(movie) No Strings Attached

Judulnya bikin inget sama album NSYNC. I was expecting so much more of this movie, but it didn't quite meet all of them.

Acting-wise, it's okay. Natalie Portman seems a little stiff at times, maybe coz I've been so used to see her in intense roles. Ashton Kutcher - no doubt, carries the whole story kind of nicely. I think the problem with rom-coms these days is that they try to make things funny. Dialogue, script, everything relies heavily on funny moments. The thing is, they try too hard and it shows. Less romantic moments - the ones that are there seem kind of forced, and as a result it doesn't have enough oomph.

The only funny moment is the carrot you-said-no-flowers thing. A nice weekend date movie, but not worth watching twice.

Quiz 1: Menangkan novel Remember When gratis!

Untuk merayakan akan terbitnya Remember When di akhir bulan Maret, saya akan mengadakan 3 kuis kecil berhadiah masing-masing 1 novel Remember When gratis, dikirimkan langsung ke alamat kamu.

Kuis pertama sudah saya posting sebelumnya, namun saya posting ulang di sini. Caranya hanya menjawab pertanyaan di bawah ini: Kenapa kamu ingin membaca novel Remember When? Jawaban dapat diposting langsung di bagian comment.

Jawaban paling kreatif akan dipilih pada tgl 1 April 2011 dan diumumkan di FB dan Twitter. Kuis ditutup tanggal 31 Maret 2011, diikuti dengan quiz 2 (quote favorit) dan quiz 3 (resensi novel) untuk hadiah yang lebih menarik.

Jangan lupa follow Twitter @WinnaEfendi dan Facebook winna.efendi@gmail.com untuk update info terbaru. Ikuti juga quiz-quiz selanjutnya :) Pre-order novel Remember When dapat dilakukan dengan mengirimkan email ke winna.efendi@gmail.com.

Terima kasih..

Sinopsis novel Remember When:

Apa pun yang kau katakan, bagaimana pun kau menolaknya, cinta akan tetap berada di sana, menunggumu mengakui keberadaannya.

Bagi kita, senja selalu sempurna; bukankah sia-sia jika menggenapkan warnanya? Seperti kisahmu, kau dan dia, juga kisahku, aku dan lelakiku. Tak ada bagian yang perlu kita ubah. Tak ada sela yang harus kita isi. Bukankah takdir kita sudah jelas?

Lalu, saat kau berkata, "Aku mencintaimu", aku merasa senja tak lagi membawa cerita bahagia. Mungkinkah kata-katamu itu ambigu? Atau, aku saja yang menganggapnya terlalu saru?

"Aku mencintaimu," katamu. Mengertikah kau apa artinya? Mengertikah kau kalau kita tak pernah bisa berada dalam cerita yang sama, dengan senja yang sewarna?

Takdir kita sudah jelas. Kau, aku, tahu itu.

Pemesanan buku + tanda tangan

Dear teman-teman semua,

Bagi yang ingin membeli buku-buku karangan saya plus tandatangan, baik untuk kado maupun diri sendiri, bisa memesan lewat email ke winna.efendi@gmail.com dengan format berikut:

• Nama
• Alamat pengiriman (lengkap dengan kota dan kode pos)
• No.telp yang bisa dihubungi
• Email (untuk konfirmasi)
• Judul Buku
• Pesan yang ingin ditulis di dalam buku (jika untuk hadiah)

Setelah pemesanan diterima dan dikonfirmasi, pembayaran dapat dilakukan via transfer BCA. Setelah konfirmasi pembayaran, buku tersebut akan dikirim via JNE dalam jangka waktu paling lambat 7 hari kerja, dan pengiriman tergantung kotanya (Jabodetabek 1-2 hari). Ada pun buku-buku yang dapat dipesan adalah:

• Ai: Rp. 41 500,-
• Refrain: Rp. 46 000,-
• Glam Girls Unbelievable: Rp. 37 000,-
• Remember When: Rp. 43 000,-
• The Journeys (proyek antologi cerita traveling yang berisi kisah 12 penulis): Rp. 48 500,-

Semua buku mendapatkan discount 10%!

Pemesanan buku akan mendapatkan kejutan menarik! :) (stock terbatas yah!) Jadi, ditunggu emailnya dan buku-buku di atas akan meluncur langsung ke alamatmu!

