Indonesians Who Love English Books discussion

I'm so blank about romance books. The first thing that came into my mind when I read you guys discussing about Mallory series is Mallory Towers series by Enid Blyton, lol.

Hi, everyone. I'm new in here, and I'm so glad to find a group that is so me ;) i love YA, fantasy, mystery, children's stories even though I m not a child or teenager anymore :D
anyway, I'm about to read Clockwork Angel. I know I'm a bit late in starting it. Anyone read it yet? Any feedback? I've been so hooked up with Hunger games before this, I think i've read the trilogy about 20 times since last January ;)
Well, thanks for having me. This group looks awesome.

mellyberry wrote: "Hi, everyone. I'm new in here, and I'm so glad to find a group that is so me ;) i love YA, fantasy, mystery, children's stories even though I m not a child or teenager anymore :D
anyway, I'm about ..."

Hi :D welcome to the group. And I've read the first 100 pages or so of Clockwork Angel, but I'm not so into steampunk so I was dropping it for a while (and haven't picked it up again until now). It's a bit different to The Mortal Instruments series, so it's just not my cup of tea :P

I've just got home from buying Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Can't wait to read it :D I've tantalized the book for so long so I'm now psyched.

update:

starting "World War Z"...

Currently reading and yeah, it IS teenlit. haha..

Done with a game of thrones. Damn the author, he killed one of my favorite characters.
off to read something light...

@Adisty: I've downloaded Jennifer Crusie's books, and Bet Me definitely sounds interesting. Also interested in The Cinderella Deal, I have a soft spot for fairy tales. Is that good? I have SEP's Match Me if You Can, but is that okay being read first? That was sixth book from Chicago Stars series, wasn't it?

Ups, yes, Dark Hunter. It was a bit mixed with Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress. lol. Oh, you didn't read the book with a proper order? I was interested in Tohrment's book since he lost Wellsie, but since I'm waiting to read the previous installments firsthand, that'd be awhile to happen. *sigh*

Have you heard about Nalini Singh's psy-changeling series? I heard that was also pretty good. Too bad I haven't found any time to read that one.

@Lynossa: lol. I like Blyton's Famous Five and Mystery. I didn't happen to read many of her works. Too bad. I remember reading her other book about a girl named Pippy, but as I checked on fantasticfiction.co.uk, I didn't find that series. Do you know that series? Is that her work?

@Alexandra: Pippi Longstocking? That's from another author from another country. My childhood's favorite.

@Lynossa: Then DON'T read the sequels! Will make your head ache.. And to wait for the 6th in the series is painful...

@Everybody: I must be out of this world. Most of the books you guys mention or talked about are books I'm not familiar with. No wonder I'm usually keep quiet in this group. :))

@Matthews: YES! Pippy Longstocking! Who's the author? How many books in that series? That was also one of my fave children books. Ah, I wanted to re-read them..

What are you usually reading?

@Alexandria: I'm into (old times) science fiction, fantasy, and (newer) non-fiction. Reading non-fiction books, especially new, popular titles, made me looks smart. He he...

I'm actually back at reading Linger. Slow pace makes me want to keep the book away all the time. Purple prose, nothing happens for most of the times, 2/3 POV's switching back and forth in every chapter...

@lynossa: shocking, right?? Now go watch the HBO series. It's pretty amazing!

@jane: janeeeeee, where did you find Daughter of Smoke and Bone?? I really want to read it :D

Finally got my copy of The Fault In Our Stars, me likey.

I second what Rachel said! Jane where did you get the book?! Oh and I'm reading Shatter Me right now. The society surprisingly reminds me of the hunger games. We'll see how it turns out!

I found a copy of it in kino grand indo about a month ago, I didn't buy it though.

@Rachel, TFIOS is good, right?

@Matthew: What are the title of that sci-fi and fantasy books? Ohhh, I don't know a thing about non-fiction book :p

@Lynossa : oh my, Enid Blyton, her books reminds me of my childhood, how I loved them.

@Alexandria : Cinderela Deal still in my to read list. So I don't know if it was good, but from the review I think it was quite promising.

Yup it was the sixth book. It's okay to read MMIUC first. Yes there was a lot of characters from the previous book, but the book stand alone. I think after u read it, u would loved to pick another books of the series (it happen to me; I get hooked with the series - all the series was amazingly good). But if u had some OCD I guess u have to read it in properly order, lol.

Yup, I've heard about Nalini Singh, but have none of her works. I must admit my to-read list was enormous as it is, so although I curious about her works it must've wait.

