, Syiana.

Pada saat seperti ini, Edyta mengalami quarter life crisis yang cukup lumayan. Karir yang stagnan dan juga masalah percintaan yang sepertinya belum ada ujungnya. Maka ketika ia bertemu Andrian, seorang stranger yang rela kena omelannya serta membantu dirinya tanpa diminta, Edyta merasa Andrian bisa jadi jawaban dari seluruh masalah percintaannya.

Di sisi lain, Andrian adalah seorang pilot yang serba perfeksionis. Memiliki Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) bisa membuat Andrian begitu tertata dan let's say sangat metodis. Pertama kali bertemu Edyta, Andrian tahu kalau cewek di depannya itu tidak akan masuk ke dalam check list perempuan idaman yang ia buat. 

Setelah bertemu dengan Edyta, ia bertemu dengan Mawar, pramugari baru di Indonesia Airbridge. Sejak awal, Andrian tahu kalau Mawar akan memenuhi checklist yang ia miliki. Sayangnya, lama-kelamaan Andrian merasa hubungannya dengan Mawar begitu hambar. Mungkin pernyataan bahwa kutub magnet yang sama tidak akan pernah bersatu betul-betul menggambarkan hubungan di antara keduanya.

Pada akhirnya, setelah mengalami kejadian menghebohkan yang membuatnya mengakhiri hubungannya dengan Mawar, Andrian menyadari bahwa Edyta lah sosok yang bisa melengkapi dirinya.

Kisah yang tetap manis 

Image: google.com, edited by me

Pada dasarnya, novel ini merupakan bagian dari proyek Gagas Duet. Kali ini, Nina Ardianti dipasangkan dengan Moemoe Rizal. Kombinasi yang cukup unik sebetulnya karena menurut saya, gaya penulisan Nina sangatlah ceplas-ceplos dan penuh drama. Sedangkan, gaya penulisan Moemoe cenderung sangat teknikal.

Diceritakan dari dua sudut pandang yang berbeda, jujur saya lebih suka kisah Edyta. Entahlah. Bagi saya, kisah Andrian begitu kaku. Saya tahu sih kalau karakter Andrian sendiri memang kaku dan juga serius, tapi saya jadi merasa agak bosan membacanya. Untungnya, di cerita Andrian ada sosok Leila yang penuh drama. Jadi, setidaknya saya masih bisa tersenyum saat membaca kisahnya.

Meskipun novel ini penuh dengan serendipty, saya rasa jalan ceritanya cukup segar kala itu. Jadi saya sangat menikmati kisah yang manis ini. Memang sih, novel ini menggambarkan kejadian yang sudah pasti tidak akan terjadi di unia nyata, tapi saya somehow masih bisa relate dengan perasaan Edyta atau bahkan Andrian.

Kesimpulan

Ternyata, novel ini termasuk novel yang tidak akan pernah membuat saya bosan. Saya suka karakter dan juga ceritanya. Sepertinya, saya harus rajin untuk cek akun Wattpad Nina untuk baca kisah Ilham ataupun adiknya Ferdian--yang sialnya saya lupa namanya siapa.

4 dari 5 bintang untuk kisah yang tetap manis meski delapan tahun telah berlalu.

Sincerely,

Ra

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl since January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

***

Hello!

To be honest, I got a difficulty to make this TTT. Since I am in Indonesia, I would like to list some of Indonesian book event here. I'll try my best to make it into 10.

In order to make it easier, I will list any book-related event. So, it's not only a book fair, tho. Hope you enjoy my choice.

Source: id.bookmyshow.com

1. Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (Indonesia)

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is an annual project of non-profit foundation, the Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati. Apparently, this festival become one of the biggest festival in Southeast Asia. It become the melting pot of artists, authors, thinkers, and performers.

Within five days, there will be a lot of program, start from talk show, live performance, until workshop.

Since it held in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, I always hope can go to this festival someday.

2. London Book Fair (UK)

One of the biggest book fair in the world. I always heard about this book fair. I want to know how this book fair going.

