Indonesians Who Love English Books discussion

Hi all, just finished mistborn trilogy.. It's very good. Anyone had read it?

Done with Paper Towns, seriously it's awesome. Well, for those who like realistic fiction coming-of-age, at least.

mistborn was very good, I agree. it has a good balance on the whole good vs evil thing. and the powers and their descriptions are really good. although, I thought the story dragged on a little in some places. oh, but have you read the way of kings by the same author? I kid you not, it was even better. seriously. his storytelling skills matured even further in that one.

if you like the mistborn series, you will love the way of kings.

right now, I'm on a road trip across Java up to lombok and somehow forgot my bag of books I usually carry along these trips. so right now I'm just doing my best with any ebook I could download into my tablet. boo...

I hope the connection is good, Jati :)

Currently reading George Orwell's A Collection of Essays. Got to the part where he rambled about Dickens. Very interesting. I wish I could write like him. Orwell I mean, not Dickens.

connection is so so I guess, can't really complain if you look at the circumstances. the problem would be the lack of power outlets to charge the tablet. :P

oh, I've read a collection of essays once. or at least tried to. went over my head at the time. couldn't understand what the heck he's writing about. hahaha...

I've downloaded Richard Blake's Conspiracies of Rome series. so far so good, excellent historical details and enjoyable characters. still haven't reached much of the exciting parts though.

im starting my 2012 challange with some sci-fies. currently im reading Blackout. will prolly continue to All Clear afterwards.

Boo jati for having road trip to lombok (clearly envious).
I also like Orwell's writing, Silvana. I like Animal Farm a lot and planning to read 1984 as soon as possible.

join me then lynossa? hahaha.. I'm at jepara at the moment and will be heading to jogja for a bit tomorrow before continuing onwards. hopefully i can find a good paperback while in town. anybody there btw?

I've finished the Conspiracies of Rome. have always been a fan of historical thrillers, and this is one of the good ones for me. will be downloading the sequel if I can tonight..

Finally committing to George R.R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons!

Starting on Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Enjoy, Rachel! I usually have Westeros map handy while reading ASOIAF series and more often than not I have to refer to my character list cheat sheet. I'm not proud of it LOL
But I agree that it indeed requires some commitment. Once I was busy and didn't read for a couple of days or so and man was it a struggle to pick up from where I left.

If only I could skip work, Jati...
I'm still not ready to commit to ASOIAF, I bet it takes a lot of your time. Good luck, Rachel!

I hope it wont take me long, but ... well you know how thick it is. I figured I'll get this one out of the way in early 2012, so once done, I'm free to enjoy others without having a guilty conscience. lol. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a while, so yes, it's finally time to read it.

Thanks for your support guys!

I'm trying to finish The Lord of the rings. Just finishing the first book now. It's beautifully written and it truly has depth, a good book.

Rachel, you know I'm not really into romance though I appreciate one if it's well written. Do you think I should try Tiger's Curse? I read it has a quite a dose of romance.
Tasha, enjoy it!

hello.. i am reading The Count of Monte Cristo right now. Anyone knows this book?

No Lynossa, I don't think you should try Tiger's Curse. LOL. There's a lot of fluff that I don't think you'd like. Some bits are rather corny too. The romances in Delirium and Graceling are nothing compared to the ones in the Tiger's Curse series.

Despite the romance though, I think the adventures are very interesting; it's really different than other paranormal YA books because it involves Indian mythology and culture. BUT for you, I don't think the adventures will balance out the romance.

Hello Tasha and hello Ryan! :) I tried reading LOTR when I was in junior high... my mind couldn't handle it back then, lol. Haven't tried again since. And Ryan, I do know of the book, but I've never read it. Is it good? :)

Then I'll stay away from it, lol. It's funny how we haven't met but you seem know me quite well, Rachel. lol.

I love The Count of Monte Christo, it's my favorite Dumas's.

count of Monte cristo is also my favorite Dumas, lynossa. of course, it's also my only Dumas. hehe.. but I agree the storyline was really cool. read it in high school and it really felt like one of those books that seems like watching a movie while reading it. at least to me it was. lol.

I'm starting on grisham's The Litigators. I've been excited about this for a while, having read all his other works, this should be really good..

Ryan wrote: "hello.. i am reading The Count of Monte Cristo right now. Anyone knows this book?"

God, I love that novel. It is definitely my favorite novel of all time. Did you read the unabridged or the abridged version?

@Jati: try Dumas' the three musketeers, they're quite entertaining as well :D LOL

@Rachel: Hi, yeah, it's really heavy to read, I think I have to take a break and read something easier, have you read some recent fantasy novels lately? do you have any recommendations?

hmm.. I think I've heard of the three musketeers somewhere. it's one if his lesser known works I presume? hahaha.. I have actually watched the movie first, but since I wasn't really into it I was also not very curious about the book although I know 99.9% of the time the book is always better than the movie.

also, what sort of fantasy do you have in mind? romance heavy? medieval? alternate universe? and yes, I am a fantasy geek. I might be able to recommend something..

