iris_ymra's reviews
137 reviews

And the mountains echoed -- it's like reading a life story of strangers, told in  a very right detail. Khaled Housseini is  definitely a great story teller.

Though I am not quite come into same perspective with him or what his stories are about, but I'll just keep that to me -- because I am reader so I'll just read; great stories will either make you love them or despise them, but with this book I'll put myself in between.

It didn't play too much with my emotion like The Kite Runner did, it hardly can when it feels like this book is a compilation of short stories made into a book, though one and each of the stories related to one another.

I can't get myself and feeling so into the story because the moment I do the storyline just leaped into another story of another character.

3.7/5

The beginning of this book really got me to dislike it; I dislike Avery's new friends, I dislike her encounters with Cam -- the awkward person in me just curled in everytime these characters are together. I don't feel like Avery fits in with Jacob and Britney; and I really wish that Avery would go away from Cam and never made any relationship though I know that would not how the story go. Well I guess something that had happened toward Avery in the past is what had made her who she was and what made me who I am when, I am too immersed into her character.

Through out the book, I can say that I was probably more anxious than Avery, everything she was about to do I'd be like no don't do that, don't go to the party, don't say yes to Cam asking her out. I all about being sceptical on Cam, like he's too good to be true, but that's not the case when their relationship started to grow, developed into everything that could make me also feeling the butterflies flying inside my tummy. Their relationship isn't something that'll make cringe.

Every's relationship with her parents somehow in the other hand is in another level of sickness -- or should I say her parents are a total sick. What happened to Avery was in another level of victim blaming, it's even higher than that. I am glad that she -- though it took years -- did manage to overcome what she felt about her fast -- and thanks to Cam for that, thank you for waiting.

'What Makes Life Worth Living In The Face Of Death?'

Paul Kalanithi had definitely figured it out; to live the life to its fullest in a battle againts the passing time. It's heartbreaking yet aspiring the same time, to have the ability --  the will -- of rerouting our way of living life when a significant changes took place. To always make sure this life has its meaning through out the live till death fall upon our face.

It was quiet a journey for me reading this book -- countless of time I had to put the book down and then picked it up again and again, and along the line how I had to mental-talk myself as how emotionally affected I was while reading this book.

I cried my eyes reading this book, especially when I was approching the end of Paul's writing, and reading the epilogue I was afraid that I have yet to put the book down once again but I chose to continue, to finish this beautifully written memoir -- and I am glad that I finished it eventually, though emotionally.

Watak Latif ini samada terlalu naif ataupun kurang bijak, rasanya yang kemudian itu adalah lebih tepat. Perkembangan watak yang tidak begitu menarik pada saya, kepasifan yang agak tidak realistik -- mungkin perlu untuk memastikan konflik yang diciptakan oleh penulis kepada watak utama ini terus berkembang -- kerana Latif dinyatakan sebagai seorang yang tidak berpendidikan tinggi dan menyebabkan dia mudah dimanipulsi. Tetapi watak Latif sememangnya adalah satu watak yang memenatkan untuk dibaca jalan hidupnya -- perwatakan yang boleh 'mengganggu' emosi ketika membacanya. Watak protagonis dengan kebaikan yang hanya 'membawa' kepada keburukan.

Pada satu tahap jalan cerita menjadi menjengkelkan pada saya disebabkan bagaimana keburukan watak-watak antagonis di dalam buku ini terlalu diterangkan dalam naratif yang cukup membuatkan kita menjadi sakit hati -- mungkin suatu teknik untuk membuatkan pembaca menjadi emosi. Tapi pada saya bukanlah satu cara penciptaan situasi dalam penulisan yang begitu menarik.

Latif juga paranoid barangkali dan overthinking juga, kerana berapa banyak kesulitan yang mampu dia selesaikan sebenarnya dengan komunikasi yang baik -- tetapi ini fiksi, tiada apa yang dapat dibuat pembaca melainkan hanya melemparkan diri ke dalam konflik sebegini dengan meneruskan pembacaan. Konflik yang berbentuk klisé juga pada saya dan suatu tipikal yang banyak dalam penulisan novel melayu.

Strain kedua ini lebih berat, dengan konflik yang dihadapi watak utama berduyun-duyun tiba. Yang pada saya membuatkan jalan cerita jadi datar dengan konflik berpanjangan, seterusnya menjadikan pembacaan sedikit membosankan tetapi dalam waktu yang sama sangat mencabar perasaan marah dan jengkel yang buat saya rasa ingin berhenti membaca terus.