3. Frankfurt Book Fairs (Germany)

Just like London Book Fair, Frankfurt Book Fair is one of book event that I usually heard. As the largest book fair in the word, I would like to know more the ambiance there. 

Source: englishriviera.co.uk

4. International Agatha Christie Festival (UK)

As the big fan of Agatha Christie's work, it seems so right to visit this festival, right? It should be so much fun can dress up and getting to know more about Christie.

5. Gothenburg Book Fair (Sweden)

To be honest, I choose this book fair because I want to visit Sweden. As the second largest book fair in Europe, I think it will be fun to be surrounded but a lot of Scandinavian books.

6. Jakarta International Literary Festival (Indonesia)

I think this is the first time I heard about Jakarta International Literary Festival. JILF is an annual international literary festival by the Literary Committee of Jakarta Arts Council (JAC).

Usually, I always attend the Cultural Speech that held by JAC every year. To be honest, most of the performer from JAC is incredible. So, I wonder how this literary festival will be like. 

Source: ultimagz.com

7. Book Discussion @ Post Santa (Indonesia)

Well, this book event is not a grand event. As far as I know, this weekly book discussion held at POST Bookshop, Jakarta, Indonesia. I always want to attend this book discussion, but I don't have any chance back then because my working hour is clashing.

Then, since COVID-19, this book shop is temporary closed. So, I have to wait until the situation got better to attend this discussion.

8. Indonesia Readers Festival (Indonesia)

Actually, this event is held annually by Goodreads Indonesia Community. But, as there is some internal crisis, the continuation of this event is a little bit confusing.

To be honest, I want to feel the euphoria of this festival. I want to meet a lot of people from book community. Sadly, I didn't have a chance to do it.

9. Book Fair at Appleton Elementary School (Don't Check Out This Book)

One thing that I want to know, what is exactly the green dot book collection all about? Even though it's not really a book fair, it's about an event when the children can find a comfort from book.

10. A Night at the Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library)

Since I read this book, I wonder how it feel to spent a whole night at such an amazing library. Solving every clue and puzzle must be really fun. Moreover, it will include a lot of books. 

Finally I can finish this list. So, what book event that you want to visit someday? Let's share our wishes and hoping we could visit all of those events some day.

Sincerely,

Ra

Besok Kita Belum Tentu Saling Mengingat

kenapa ragu untuk memberiku kecup yang sejadi-jadinya? sebab besok kita belum tentu saling megingat, kembali asing dan tak saling melihat.

Sumber: Goodreads.com

Judul: Besok Kita Belum Tentu Saling Mengingat

Penulis: Dopra

Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Ilustrasi: Hidayatul Azmi

Tebal buku: 164 halaman

Tahun terbit: November 2019

Baca via Gramedia Digital

Saat Kamu Tidak Mencintaiku Lagi

saat kamu tidak mencintaiku lagi
daun-daun kehilangan hijaunya
angin kehilangan desirnya
laut lupa pada asinnya
dan puisiku ditinggalkan aksaranya

***

Rasanya, sudah lama sekali sejak terakhir saya membuat resensi buku puisi. Sejumlah buku puisi yang saya baca hanya saya resensi singkat di Goodreads. Tidak di blog.

Kali ini, saya tertarik untuk membahas buku puisi karya Dodi Prananda atau yang dikenal dengan nama penanya, Dopra. Kalau tidak salah, Kak Vina mengatakan kalau buku ini merupakan semacam antitesis dari Nanti Kita Cerita Tentang Hari Ini.

Serba realistis

Bagi saya, puisi-puisi dalam buku ini memang menonjolkan satu tema, yakni pertanyaan-pertanyaan retoris yang tidak membutuhkan jawaban. Akan tetapi, perlu digarisbawahi bahwa pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut banyak sekali berhubungan dengan kesendirian dan kasih tidak sampai.

Tidak hanya itu, sejumlah puisi Dopra menyinggung bagaimana suatu cerita kasih telah usai dan tidak ada harapan untuk kembali lagi.