Terima kasih atas dukungannya. Look forward to your emails ;)

(book) Hector and the Search for Happiness

Reading about happiness is a little like being on a journey on happiness. Deep down inside, we want to find out about what makes us happy, what makes us so insecure and unhappy, and want to find the factors that could be the cure to that. Reading this book is about wanting answers, but there are never really necessarily the perfect answers, just a bit of reflecting.

I like the way the story is told, like we're children and need to be taught in simple language. It's innocent and not vulgar, which I appreciate, and is truthfully a fresh change and suitable for the material.

Hector is a nice enough character, kind, although sometimes he appears quite boring and flat. Though, his intake to the people he meets, how he cautiously handles things and how he approaches everything like an empty glass waiting to be filled are quite admirable to me personally. I like how he describes things and accepts things, that he's just an ordinary human who makes mistakes (yes he made many! which i'm angry with him about). Human characters and the world is told through the eyes of Edouard, Edouardo, Ying Li, Clara, Agnes, Charles, Djamila and many people Hector meets through his journey. I like the story about the Chinese monk best.

So happiness, as we all know, is how we see things. My own firm belief in it is confirmed in the last few chapters of the book, and overall I'm happy with the whole story. I think we just need to be reminded, from time to time, that we have to be grateful and that happiness comes from within.

3.5 of 5 stars. I sincerely look forward to Hector and the Secrets of Love.

(drama) Dream High

Just recently finished watching Dream High. It's the only drama that has me following its recaps religiously on DramaBeans, but also going out to watch it on KBS every Monday-Tuesday and buy the DVDs as soon as they come out.

OK, i'm a freak for high school music/dance themed drama. Most of you who have been following my reviews, or know how giddy i am when a similar movie/drama is airing, will know :)

So, this one's about the struggle, the relationship and the friendship of 6 teenagers in Kirin High School. Each of them deals with a demon of their own - be it jealousy, dreams that seem to have fallen apart, girl/boy trouble (oh yeah, of course), friendships that are broken, priorities, helping each other out, scandals, harrasments, gossips, and most importantly, growing up.

I don't see a lot of movies/dramas that have inch and EVERY lovable character, with plot so tight and pace so zippy, but still make room for creativity. The writing is nearly flawless, with beautiful cinematography, though I do have complaints about watching certain performances (they're often cut short, often focused on only one personnel rather than the whole group, zooming in and out and giving me a headache). The soundtrack is fun to listen to, with a couple of beautiful songs (Kim Soo Hyun's Dreaming - I still listen to it from time to time, and have no idea he's a talented singer as well as an accomplished young actor). The acting's okay, most of them hold their own, despite complaints and some flat moments, and I'm glad the writing and directing don't deviate much from the whole team, and the title Dream High is perfect, as it is about dreaming and fulfilling your dream.

What I love most about this drama is that I like every character, from the side characters and the second leads. The teachers are adorable and funny, each side character is cute and has their own important subplot. There is always a lesson to be learned, a potential for growth. Even the less important characters change throughout the movie, to the better. The cold teacher becomes someone warm hearted and sympathetic to her students, the weird teacher that doesn't want to have anything to do with well, anything other than himself, becomes focused and helpful throughout the whole ordeal. There are so many hilarious moments, touching moments, I lose count on how many times I laugh and cry while watching it.

My favorite characters are Pil Sook and Sam Dong, though it's hard picking favorites. I think it's mostly what Oh Hyuk said about them. Pil Sook is a character that looks so clumsy and weak, but she is actually a very strong person. And Sam Dong is also someone who's lost his way, but paves it back and becomes stronger because of his difficulties.

There are a lot of beautiful quotes from this drama, that mostly come from Jin Gook, the most mature character of the bunch.

I will quote several dialogue (taking them from DramaBeans' translation based on their recaps). If you, like me, would like to follow their fun drama recaps, please go to www.dramabeans.com

Jin-gook: There are two kinds of happiness in the world. One is a happiness that you realize after the fact. The other is a happiness that you feel in the moment. The happiness in the moment is so rare that they say you can live your whole life on the light that shines from remembering it. I think we’ll go on remembering this moment, today, like that kind of happiness…that we can remember for the rest of our lives, the moment when we shined.

And here's a section that I copied from episode 15 recap:

Hye-mi weighs her decision as she wanders the streets, playing eeny-meeny-miny-moe at each crosswalk, and frustrated that Fate isn’t helping her decide. Jin-gook finds her lost in thought, and she asks him what she’s supposed to do, since neither of them is one hundred percent.