Saya kurang gemar dengan jalan cerita yang mengidealkan (romanticising), kebaikan yang melampau -- bukan, bukan kebaikan yang melampau kerana kebaikan tidak ada had, tapi kepada bagaimana kebaikan digunakan sebagai 'alasan' yang membiarkan manipulasi orang kepada seseorang individu. Walhal salah satu cara untuk memastikan kebaikan akan terus hidup adalah dengan tidak membiarkannya dipergunakan ataupun dimanipulasi, yang sehingga pada akhirnya kebaikan lah yang 'mengizinkan' keburukan itu untuk terjadi. Mungkin penulis tidak berniat sedemikian, tetapi inilah apa yang saya dapat melalui pembacaan buku strain kedua ni, dan saya melihat kecenderungan penulis dalam menciptakan watak-wataknya dengan perwatakan sebegini, mungkin boleh diubah atau cipta perkembangan watak baharu untuk penulisan masa akan datang.

Saya tidak akan membuat ringkasan cerita untuk buku ini, hanya ingin memberitahu plot twist yang menarik di hujung cerita. Ter'salvage' lah juga sakit dan kejengkelan hati ini.

______


Jika apa yang berlaku pada Latif ialah sebuah realiti, dan andai kita ingin mencari punca kepada kehancuran hidup Latif, kebanyakkannya adalah disebabkan oleh diri Latif sendiri sebelum kepada sesiapa yang lain.

______


Jika ada gangguan kesihatan mental buruk yang mampu memudaratkan; adakah wujud kebaikan yang berupa suatu jenis gangguan kesihatan mental juga yang turut sama memudaratkan.

'If someone had told me when I was eleven years old about everything I’d have to sacrifice to get to this point, everything that would be stolen from me, I would have said they were writing a K-drama.'
_______


Rachel's family leave everything behind in New York to come to South Korea along with her to pursue her dream of becoming a K-pop Idol. She has gone through years of training now and has been eager to make her debut since she would be out of the teenage years in less than 3 years more.

On this path, Rachel has found love and received hatred, has known scandals and exploitations that circulating in the K-pop industry. But she is not to stop after how far she has gone, she will make sure to Shine definitely.

_______


This book was definitely a scandalous journey telltale of the K-pop industry, and if you are the one who has been into K-pop (like I had been) you probably have already known much of the scandal and controversial things in this industry.

Jessica did good for her first novel and her writing too, a certainly nice and well arranged storyline and conflict building -- whether it's the truth or not, but most of the conflict she brings in this book is undoubtedly well known among k-popers -- from the diet, the training, the relationship rule and even the double standard of female and male idol treatment. Though most of the scenes and plots were kind of typical and not something new for me, I can say that I've read and seen similar situations in young-adult romance novel/movie before.

And if any of the readers were expecting any tea spilled in this book about Jessica and Girls' Generation, no, you are not going to have it. Also, in spite everything that is K-pop relate, this book also portrays family relationships, friendship, and love -- though for me the love sides are kind of cringe and cheesy for my liking. Yet I was still wondering what would Rachel and Jason relationship turn out to be, and I certainly think there's more of the conflict and questions that were still left unanswered.

'The best stories are never completely realistic and never entirely made up.'

'The mightiest power of death is not that it can make people die, but that it can make people left behind want to stop living.'

'People in the real world always say, when something terrible happens, that the sadness and loss and aching pain of the heart will 'lessen as time passes', but it isn't true. Sorrow and loss are constant, but if we all had to go through our whole lives carrying them the whole time, we wouldn't be able to stand it. The sadness would paralyse us.'

'You never say goodbye in the Land-of-Almost-Awake. You just say see you later.'

_______


This book is definitely the epitome of a thousand eternities of never ending fairy-tale. Yet it still ended, because only then we'll get to the happily ever after. Fredrik Backman is indeed a great storyteller whom able to make ones read the story instead of being told off. Indeed a page-turning book for me. Filled with running emotions that for me are quite indescribable, but rather needed to be experienced by one oneself alone.

Entertainingly wise and humorous storyline, was such an exciting reading for me. With characters that (I think) were properly made to fit into every plot and together perfectly move the whole story swiftly until the very end.

Even though the fairy-tale of Land-of-Almost-Awake took almost big part in the plot since we will often jump into the storyline that's happening in that realm, and it kind of seems like a drag in the story but that you see, then, just how everything will make sense entirely. Because I do think it's necessary to be put along in the storyline in significance to Elsa's being the main character of this book. And she, being the kid character, and it's just the kids thing with fairy-tale and imagination. That's really how we can see kids deal with real time stresses and issues they face in their kids life, or perhaps how adults deal with kids to help them with the real world.

Reading this will definitely engulf one with the family bonding relationships, the neighborhood, and perhaps even the whole world -- humanely feelings it brings.