Whoa. Around here, things move pretty fast on the weekends.

@Lynossa: The average life expectancy of Martin's character is 4 chapters. It is known. LOL.

@Matthew: WW-Z is on my list. I figure it's gonna be like reading mockumentary. Is it?

@Rachel: About time! Enjoy.

I'm reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the moment.

@Adisty: Okay, thanks a lot for the recommendation! I'd read it soon~

Who are the authors that filled your to-read list? What genre do you like to read?

@Alexandria : My pleasure. Hope u enjoyed it as well.

In addition to the authors which I have mentioned before, some of the authors in my to-read list are :
- Contemporary : Susan Mallery, Robyn Carr (Virgin River series), Kristan Higgins, Jill Shalvis, Victoria Dahl, etc
-Paranormal : Darynda Jones (heard her Charley Davidson series was pretty good)
-Historical : Amanda Quic, Jennifer Ashley, Joanna bourne, etc.
- Some classic books

Conclusion:Romance (all type) is my fave genre.

Do you have any recommendation from your most fave books?

@Rachel & Nicole: I purchased it from the bookstore nearby my place. I'm currently living in Melb, and if any of you want any particular books and you happen to live in Surabaya, I can buy them for you and bring them back in June (that applies to everyone in this group, so feel free to contact me if you feel like it) :D

And just curious; how's Kinokuniya in Jakarta? Does it have vast collection of books? (Surabaya doesn't have it so we have to live with Periplus only :/)

@Jane: Ah no wonder! LOL. I knew it's not available just yet here in Indonesia. Books are expensive though right, in Australia? When I went to Sydney a few months ago, I was so shocked at the prices. I much prefer ordering via TBD, even though it takes yonks to get there. Tell us what you think of Daughter of Smoke and Bone though :)

Kinokuniya in Jakarta, especially the one in Plaza Senayan, is pretty good. I mean, it's the best bookstore (for me) in Indonesia, but the prices are best at Periplus. But Kinokuniya has the most range and choices.

And so, I've finally finished The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. And it was absolutely lovely. Gosh, it was awesome. Please guys, recommend me the best of John Green.

I'll probably reading Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver next.

EDIT: @Reza: I very much loooveed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I hope you'll love it as much as I did :)

@alexandra, pippi longstocking was written by Swedish author (or is it Norway?) I forgot the name though.

@Matthew, everyone told me about his 'killing spree' but I didn't expect him to kill so mercilessly. Damn!

@Rachel. Paper Towns! or Looking for Alaska, but I like Paper Towns more.

@alexandra & @Lynossa: Astrid Lindgren if I'm not mistaken

There was a reference of her in The Girl in Dragon Tattoo, so I guess she's swedish.

Thanks, Lynossa! I'll try looking for them the next time I go to Kinokuniya. I'm seriously kicking myself for not grabbing his books when Kinokuniya had them DISPLAYED a month (or 2) back.

And as I mentioned, I am now reading Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, the sequel to Delirium!

@Rachel: Yepp, the price of the books is like, twice Periplus's price. I have to resist the temptation and buy only a book per month :(
What's TBD? :D And sure I'll let you know when I'm done reading it :)

@Jane: TBD is an online book store. A favorite of some members here. Great range and price, free delivery worldwide, but shipping may take a while.

@Reza: This is too good to be true :D Catching Fire is like half of bookstore's price here. I'm going to buy my books from that website from now on. Thankies!

@Jane: Be patient though Jane, because TBD is also notorious for it's 'speed.'lol.

@Rachel: Dear Madame Moderator, we might need to decide on the book for group read of the month like 3 weeks before the month starts.

@Rachel: How long does it normally take to send books to Indonesia? I hope waiting for so long for merchandises I purchased to reach my place teaches me patience of some sort :P but the price's definitely worth the wait. And the delivery is free <3 I'm in love.

@Adisty: I knew Robyn Carr, but never read her books before. Is it good? I have Dahl's books, but haven't had time to read. I didn't know most of the authors you've said. They didn't have their books published locally, did they?

Classic books as in terms of Pride and Prejudice and so on? I have that book, but never finished it because the language was so old I got confused and gave up. Too bad since a lot of novel characters loved that book..

Hmmm.. I really like Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. That's urban fantasy. I also recommend J.D. Robb's In Death series if you like thriller-sci-fi genre. I love a kick-ass heroine. Lately, I like a rather new author, Julie James. I think her books are quite good, witty and sassy.

Btw, do you read Sophie Kinsella & Meg Cabot's books?