Kata-kata yang digunakan Dopra bukanlah kata-kata nan puitis yang begitu tinggi. Ia lebih sering menggunakan analogi dalam kehidupan sehari-hari seperti suasana kafe, keberadaan dari tukang cukur, hingga suasana dari sebuah restoran. Otomatis, seluruh puisi Dopra cenderung realistis dan tidak penuh kata yang berbunga-bunga.

Salah satu hal yang saya sukai dari buku ini adalah ilustrasi yang digunakan. Menurut saya, ilustrasi-ilustrasi yang digambarkan begitu realistis, meskipun di beberapa bagian terlihat creepy. Ilustrasi favorit saya di buku ini adalah ilustrasi dari puisi Selamat Tidur--yang notabene digunakan sebagai gambar sampul buku ini.

Bagi saya, ilustrasi tersebut mengingatkan saya pada gambar-gambar ilustrasi di Pinterest yang sering saya gunakan. Campuran antara sosok manusia bersama dengan tanaman-tanaman liar yang bersatu. Terlihat sekali rasa kesediahan dari sosok tersebut. Sendiri dalam sepi.

Sumber: pinterest.com, edited by me.

Kesimpulan

Saya selalu menyukai puisi. Akan tetapi, menuliskan resensinya membuat saya sedikit kesulitan. Semoga lain kali saya bisa menuliskan pemikiran saya mengenai buku puisi lain lebih baik lagi.

3 dari 5 bintang.

Sincerely,

Ra

Source: www.korea.com.sg

Title: Itaewon Class

Genre: Drama, Romance

Number of episode: 16 episodes

Director: Kim Sung-Yoon

Script writer: Jin Gwang

Stars: Park Seo-joon, Kim Da-mi, Yoo Jae-myung, Nara, Ahn Bo-Hyun, and more

Available on Netflix

Park Saeroyi's life has been turned upside down after he gets expelled from school for punching a bully and his father is killed in an accident. Following his father's steps, he opens a pub named "DanBam" in Itaewon and, along with his manager and staff, strive towards success and reaching greater heights.

***

After watching SKY Castle, I interest to watch another K-Drama. Then, my choice fell to Itaewon Class. 

To be honest, I don't have any knowledge about this drama. I've just known that V from BTS composed a song to be this drama's OST.

One thing that made me interest to watch it because what Itano said. The story of Itaewon Class somehow has a similar vibe to Pinocchio. Therefore, I decided to bing-watching this drama.

The Story

The story begin when Pak Sae Ro Yi (Park Seo-joon) attending his new high school. Couldn't stand with Jang Geun Won's (Bo-Hyun Ahn) bullying act, Sae Ro Yin punch Geun Won and made him got into trouble.

Geun Won's father, Jang Dae Hee (Yoo Jae-myung), is the CEO of Jangga Co., the famous restaurant business in Korea. The twist is, Sae Ro Yi's father work there. So, when Sae Ro Yi got a problem at school, his father happened to come immediately with Dae Hee.

Dae Hee automatically demands Sae Ro Yi to apologizes to Geun Won for what he did, but Sae Ro Yi refuses. Because of his refusal, Sae Ro Yi got expelled from school and his father decided to resign from his job.

When everything seems so right, an accident takes place. Sae Ro Yi's father dies in motorcycle accident cause by Geun Won. Burning with anger, Sae Ro Yi came to Geun Won and viciously beats him. Then, Sae Ro Yi got arrested and has to spent time in prison. Since then, Sae Ro Yi decides to destroy Jangga Co., and take a revenge to Dae Hee and Geun Won.

This revenge begin with the effort of Sae Ro Yi to open a restaurant at Itaewon. Jo Yi Seo, who is an influencer, joins with Sae Ro Yi's restaurant to be a manager. Beside that, there's Ma Hyun Yi (Lee Joo-Young) as the cook, Choi Seung Kwon (Ryu Kyung-Soo) as the waiter, Jang Geun Soo (Kim Dong-Hee), who happened to be Geun Won's little brother, as the waiter, and Kim Tony (Chris Lyon), a foreigner who is very fluent in Korean as the waiter.

