BTT: History

Given the choice, which do you prefer? Real history? or historical fiction? (assuming for the purposes of this discussion that they are equally well-written and engaging)

Because I love fiction…I would choose reading historical fiction.

In my opinion, real history has to stay in its actual event no matter how boring it is … if not it can mislead the readers and that would coz a lot problems.

As for historical FICTION…the word fiction allowed the writter to exaggerate a bit and it’ll make the book more interested.

For example, let’s take a look at The DaVinci Code…I know Jesus has no children but the way Dan Brown explains the history is interesting. Another example is Michael Crichton’s Timeline, it was so much fun reading a bit of France’s history.I wouldn’t imagine my self reading the history of France.

I tried reading real history once…It was about the man that all Moslems adored…my beloved prophet Muhammad. I love Him and adore Him but reading his real story made me sleepy…But I watched His history more than 10 times and listened to it more than I can count.
(tho I really wish one day I can read it and it’ll be the only real history I ever read)

The conclusion is historical fiction has some amusing parts and real history is way better in form of movie or something we can watch.

I enjoy watching a lot of history and never read one

So… how bout you?

Crossfire

I visited JF-Library (Japan Foundation) about 2 weeks ago and I finally found the corner where they put all mystery, horror and suspense books. I was overwhelmed by this discovery. From the title and the summary on the cover…they all sound like great books. I couldn’t decide which one I am going to borrow.

Out of impulse I chose Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe. I honestly chose this book because it reminds me of Stephen king’s Firestarter (tho I haven’t read it but I know the outline of the story). And once again this book defies this familiar quote ‘don’t judge the book by its cover’… why?? I picked this book simply based on its title and it was amazing!! I love this book. It has a twisted irony.

The characters are well built, none of them can be considered as true evil or true angel (most Japanese books are like this), and everyone has their own secret, both dark side and good side. It’s a paranormal book with plenty of humanity poured into it. I enjoy every page on this book, it was a great journey closed with a beautiful taste of irony.

I really like how the story changes from a full suspense of killing spree into something more emotional and heartbreaking.

The Story (copied from the cover)

Young, pretty Junko Aoki has the extraordinary ability to start fires using just willpower. Furthermore, she believes it to be her duty to use her pyrokinetic powers to punish violent criminals who have invaded justice.

A chance encounter one night sends Junko Aoki on a mission to rescue a young woman abducted by a vicious gang of youths. The trail of bodies she leaves across Tokyo attracts the attention of two very different groups: a secretive vigilante group that tries to recruit her, and arson squad of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Hardly able to keep up with Junko’s killing spree, detective Chikako Ishizu finds herself drawn deeper into a case that defies belief.

Although an opposite sides of the law, both Junko and Chikako are committed to fighting evil, and both find their deeply held beliefs challenged. While Junko is increasingly disturbed by the innocent lives lost in the crossfire, Chikako is gradually forced to accept the possible existence of paranormal powers

Crossfire takes us on a hair-raising journey through the landscape of urban Tokyo – a journey that challenges us, along with Chikako, to consider what’s right and what’s wrong in the name of justice.

I am not going to write the story more that what has already written on the cover because it already explained everything. But I just need to put few emphasizes on Junko Aoki and Chikako Ishizu and some other characters.

Because of her power, Junko never let anyone come close to her. She is a lonely loaded weapon. Chikako Ishizu is a woman detective whose receives her position simply because of political issue. As the story goes, Junko meet another man, Koichi Kido, who has special power like herself and she can finally open her heart and fells less lonely than before. Meanwhile, Chikako Ishizu is teaming up with an eccentric detective named Makihara. Unlike Chikako, Makihara believes in the existence of pyrokinetic power. Both of them pursue the matter through a young girl named Kaori Kurata who happens to have the same ability as Junko.

I have to admit that I enjoy reading about Junko more than Chikako. The story that surrounded Junko is more interesting to read compare to Chikako’s ways of finding Junko. Even reading about Makihara is still better than reading about Chikako. Haha maybe it’s because I always find more excitement in the life of unusual people.

