SKY BLUE REVERIES

Hello you!

Have I told you that I miss this blog very much? Probably not, but here I am back at it again! I feel like a blog is the only platform where I can be almost my genuine self. It's a different case with Instagram, snap chat or Facebook where you try to impress other people with your life and only post the good stuff about. While with blogging you can show a bit more vulnerability.

Okay hold on a sec...What am I mumbling about?! I'm sorry. Let's get back to the point shall we?

The upcoming three months will be filled with me reading books, watching classic and new released movies, catching up on tv shows, having reunions with old friends, and being a couch potato. So on behalf of my holiday spirit and my comeback to my own blog (who no one cares or read) I would like to show you some of the books that I purchased in the last couple of months and plan (let me emphasize the word "plan") on finishing before the new semester starts. Knowing my reading speed I don't think that I'm able to finish 8 books in the span of three months, but hey maybe just maybe I might surprise myself by the end of the holiday. Here we go!

On a side note this list will be mixed with books that I have finished, half read, and not read at all. And it's kind of like a book review but not really...so yeah you've been warned.

1) The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The first book is the book I'm currently reading. I have this book for a while now but it was so hard to find the time to read it when my semester was still on full force. Anyway the story takes place in 17th century Amsterdam. The story follows Nella who is a 19 year old girl who just got married to an older merchant through an arranged marriage. As a wedding gift her husband gave her a miniature of their house and slowly strange things started to happen in the house. And the secrets that lies within the characters started to unravel. That's kind of  the premise of the book.

The story is quite slow paced but man oh man it is so beautifully written! The main characters which include Nella, Johannes (her husband), Marin (sister-in-law), Cornelia and Otto (the servants) have really compelling back story. Let me just tell you from the minute I read this book, I got this eerie vibe to it (and yasss I love it). As I'm typing this I'm still at 2/3 of the book. I don't really read historical fiction that often but I'm glad that I bought this.  If you like to read a book that makes you really invested in the characters, story full of secrets and suspense or if you want to have a picture of how Amsterdam is during the Dutch Golden Era, I recommend you to read The Miniaturist.

2) Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

The second in my list is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. Just looking at this book already makes me already so happy, even though I have no idea what the story is about hahaha. I'm being a bit biased here since I'm a fan of Rainbow Rowell's books (although Attachment was a bit of  a let down for me). If you've read Fangirl you probably know who Simon and Baz are. While in Fangirl we read the fan fiction version from Cath's pov, in Carry On we will read "the actual" story of Simon and Baz.

Oh ya in Fangirl you can already see that the story of Simon and Baz is inspired by the Harry Potter series but I think the main difference in this story is that Simon's love interest is Baz. Other than that I really don't know what it's about. As long as I can remember I don't think I have ever read a book where the main character is homosexual. I think this will be an interesting read since it will by my first book with this type of genre.

Am I interested in this book? Yes. Very much, because this book has great reviews on Goodreads.
Do I think this will beat "Landline" or "Eleanor and Park"? No

3) The Testimony by James Smythe

From the this book onward I will not tell you the premise of the book (except book #7 since I've read it). That's because I have never read it myself. To be honest I bought this book for one reason only....because the book has a similar cover to The Most Dangerous Animal of All #sorry

Right?

But if you're curious as much as I am, here is what Goodreads says about The Testimony by James Smythe

"Nothing much has changed in the post-Obama world. The threat of terrorism is high, religions are warring and politics is still riddled with corruption. But when the static is heard across the globe followed by an ominous broadcast, seemingly 'ordinary' lives are changed for ever."

Now you and I are on the same page. Moving on.

4) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I have watched and read so many reviews about how good Donna Tartt's books are. One day I saw this book on sale and I figure why not buy it and see what the fuss is all about. That is exactly what I'm going to do. I want to read it so that I know why many people rave about her books.

5) The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi

You know one of those instances where you just buy a book because of its cover? Well, this is one of those instances. I was at a book sale and I saw this book amid pile of random books, and it just caught my attention. I mean look at the cover! It's so prettyyy

I have absolutely no intention to search this book on the internet. I want to surprise myself. Normally before buying a book I would read other people's review or explore goodreads to see what books are currently trending. But for this book I just want to dive in to the story with zero expectation.