@Alexandria : Robyn Carr is a very talented author, and her virgin river series was the most popular one. If u have read Sherryl Woods's books, u might liked Robyn Carr (same basic value).

Yup, half my reading list mostly didn't published here and a lot of it in e-book format.

Yes, classic like that. But I'm not really a fan of Jane Austen (though I have most of her books). I prefer Bronte Sisters (their work have some edge in). Hehe the language definitely challenging, but that was the fun of reading classic.

I've heard about Jeaniene, I might add her in my reading list. Hehe I forget to mentioned J.D Robb, she's also in my to-read list. But the series was ridiculously long.

Loved Julie James (I've read all her books). I read of Kinsella's and Meg Cabot's earlier books (geez I read those when I was in high school). But I haven't read their works again since then. Was their new-er books better?

@Adisty: I might try to read Robyn Carr's books then, thanks for the recommendation! I haven't read nor know about Sherryl Woods. Would try to find some of her books.

And have you read most of your e-books? I have loads of e-books, but I'm really lazy to read them because they're slow to read, much slower than reading the actual book. So they're just kind of abandoned here.

Lol, yeah. In Death series was really long, though I didn't mind it. I love long series, if it is good.

I've also read all of James' books. Have you got her newest book? The one about Kyle? I really wanted to read that one.

What was the last Kinsella and Cabot's book you have read? Kinsella's newest book was "I've Got Your Number". I was really excited when I heard about that before, but I was kinda disappointed afterward. Cabot's newest works were kind of paranormal genre. The first one was about vampire (again), and the other one was about a Greek myth, Persephone and Hades, written in modern setting. I didn't like both very much. A bit different with her usual books, they were darker. I prefer her light, romantic-comedy books.

Done reading Linger. Now, trying to finish The Graveyard Book and going to start a new book. It's between Daughter of Smoke and Bone and City of Glass. Dundundun.

For me personally, City of Glass was a disaster.

@Rachel: I heard City of Fallen Angels should be titled City of Endless Angst instead :P but I have both books so I have to read them... eventually. I'm normally pretty good at postponing everything, though :P

After City of Glass, I banned books by Cassandra Clare. lol. A bit extreme, but I had to do it.

@Rachel: Good for you! I adore her writing, but 12 books of Shadowhunters and friends is just too much. :| I'm not even sure about reading The Infernal Devices after Clockwork Angel proved its inability to keep my attention on it :(

Just join this group
I just finished "Devil in Winter" by Lisa Kleypas and i love it. I make the review in indonesian.

Currently reading The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen

Alexandria wrote: "@Adisty: I knew Robyn Carr, but never read her books before. Is it good? I have Dahl's books, but haven't had time to read. I didn't know most of the authors you've said. They didn't have their boo..."

Jeaniene Frost more like Paranormal Urban Fantasy, since its heavy on romance. I do agree with JDRobb, the scifi part are little, the suspense that make it great. As Julie James, I found it okay. Won her book A Lot Like Love, and for contemporary romance, that's not bad.

@Niena : Devil in Winter is one of my favorite historical


Just finish reading Finnikin of the Rock. A gem at YA world. I got sick with all that triangle theme. Now into The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa and The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter

@ALexandria : I also have tons of e-books and already read half of it. Actually I prefer paperback (I have same problem with e-book as well).

I knew In Death series must be a good one (never find Nora Roberts works which I didn't like), but haven't find a right kick to start it.

I didn't remember my last Kinsella and Cabot's book (too damn long, hehe). I've just got "I've Got Your Number", was it not good enough? Why you get disappointed?

Eww,, Cabot being paranormal writer. Definitely wouldn't pick her again. Thx for your 2 cents.

Btw, I'm kind a wary with BDB after read her fifth book. Not as good as her first three books.

@ Niena : I loved Lisa Kleypas works and 'Devil In Winter' was one of my fave. Geez, I had 'The Surgeon' for a very long time and haven't finished it yet, maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea.

@Ren : Well, 'A Lot Like Love' wasn't my fave and I would say quite good for it. I prefer 'Just the Sexiest Man Alive' from Miss James, absolutely hilarious.

@Niena: I like Lisa Kleypas, but I felt just flat in the end of the book. It always started up good though.. Well, maybe just me. And Devil in Winter is my favorite amongst The Wallflowers series.

@Ren: Yup, the suspense in JD Robb is definitely good. Roberts' other thriller works (The Search, Blue Smoke, etc) are also good. She's one of my fave authors. As for Julie James, I found her books were quite hilarious and light. Also like "A Lot like Love", though I like "Just the Sexiest Man Alive" more. Well, that was the book that have won me after all.