'Sometimes it's easier to go on living, not even knowing who you are, when at least you know precisely where you are while go on not knowing.'

'No one like memories of good time when times are bad.'

'All other emotions belong to the earth, but passion inhabits the universe.'

_______


Britt-Marie after years being with Kent, her husband, had found herself a job at a place called Borg, after she left her home when Kent had a heart attack and an affair she ought had known long before. And it's there, then, she began again, restarting a life where she became the town football team's coach, so that the team could enter a football cup.

Long after, Britt-Marie then perhaps found the courage to jump and found herself too. Just as how the liveliness of the town being found and maybe had been restored again, as the for sale sign on people's threshold, then became more and more less than it was visible before when one was passing the town.

_______

It's one thing to want to listen to stories and it's another thing to want to read them. This is a story you want to read, and perhaps tell, and make other people want to read and then tell others. Reading this book was not as much of a rollercoaster ride of emotion or too many of adventures -- not that many adventures or emotion flip would be of no good -- but it's just enough, and enough is good too, at least, when it comes to know that Britt-Marie was there and her story was worth knowing.

This book indeed is uplifting and encouragements to start over, no matter how it was long, long ago when you had begun. It defied the commons -- at age and time and place and who -- with one to have dreams.

The storyline was definitely beautifully well written, indeed the forte of Fredrik Backman I must say. A heartwarming tale altogether. And in the end, I love it that Britt-Marie made her own choices and more than anything I love the choice that she made.

'The world we see is not the entire universe but a limited one that the mind cares about.'

'...it’s not the situation that is troubling us, but our perspective on it.'

'Too many choices make people unhappy.'


This book consists of eight chapters, addressing various aspects of life -- from love and friendships to work and aspirations -- and how mindfulness can help us in each aspect. The author addressed on how to deal mindfully with negative emotions like anger and jealousy as well as life’s disappointments, by sharing his own past experiences.

It's not a heavily how-to type of book, but rather a writing of wisdom, words that one can find comfort in. Much of the topics discussed aren't really new if you used to reading a self-help book. It only differs, since the author are speaking from the perspective of a Buddhist monk and implying some of the spirituality act in the religious teaching that can be applied into daily life habit regardless of one's belief.

'The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.'

'We are all someone’s monster.'

'Jer molle pe oonet. Enel mörd je nej afva trohem verretn.'

______

A crew.

A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse.

One heist.

______

I'd say by reading this book I had come to add another author in my favourite list and another book theme to read. I was not fond of fantasy themed book, for my lack of imagination and find it hard put everything into the picture, but this one sure set everything right for me to venture the journey along my reading.

A definitely smart, brilliant story and idea. A meticulously written and developed on the storyline. Great characters, charming indeed; Kaz who seemed to always know what ahead him, and he seemed to always ahead of everything; Inej a brave (though I would say it's an understatement, she's definitely more than that) female character I would be fan-girling over; Nina and Matthias, a lovable pair; Jesper and Wylan, indeed these two, the perfect imperfect addition to the crew -- and together they created the ultimate dynamic ambiance in the whole crew, the whole story.

The whole story was really engaging, a page-turner indeed. Nothing is draggy and nothing in under-information at all. I love the emotions brought in this book -- too many of them, too many good of them. And definitely spare me the romance too, I'd savoured them. Everything was precisely right, and this book certainly is for me.

'When fear arrives, something is about to happen.'

'Better terrible truths than kind lies.'

'What you want and what the world needs are not always in accord, Kaz. Praying and wishing are not the same thing.'

'I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together—knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.'

'You’re not weak because you can’t read. You’re weak because you’re afraid of people seeing your weakness. You’re letting shame decide who you are.'

'We can endure all kinds of pain. It’s shame that eats men whole.'

_________


In this Crooked Kingdom, the Wraith has needed the crews' saving her.

Plans after plans, after double-crossed over double-crossed.

And in the seconds follow there are a lot more needed saving -- lives and souls -- and the whole world eventually.

________


In this book we would be venturing through more schemes masterminded by Kaz Brekker and his crews -- Inej, Nina, Jesper, Matthias, Wylan and Kuwei and even more involvement of other characters. We would see how their plan would go down and how they would come up with new one. Meticulous and wise storyline, and conflict development I'd say.

It was a tense and trilling journey reading this book. The suspense was created well, you would almost scream no every single time. A character did die -- and that frustrated me the most, it was like the most ironic way of dying too.

And in light of all the scheming, the author also lets us learn more about the crew's background -- their families, their past. So we will get to be more personal with each character that surely create the emotional connection for me.

I was relentless the whole reading, and I'd say that's a good thing. An indication of a good book indeed.