The dark side of Korean Business

Just as I said before, the premise of Itaewon Class is very similar to Pinocchio. Both of the main characters are taking a revenge to the person who made them suffer. It's have to be underlined that their way to take a revenge is in the neat way. Beating the enemy with their business or their journalism skill.

From Itaewon Class, we could see the dark side of Korean Business. It's about how chaebol family dominate the business in Korea, including the food company like Jangga Co. They will do everything to maintain their position. Even though it seems so scary, but their existence is very real.

I have to admit that the storyline of Itaewon Class is very interesting. When I am watching this drama, I am eager to know how Park Sae Ro Yi dragged down the Jangga Co. A lot of twist happened in this drama. Well, some of them it's very unexpected. So, the thrill to watch this drama is very high--even though not as high as Sky Castle.

The element: race diversity and gender identity

Since this K-drama is a original Netflix drama, it won't be that much surprising to raise the diversity element. From this drama, you can see there's an effort from the production team to show the diversity in Korea, such as Kim Tony who happened to be black people and Ma Hyun Yi who's transgender.

Well, this move of course have to be appreciated because not many movies or series take a bold move like this. For me, those characters are very fascinating and make this drama to be more lively.

The character: my most and less favorite

Source: Google, edited by me.

I don't know why, but I choose to stan Geun Soo for this drama. I know that he is being such an asshole in the middle, but I think he got a realization at the end. I like how Geun Soo's character develop. Even though, I want to slap him when he is using Jangga Co.'s way to win in the television show.

Then, even though Yi Seo is very unique and attractive, sometimes I wanna slap her. She is very selfish in some way. Fortunately, she is very sincere and so damn smart.

So, I could say that both of them is the mixture my most and less favorite.

Conclusion

If you missing a story like Pinocchio, try to watch Itaewon Class is a good choice. Moreover, the story is very neat and most of the characters are very unique.

Park Sae Ro Yi maybe is a character that you won't meet in the real life, but his spirit and ambition is very inspiring. If we say we can do it, it means we can.

8.5 out of 10 for the Dan Bam Pub.

Sincerely,

Ra

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

***

It's Friday and it's time for First Lines Fridays. Honestly, I don't know what book I should read after I finished The Big Four by Agatha Christie. At first, I want to try to read To All The Boys I've Loved Before, but I felt so much lazy. Therefore, I choose an alternative, which is to read a poetry book.

I am curious to know whether I can make a review about it or not. But, let's just give it a try.

So, here is the first line for today's FLF.

Untuk mereka yang belum tentu diingat

If I could translate it, it would be.. "for those who don't necessarily to be remembered"

Besok Kita Belum Tentu Saling Mengingat by Dopra

Source: Goodreads.com

Blurb:

Saat Kamu Tidak Mencintaiku Lagi

saat kamu tidak mencintaiku lagi
daun-daun kehilangan hijaunya
angin kehilangan desirnya
laut lupa pada asinnya
dan puisiku ditinggalkan aksaranya

I hope this poetry book is not that much depressing.

Sincerely, 

Ra

Empat Besar

"Aku tidak akan mencoba mengambil keputusan di antara dua penyelesaian yang berlawanan."-- Hercule Poirot.

Sumber: Goodreads,com

Judul: Empat Besar

Judul Inggris: The Big Four

Series: Hercule Poirot Mysteries #5

Penulis: Agatha Christie

Penerjemah: Indri K. Hidayat

Tahun terbit: September 2017, cetakan kesepuluh

Tahun terbit pertama: 27 Januari 1927

Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Baca via Gramedia Digital

Poirot terkejut ketika seorang pria lusuh muncul di ambang pintu rumahnya. Sesaat pria lusuh itu hanya menatap Poirot, lalu terhuyung dan jatuh. Dalam keadaan setengah sadar, ia menggumamkan, “Mr. Hercule Poirot, 14 Farraway Street,” berulang kali.