Jin-gook tells her that if one choice were a hundred, it wouldn’t be a choice, but an answer. It’s because they’re fifty-fifty that it’s a choice, and she should weigh it carefully. He adds that once she chooses, not to look back, and turn that fifty into a hundred, to prove to herself that she made the right choice.

The last episode is great, full of fan service with satisfying ending that concludes every character's story, but I kinda wish there are more scenes for Hye Mi-Sam Dong. Do they get to be together after everything? It reminds me a little of the ending for my own book Refrain, not with skipping 2 years to tell the ending, but the one about sacrificing something in order for the one you love to be able to reach their dream.

Overall, a fun, meaningful drama to watch. Definitely will watch it again when i have the chance.

2011 Weekend Reads

It's been a really long time since I've read for pleasure, out of habit, and rigorously. Recently I've picked up where I've left off and started a new reading list, bought the books from my wishlist, and had fun with it. Not just catching up with the latest movies, I'm also reading good books again. Reading good books is like eating good food. It's not just an education, it's a guilty pleasure, it's an investment of a lifetime, window of the world.

So let's start off with my reading list this year. Growing, and growing.. and growing.
Ah well. At least I'm having fun.

- Room (Emma Donoghue)
I've heard so much rave reviews about this book, and have to say I fell in love with the cover, also the premise. It's always what makes me snatch a book.

- Tinkers (Paul Harding)
Winner of the Booker's Prize! I took it off the shelves and paid for it without hesitating much. Have also heard a lot about it.

- Hector and the Search of Happiness
Have heard once about it and quite liked the concept of it.. coz I'm also doing something related though different. Cute cover. Cute sequel: Hector and the Secrets of Love, if I'm not mistaken. Will be on the hunt for it when it comes out.

- Garis Perempuan (Sanie B Kuncoro)
Had it on my wishlist for months. Skimmed through it and liked it.

- The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
K, this one's a bestseller. I've read half of it, never finding the mood to pick it up again, despite loving it.

- Jingga dalam elegi (Esti Kinasih)
What can I say? I haven't even read the first novel. Picked it out coz I like Fairish a lot.

- Before I Fall (Lauren Oliver)
A recommended book from GoodReads. A girl is in a coma and relives her life seven times till she gets whatever it is that's bugging her right. Sounds cool.

- I Ordered My Wife from the Universe (Stanley Dirgapraja)
How cool is the title? Like the solitaire tree in the cover too. Have never finished his first book but kinda like the first skim though.

- Heart of the Matter (Emily Giffin)
I like Miss Giffin for a chicklit fix! And I don't read chicklits often! She's like my Sophie Kinsella alternative, but with more depth and less laughter. Just more stuffs to ponder on.

- Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
This one's a bookclub read. I haven't found the Wordsworth edition I'm looking for though. More excited about the movie, like I am with classics. The wardrobe, the lush cinematography and gorgeous setting, the hairdo, the posh accent, pretty faces.. I don't get them out of a book (directly, I mean).

- Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout)
A compilation of short stories. I kinda like her Amy and Isabelle. Read the first chapter. Kind of like it.

So, there goes my list!
I want this year to be super productive. Carpe diem :)

New novel out in March!

Honestly, I cannot wait for March.

Kenapa?

My novel is gonna be out next month!! *nari-nari girang*

Sebenarnya bukan novel baru sih, tapi novel lama yang diganti cover, ganti isi, dan mungkin ganti judul. Untuk teman-teman yang selama ini ngubek-ngubek toko buku dan belum menemukan Kenangan Abu-Abu, bisa ikut nari-nari bersama saya karena novel tersebut akan diterbitkan ulang oleh penerbit kesayangan kita semua, Gagas Media.

Berikut cover dan edisi lamanya:

Kenangan Abu-Abu adalah novel pertamaku yang terbit pertama kali di tahun 2007. Novel ini lama nggak beredar di pasaran, dan akhirnya mengalami perombakan cukup drastis untuk diterbitkan ulang. Beberapa adegan baru ditambahkan, beberapa adegan dipertimbangkan untuk dibuang, dan naskah lama tersebut mengalami proses editing, sekaligus penggantian wajah (cover dan judulnya). Mudah-mudahan lebih berkenan untuk pembaca semua. Untuk yang masih nyari dan belum dapat, silakan dicari di toko-toko buku bulan depan. Bagi yang sudah pernah beli dan sudah baca, mungkin edisi baru ini bisa melengkapi koleksimu, sekaligus menghidupkan kembali momen-momen Freya, Adrian, Moses dan Gia yang sempat pudar. Plus, isinya juga nggak persis sama kok :)

Rencananya, saya akan membuat kontes dan kuis berhadiah buku gratis, seperti biasa. Siapa mau?? :) Ditunggu ya di bulan Maret!