@Adisty: What do you mean by haven't find a right kick to start in? Do you mean as don't know where to start? Btw, do you like her newest series, Boonsboro Inn? I thought it lacked something? Started-up-pretty-good-but-ended-up-okay kind of thing? Always have problem with that thing on most novels. *sigh* Anyway, I'm waiting for her second book, I was interested in the hero and heroine. They had a cat-and-dog relationship, and I loved that.

Have you read "I've Got Your Number"? What do you think? I got disappointed maybe because I had a lot of expectation beforehand. I was waiting to get that book for around 3 months. I don't really like the heroine, she was a kind of woman who liked to pry into other's business but just made problems out of it. Kind of the heroine of the second book of MacLean Curse series by Karen Hawkins, but not as bad. Thank God. I guess that kind of heroine was not my cup of tea.

Yeah, though I found her earlier paranormal books, such as The Mediator series, were okay. Maybe the problem was she was trying too hard to write a heavy writing style, whilst for me, she was more into light writing style.

What about the fourth & fifth book? I'm currently reading Cop's book, but kind of abandoned it. Did they came flat in the end?

@Jane: You mean The Graveyard Book...?

@Reza: Yes. But World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War chillingly graphical (to me) and convincingly enough to caused nightmares.

@Lynossa: Sometimes, killing characters that many readers love or identified with IS NECESSARY. Therefore the other characters, whom are more interesting, can get more exposure.

@Alexandria: The likes of the late Carl Sagan who wrote very cool sci-fi Contact (read til the end of the book!) AND non-fiction The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. I'm not up to date with current work -- the ones you all talking about.. *shame*

My question is, because I haven't read The Hunger Games yet, does the premise similar to Battle Royale or what?

Matthews M. wrote: "@Jane: You mean The Graveyard Book...?


Yep that book :)

And people keep comparing The Hunger Games to Battle Royale, but I hadn't heard of it until few days ago. Judging from the wikipedia page, I don't think it's similar, but perhaps the idea of kids gladiator causes the comparison. Battle Royale seems a lot gorier, IMO xD

The premise: bunch of school-age kids in a confinement (island) killing each other to survive, the last kid standing gets the prize.

That's Battle Royale.

Now, this Hunger Games (which I didn't read yet), what's the gist? The basic premise?

@Matthew: really? I have to check it out asap then.

I havent read Battle Royale yet but based on what u wrote The Hunger Games pretty much has similar premise. Except the stress is on Games. Set in the future, it's all a nation-wide broadcast reality show, so there's a sci-fi element to it. But that's only the 1st book. The premise evolves for the rest of the trilogy.

Currently reading The Princess Bride :)

@Adisty & Alexandria : I think I will check James's others works. She is fierce when come to voting at DABWAHA. Don't think any reader read her books, but she has a good strategy when it comes to winning and make people read the books. Quite cunning, I believe :) (just read her blog to know what I mean)

As for J.D.Robb, I love her Roberts's works too, but prefer the In Death. The fact that she make an irresistible hero can't be missed.

@Matthew S : Many people compare it to Battle Royale. The likeness maybe the dystopian setting and gladiator fight. Others not so much, and of Battle Royale more gorier than Hunger Games. I don't think Hunger Games is gory and sadist. All the story told rom Katniss's POV, so hard to judge if its sadist or not. As for the movies, not so much violence act.
People must stop comparing The Hunger Games to Battle Royale. And Twilight (duh!)

Just finish reading Trinity's The Naked Traveler 3. I know its Indonesian's book, but I hope hers will be translated to English, so many people will travel to Indonesia

@Matthew: Are that books heavy-reading? I once tried to read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, but didn't finish it. I think I'm not suited to read that kind of book.. Though if it was manga, I don't have any problem at all :p

@Ren: What is DABWAHA? What strategy? I've got a glimpse of her blog, but didn't quite catch on what you meant.
I think Robb's hero and heroine are both irresistible. Not quite fond of heroine who always idle, passive and always waiting for her prince's help.

DABWAHA is like contest to vote what book will be the best of 2011. The authors allowed to trash-talking and do some strategy, like offer her books, ebook reader, bla bla bla, in attempts to make people vote for hers. Even the readers not read the book yet. For this, you can see at James's blog. She offer free books to people who vote for her book (not all of course)

I'm woman, so that's why I love Roarke. But Eve indeed strong, smart and human. And not all heroine are passive. Maybe.. yes, if you read Harlequin ;)