Misteri semakin rumit ketika si tamu asing tak kunjung bicara banyak dan beberapa kali hanya menuliskan angka 4 di kertas. Poirot harus menggunakan sel-sel kelabunya untuk memecahkan persoalan ini, membahayakan nyawa demi mengungkap misteri di balik angka tersebut.

***

Melanjutkan keinginan saya untuk membaca seluruh kisah Hercule Poirot, maka saya pun memutuskan untuk membaca Empat Besar. Awalnya, saya ragu kalau saya akan merasa bosan saat membaca novel ini. Akan tetapi, saya cukup terkejut karena saya bisa 'memaksa' diri saya untuk menyelesaikan novel ini.

Misteri empat besar

Hercule Poirot sedang bersiap-siap untuk pegi ke Amerika Selatan saat sahabatnya, Hastings kembali ke Inggris. Awalnya, Poirot berencana langsung bertolak ke Amerika Selatan, akan tetai, datangnya seorang pria lusuh yang sekarat di pintu rumahnya membuat Poirot berubah pikiran 180 derajat.

Pria lusuh tadi dalam keadaan setengah sadar hanya bisa mengucap beberapa patah kata dan juga angka 4 di kertas. Hal ini menggelitik sel kelabu Poirot dan membuat ia yakin bahwa ada sebuah organisasi berbahaya yang bernama Empat Besar.

 

Sesuai dengan namanya, organisasi empat besar memiliki pimpinan. Nomer 1 adalah Li Chang Yen, seorang pemegang kendali yang berada di Cina. Nomer 2 adalah jutawan Amerika yang kaya raya. Nomer 3 adalah perempuan Perancis yang cerdas. Sedangkan, nomer 4 adalah lelaki berkebangsaan Ingris yang sangat pandai menyamar.

Sepanjang perjalanan karirnya, Poirot tidak pernah menemukan kasus yang begitu rumit seperti empat besar. Maka dari itu, Poirot pun berusaha sekuat tenaga untuk bisa mengungkap kejahatan empat besar. Tentu berbagai kejadian buruk menimpangnya, mulai dari diculiknya Hastings hingga percobaan pembunuhan terhadap dirinya. Yang pasti, empat besar bukan musuh biasa.

Cerita yang bersilangan

Sumber: google.com, edited by me.

Secara sekilas, kisah empat besar ini begitu menarik premisnya. Saya pun pensasaran dengan akhir kisah yang ingin ditunjukkan oleh Agatha Christie. Sayangnya, saya rasa kisah empat besar ini terlalu terbelit-belit. Saya memang tidak keberatan apabila satu kasus kecil bisa berujung pada inti kasus utama, akan tetapi menurut saya kasus-kasus kecil yang diceritakan cukup scattered.

Mungkin kalau saya bandingkan, kisah empat besar ini hampir sama dengan kisah Holmes menghadapi Moriarty. Bedanya, Moriarty tidak akan bertindak secara langsung. Sedangkan, dalam kisah empat besar, ada nomer empat yang langsung turun tangan.

Sebetulnya, cara penyelesaian Poirot di sini juga menarik. Akan tetapi, entah mengapa saya tidak bisa mengikuti seluruh kisah dengan baik. Saya merasa kasus-kasus kecil yang diceritakan sekadar lewat dan hanya menunjukkan kepiawaian dari nomer empat.

Kesimpulan

Mungkin karena kisah ini masih termasuk kisah awal dari Poirot, Agatha masih cukup mencari-cari kisah yang pas untuk disajikan. Jadi, terlepas dari rasa kurang sreg yang ada, saya rasa kisah ini patut diapresiasi.

At least, we gotta see the reenactment of Holme's death in Poirot's version. Jadi, siapa yang mengikuti kisah siapa sih tentang kematian Poirot ini? Saya belum sempat mencari tahu lebih lanjut.