@ Rachel : definitely! i'm agree with Jati. the storyline is good

@ Jati : i love John Grisham but never read The Leitigators. is it good?

@ Tasha : The Three Musketeers followed by The Man in the Iron Mask.

I've read The Three Musketeers, didn't like it as much as Monte Christo. I think The Man in Iron Mask is buried somewhere within my TBR list. I've been meaning to read that book since I watched the movie but there's always another book gets in away.
Actually before The Man in Iron Mask, there's another book which isn't really famous, Twenty Years After. It tells stories that lead up to The Man in Iron Mask. Haven't read it too, still in my list.

"Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare. It's so addicting, I just can't stop flipping the pages.

Tasha, if you want fantasy recommendations, I think Jati is your man. I'm more in a YA phase right now (despite me currently reading A Dance with Dragons). However, if you like epic romances in your fantasy and don't mind graphical scenes ... I recommend to you Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. It's my all time favourite fantasy novel/series. I plan to read it for a fourth time sometime this year, haha.

Woo, The Man in the Iron Mask was my IT movie when I was in primary school, haha.

I watched The Man in the Iron Mask too, it's such an old movie, but I bought the book because of it. Haven't read it though.. hha

@Jati: fantasies that has political intricacies or plots, or medieval with touches of magic and assasinations. I have a wide acceptance range though, so it's fine. But I don't like heavy romance, some YA romances are ok from time to time, but that's the limit of my romance themed novels. Thanks a lot~

Hmm.. Kushiel's Dart has all that: political intrigue, medieval... magic? not so much, but it does have mythical elements to it. For me personally, what's so amazing about the Kushiel's trilogy is that added to all of that brilliance is a great love story.

@Rachel: really?? I'll look it up then, Thanks Rachel~

Hello, I'm new here, salam kenal :D

Since there's a lot discussion about YA, I'd like to share some of my favorites:

- Chaos Walking Trilogy
(The Knife of Never Letting Go; The Ask and The Answer; Monster of Men)

Nice world! Really, really, really good storytelling ability. And the book keep you hanging by the hair for the next chapter and the next and the next. Likeable characters. Surprising plot development.

- The Hunger Games Trilogy
(Hunger Games; Catching Fire; Mockingjay)

Actually this one is already famous, so I just stick to my impressions: lovable protagonist, emotionally exhausting love story, nice page-turner but not as good as Chaos Walking Trilogy

- The Book Thief

Now, to remember this book without shedding a tear is a mean feat. (Inhale... exhale....ack, stupid dust..) A story about young adopted Liesel Meminger in a small town of Molching, Germany in the time of Hitler. (Just that piece of information is enough to shed some light about the sadness... be right back, need to wipe my eyes..... Okay). Narrated by Death (yes, Death), this is a story about human compassion, about this little girl's life with her foster parents, with Max (a Jew her family hides in their basement), with Rudi Steiner (famous troublemaker, partner in crime) and her relationship with Death itself. It's a WONDERFUL book. Available in Kinokuniya

Sorry if it's too long :p

@tasha if you like something medieval that seems a bit magicky with a good dash of romance, off the top of my head is, Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. if you want something easier, more straightforward but still have all you ask for, Brent Weeks's night angel series is a good bet. unlike Rachel, I don't really go for the love story angle in fantasy but more in adventure and political intricacies. but if you want medieval and romantic in the non love story sense, guy gavriel Kay's song for arbonne is good and the sarantine mosaic is a good roman style fantasy.

well, that was a long answer.. here's the short one. mistborn is good but long, night angel series is shorter and lighter, and try sarantine mosaic or song for arbonne for a different kind of fantasy.

still though, if you like good love stories and romance central to the plot, I'd say Rachel would most likely be more useful than me.

@Rachel, the man in the iron mask movie: would that be because of the book and the story or purely due to Leonardo DiCaprio? :D

Jati is the man for fantasy, and Rachel is the one you ask for YA romance. I should get my *thing* too...

I've finished with The Night Circus and bravely gave the book 5 stars. I'm still pondering whether it's right or I'm just overly affected by it. Honestly I don't really care the romance in it but the writing style wowed me since the first word.
Now I'm having a hard time picking the next book.

well Lynossa, your thing would be being the only seasoned book reviewer in this thread and someone with better taste than most of us. hahaha..

also, those compliments didnt come for free. I intend to borrow your Holt when we do meet up. :P

I know there's no such thing as free lunch, as my friends keep reminding me, lol.
That means The Night Circus for Rachel and Tom Holt for Jati *make a mental note*. Oh I need to remind you Rachel, The Night Circus is hardcopy and big, prepare for some heaviness, lol.