6) Malavita by Tonino Benacquista

This is another book that I bought at a big book sale. There are a few factors why I bought this book:

• cover 
• the  "Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture" on the cover
• the tv show Sopranos that is written on the cover
• the good reviews from The Guardian and The Independent
• As it turns out this book has been adapted and is called "The Family" starring Robert De Niro

Nough said.

7) Di Hadapan Rahasia by Adiman Immanuel

Unlike other entries in this list, this book is a poetry book and it's in Indonesian. Before this, I only have read one poetry book (it's a shame, I know). My first poetry book that I read was " Aku Ini Binatang Jalang " by Chairil Anwar.
It took me a while before I actually read it because I was a bit scared that the words would be hard for me to understand. It turns out it wasn't that bad. I don't think I can give any review about it since this is only my second poetry book. I can say that I enjoyed it and it was like a fresh breath of air for me.

A small part from one of the poems that I really like is called " Di  Altar " and it goes like this,

8) Ayah by Andrea Hirata

This is the second Indonesian entry in this list. I feel a little bit guilty for only buying and reading english books. To change that I decided to buy this book written by one and only Andrea Hirata. The sole reason why I bought this is because my old high school friend used to tell me how much she loves Andrea Hirata's writing style. I haven't read any Indonesian novels in the longest time, so I'm quite excited to read this.

9) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

And at last, let's end this list with a classic! I have always wanted to read more classic English literature, since my sisters and my mom have a lot more knowledge about classic English lit than me and I don't want to be left behind. I have watched the movie version starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender and Judi Dench and I absolutely love it! I even got teary when Rochester breaks down in tears in while hugging Jane. I mean.....the feels ugh :( 

I feel like I need to read this because Jane Eyre have often been considered as those type of books that you must read before you die. I also want to see more of Jane's growth into adulthood because I feel like in the movie they skipped it too much of her sufferings and her struggles when she was still young.


So that's it! Phew finally this post comes to an end. Happy holiday y'all

Didn't read that many books this year due my college entrance exam and my new uni life. Luckily I still manage to read a few books this year. Some of them are from my TBR list, while others are books that I borrowed from my sisters. Many books are still in my TBR list, so I have a long way to go before I can finally check off every single one of them.  But hey, baby steps.



1. The Most Dangerous Animal of All by Gary L. Stewart
2. The White Tiger

If you're in the mood for something dark. Well these are for you.

The Most Dangerous Animal of All is about the journey of a son trying to find his biological father. As it turns out, his biological father is the infamous serial killer who hunted the California scene in the 60s.
The White Tiger is a contemporary novel about a slum-turned-driver-turned-murderer-turned-entrepreneur that takes place in India. It is a provocative and darkly humorous novel, with a tinge of immorality and cruelty.



3. Noggin by John Corey Whaley
4. The Martian by Andy Weir

In Noggin we'll be taken to a time where doctors are allowed to cut your head off and reattach it someone else's body. This book follows Travis' emotional and physical journey after he wakes up from some weird ass crazy medical experiment.
The Martian is surprisingly a light read than what I thought it would. Especially when the topic itself is quite serious and there's a lot of scientific things going on, this book still manages to make you laugh many times. And on a side note, go watch the movie adaptation. Matt Damon is starring in it. Enough said.




5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
6. After Dark by Haruki Murakami

Well you don't need an explanation for mockingjay right?
After Dark is the first novel I've read from Haruki Murakami. The beautiful words he used, makes it easy to imagine in our head about what that world is like. The overall story feels like a surreal dream and in the end he will leaves you with many questions unanswered.



7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I came in with zero expectations when I started reading this book. I've read many novels before that has Second World War as its setting and this book is certainly one of my favorite world war II novels. The words in this book are so poetic and you will find so many beautiful life quotes. Oh and I love that the story has a very unique narrator. Who? Death. Death? Yes Death.