3 dari 5 bintang untuk empat besar yang lumayan bikin sakit kepala.

Anyway, terjemahan kali ini tidak terlalu menyusahkan. Bahasa Perancis yang tidak diterjemahkan masih mudah dimengerti.

Sincerely,

Ra

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl since January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

***

Yeay! We arrived on Tuesday again. So, today's theme is about books that make me smile (and why). Well, let's see my choice below. Disclaimer, it would be a lot of Indonesian book again.

1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

What's book that make you smile other than a classic children book? At first, I thought I would choose a lot of romance book, but I realized that somehow a children book can make me smile easily. 

Alice's story is interesting and also cute. From the cover itself, you can smile easily, right?

2. Bliss (The Bliss Bakery #1) - Kathryn Littlewood

Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles? Singing Gingersnaps? What a unique name of cookies, right? I fallen in love with the cover first when I saw this book. Then, the premise make me smile because I love magical world. So, it should be obvious why I choose this book. 

3. Cemara's Family #1 - Arswendo Atmowiloto

I interested to read this book because I haven't got any chance to watch the series. From this book, I learn a lot about how to live with gratefulness, kindness, and resilience. Most of the characters are very lovable even though they are struggle to live in poverty. For me, this books make me smile endlessly.

4. The Chronicles of Audy: 4R - Orizuka

To be honest, all of the books from the series has made me smile a lot. This books follows the story of Audy, an International Relations student who happened to live with 4 brothers from R family. All of them are weird and made Audy couldn't live easily.

I like Audy's interaction with R family. Somehow, it's very funny and hilarious. 

5. Dylan, I Love You! - Stephanie Zen

This book make me smile because of the way the author wrote the story. I like how Stephanie changing the perspective between Dylan and Alice. Then, both of them are very funny. So, this book make me giggles all the time with their story.

6. From Paris to Eternity - Clio Freya

From Paris to Eternity is the second book from Fay's Adventure Series. After finishing a task from Andrew McGallaghan, Fay Regina Wiranata came back to Indonesia and being an ordinary student.

Fay believed that her live will going normal, but then, she got surprised and makes her have to go to Paris and meet with Andrew again. So, of course it means that she has to be involved in an espionage activities again.

To be honest, there are some part that make me smile--but bitterly. Why? In this book, my favorite character--Kent--admit to Fay that he loves her, but he knows there's no future for them. It's sweet yet so sad :( I always read those part again and again.

7. Purple Eyes - Prisca Primasari

I never expect that this short novella had left a good feeling for me. I love the interaction between Ivarr and Solveig--it's very sweet. 

Then, the background story is very interesting, because they choose Trondheim, Norway. One thing for sure, love will be there even though in the darkest place.

8. Interlude - Windry Ramadhina

Interlude is my all time favorite book from Gagasmedia Publisher. As a young-adult story, Interlude bring a whole different story. You can feel Hanna's sadness and frustration, but when she is with Kai, she could smile genuinely.

Hanna, 

listen.

Don't cry, don't cry.

The world is envy

You're too perfect

and she hates it.

 

9. Restart - Nina Ardianti

Restart is my favorite contemporary romance story. I couldn't stop smiling when I read this book. The drama queen Syiana, meet a cool and sarcastic me, Ferdian Arsjad. Their relationship is very complicated, but sometimes their silly action makes me smile.

10. Stories for Rainy Days - Naela Ali

A heartwarming poetry book and cute illustrations. When your emotion is unstable, reading this book could help. In my opinion, reading Story for Rainy Days makes me more calm and happy.

I'm tired of feeling things that I should never feel.
I'm tired of hoping things that I should never hope.
I'm tired of loving the one I should never love.
I'm tired of missing the one I should never miss.
I'm tired of being tiredly tired to feel tired of something so tiring.

 

Finally, I've completed today's TTT. How about you, guys? I hope you can find your smile on your reading list. See ya on the next week.

Sincerely,

Ra