@Oon (nice name btw), I was planning to read The Book Thief earlier today but I changed my mind after reading your comment. That type of book should be read in quiet time, not during the hustle and bustle of work.

Just finish reading this one .

I proud become a woman, ha!

Haha, I agree with Jati you being the seasoned reviewer in this thread/group, Lynossa! I think I would LOVE to peruse Lynossa's book collection, you'll be my personal library, haha. Heaviness is all well and good as long as the book is worth it, which I think it is. I expect good things from The Night Circus due to your five stars!

And Jati, may I say both? The story AND Leonardo Di Caprio in his glory years, :D

Welcome Oon! I take it you're an avid YA reader? Well clearly you'll be my new partner in crime, ;)

@Lynossa thank you! I really recommend that book :D

@Rachel yep, but not as many as you, I think :) It's a pleasure to be your partner in crime :D

I recently finished Hunger Games Trilogy and am currently looking for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (boy, doesn't he have talent for picking book titles, right? The Ask and The Answer, The Knife of Never Letting Go) but don't know where to get it.

Meanwhile I'm currently reading American God by Neil Gaiman, pretty interesting

A Monster Calls is superb! Love every bits of it.

Honestly I'm considering about changing my rating into 4 because there are things that just okay for me, but... still not sure. Currently still working on my review, you can check it when I'm done.

@Lynossa : The Night Circus seems promising. what's the story? actually i'm trying to finish my book, about a girl in a circus. Like Water for Elephants , only darker. So i need several books about circus for research :)

Well, basically the story is about a challenge between Celia, the magician's daughter and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. The challenge put by their respective masters. The venue is the circus. The Night Circus is a mysterious circus, it arrives without warning and leaves without trail. The whole appearance is dominated by black and white and the tents full with shows unlike any other circus. Everyone, performers and patrons, are caught in the middle of the challenge, and to make things more complicated, love blooms between Celia and Marco.

Hm, I can use that for my review's intro...

Hello everyone
Nice to finally meet someone who read English books. In my circle of family and friends, I'm the only one. Sad, isn't it? :'(. I just finished The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and currently reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Welcome aboard Budidharma!
I happen to have
11/22/63 on the top most on my list. Kinda excited to read King's take on an alternate history. How's it so far?

I'm now reading A Dance With Dragons which is taking so soooo long to finish. Partly because I've forgotten what's happened in the previous books so I keep going back :\ and partly because G.R.R. Martin likes to take winding detours in his storytelling.

Ha I hear you Amanda. Well, u prolly just need a quick recap. Why dont u check this out? The chapter guide is pretty handy.

yeah, those winding detours gets really annoying sometimes. especially when the detour introduces new characters, interesting ones, which he then kills a few chapters over. I stopped reading dance with dragons on the third chapter, not because it wasn't interesting but because I've also forgotten so many things that has happened in the previous books. one of these days I'll take an entire week off and reread everything and then finish dances with dragons..

Reza wrote: "Ha I hear you Amanda. Well, u prolly just need a quick recap. Why dont u check this out? The chapter guide is pretty handy."

Whoaaa thanks for that! Really helps a LOT!


Jati wrote: "yeah, those winding detours gets really annoying sometimes. especially when the detour introduces new characters, interesting ones, which he then kills a few chapters over. I stopped reading dance ..."

Oh yes, he really has no qualms killing off his characters. But almost everyone I care for died in the first book, so I really have nothing to lose.
(view spoiler)[Or maybe I do, if rumours of what happens to Jon at the end of Dance is to be believed. (hide spoiler)]

@Amanda and @Jati: in general, Dance doesn't tell so much about the main plot (Daenerys advancement toward westeros i.e The Song of Fire and the Undead of the North i.e The Song of Ice) but, we really can enjoy some nice character development: Tyrion, Bran, Arya (oooohhh... Arya), and Daenerys. This book also tells the real plan of Varys (and what a surprise!). It's quite a good book to read, but then we would probably have to wait five or six years for the next installment (The Winds of Winter)

Reza wrote: "Welcome aboard Budidharma!
I happen to have
11/22/63 on the top most on my list. Kinda excited to read King's take on an alternate history. How's it so far?"

So far so good. A real page turner. What I like about Stephen King's books is that he has a knack of keeping us on our toes while reading his books. Well, to be honest I only finished three of his books before 11/22/63;The Shining, Dreamcatcher and Carrie. I don't know about his other books but I feel that way about the books I've read, including the currently reading 11/22/63 :)

Hey guys! New to the group so I apologize if I seem out of place.. Anyway I am currently reading Anna and The French Kiss and Catching Fire! Loved the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy and I cannot wait for the movie to come out!

@Budidharma another Stephen King's book worth reading: "It", "Needful Things", "Under the Dome" and "A Bag of Bones". He's master storyteller, keeps you turning pages and pages of his book (he's allergic to novel with less than 500 pages, I think).