For now, mau bikin polling kecil-kecilan:

1. Apakah kamu sudah punya novel Kenangan Abu-Abu? Atau justru masih mencari?
2. Kalau belum punya, kenapa kamu ingin baca novel ini?
3. Kalau sudah punya, siapa karakter favoritmu dan kenapa?

Bagi jawaban yang menarik akan mendapatkan 1 paket hadiah pula ;) Quizzes start early this month!

Book Review: Dumont's Lexicon of Wine

Beli buku ini waktu diskon 30% di Gramedia.
Tujuan awalnya seperti waktu beli buku-buku non fiksi lain; untuk belajar.
:)

Quite interesting, though this is an old edition, reprinted in 2006. Therefore there are 5 years for development and growth that the book does not cover.

The topic is quite extensive and quite easy to understand, even though it uses complicated vocabulary that does not always make it easy for readers to skim through. Each chapter covers the topic nicely, though not in so much details. The book itself covers the production of wine, regions, producers, taste, smell, appreciating wine, combining wine with food, articles from well known sommelier and even a bit of recipes.

Overall, fun and a nice short guide book. Does it make me know more about wine? Yes, but I've found more in other books and the Internet. Does it make me more fluent in elaborating about wine (in terms of theory)? Not so much.

Book blog

Okay I've always been a huge geeky bookworm, and always this passionate, but it's the first time I'm actually doing something other than setting up a giant library, stocking up books I want to read but never really get the chance or time to, and writing.

This time, I'm not just setting a book club. I'm going as far as making a book blog. Okay for the hundreds or thousands of previous books I've read, this is not possible. And I don't like things to be too burdensome for me, so I'm doing a little at a time. I'll share my random blog posts with book reviews and movie reviews. These three things happen to be can't-pick-one-without-the-other kind of thing, but usually I'm too lazy to write proper book reviews and rely on my GoodReads widget instead. But now, I'm going to do the work and review the books I've read every once in a while.

Latest book purchase: Room by Emma Donoghue. Heard so many rave reviews, intrigued by the cover, enchanted by the synopsis. And this is a debut novel, yes? Count me in.

Book Club

Berawal dari obsesi saya menghidupkan kembali kebiasaan baca, saya mulai rutin book shopping dan membaca mingguan, diselingi nonton film dan menulis. Tiba-tiba saja saya dapat ide untuk bikin book club, apalagi selama ini teman-teman baca dan menulis saya sudah mulai sibuk dan kami jarang bertemu, apalagi mengobrol.

Selain itu, saya butuh banyak asupan inspirasi, menyalurkan opini, mengkritik, memuji, membaca, apa saja. Selama hobi saya tersalurkan dengan baik, walau sendiri atau pun bersama teman-teman, saya senang.

So we're creating this book club. Sekarang membernya sudah 16 orang. Virtual, supaya nggak terlalu membebani mereka yang mungkin jadwalnya padat (yeah, tell me about it).

Jadi, yang berminat bisa ikutan untuk bulan Maret. Bacaannya Jane Eyre.
Find us on GoodReads or click this link: The Book Club

Updates! Member kami sudah 35 orang. Wow! Mudah-mudahan semua turut berpartisipasi ya. What does our book club do?

Kami membaca. Lalu berdiskusi. Bacaannya adalah 1 buku per bulan sesuai genre yang telah ditetapkan. Buku yang dibaca serempak dan seragam itu ditentukan secara voting, berdasarkan alternatif judul-judul yang diajukan oleh member. Kemudian, kami akan berdiskusi, dengan satu pemimpin diskusi yang bergilir setiap bulannya. Diskusi terbuka mengenai topik apa saja, yang berkaitan dengan buku, film maupun penulisnya. Dari cover, isi cerita, kesan dan pesan, quote favorit, apa saja.. Pemimpin diskusi yang nantinya akan membantu dengan memberikan list bahan diskusi dan usulan topik.

Sounds fun? Sounds too demanding?

Have a look and stick around. You might find it inspiring :)