I find mixed review on this book in goodreads…that’s why I always read people’s opinion after I finished the book because I don’t want their opinion clouded my own opinion. As for me, I gave this book 5 stars (It was amazing)

Teasers from this book >> here

I also used this review as my 7th review for Japanese Literature Challenge 3

Teaser Tuesday – Crossfire

This is my 1st post for Teaser Tuesday kinda late isn’t it?? Well…better late than never

I am currently reading Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe. It’s about a girl who has ability to start fire by using will power…in other word, Pyrokinesis.
Junko Aoki used her power to eliminate criminals, in her eyes those criminals can’t be said as human.

But, of course, her action was not acceptable. 2 detectives, Michiko Ishizu and Makihara, were trying to find her. Makihara believed in the existance of such power while Ishizu was still trying to believe.

I am almost finish, it’s a 403 pages book and I am now in page 325. So far, I enjoy reading every page of this book….but I enjoy reading about Junko more than about Ishizu.

My teaser are:

From page 62

I hope you figure it out, Junko pleaded silently. Because I know the fate of those who sacrifice the lives of innocent people for their own ennui, discontent, and greed. At least if I, Junko Aoki, get them in my sights.

From page 268

I Understand what you’re saying. I think you’re right. But I’m beginning to lose confidence in myself. It might be because I did too much killing in short a time. It might be because the smell of blood has filtered into my pores.

Updated on Dec 24:
I have finished the book and it was amazing…it’s a 5 stars book for me. Review is here.

What is Teaser Tuesday?

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

They Who Captured My attention 3

This is the last series of They who captured my attention, I have written about they who captured my attention in music industry and movie industry…this is the last, they who captured my attention in book industry …in other word, they are authors that I like the most.

I like reading since I was still in junior high school (that’ll be about 19years ago). At that time, my favorite series was The Three Investigators by Alfred Hitchcock (introduced by him NOT written by him). I read almost all the series and enjoyed it a lot. I also read many Manga. It went through my senior high school era.

My Number 1 Authors

When I was in college, I saw a movie called Thinner and Tales From The Creep by Stephen King…and I fell in love with Stephen King at first sight. At that time I was thinking ‘wow…this movie is based on a book! I have to read it!!’ Not long after that, I found Rose Madder and Insomnia, and I am completely becoming his fans. It was very hard to find his books in my country and I was still in college…so money became the biggest issue in finding his other works.

When I finally have a job, I bought Green Mile and Bag of Bones…Green Mile becomes one of my all time favorite SK’s books (I am planning to re-read it someday). And then I got busy and many kinds of books came rushing through my eyes. A few years ago, I came stumbling upon Salem’s Lot…and wham!! I remembered about my love for Stephen King and somehow become obsessed and addicted with his works. Why do I say that I am addicted to his works?? Because for the last couple of years I couldn’t read more than 4 books without Stephen King in it. Book A, B, C, and D may written by various kinds of author…but book E has to be from SK. I tried reading book E by other author and somehow I couldn’t concentrate on that book…so I had to go to a book store to find any SK book.

Creepy isn’t it?? But I don’t mind being creepy when it comes to one of the greatest authors of 20th century, Mr. Stephen King.

SK’s novels are not merely about thriller and suspense or blood and gruesome death…he also wrote amazing stories that touch the heart of non-horror lover.

My other most favorite author who can also be mentioned as my most favorite Mangaka is Eiichiro Oda. So far, I have only read 1 Manga from this crazy man…it is Onepiece. Onepiece is the best Manga ever exist in this earth!! (at least for me). What is Onepiece?? I made my own dedication for Onepiece in here. The longer the series the more amazing the story becomes…It hasn’t bored me although it has reach volume 52 now.

Haruki Murakami is my last most favorite author. His works are somewhat bizarre and unusual but somehow I can’t stop reading his novels. His works is so not my kind of story (I love mystery, suspense, horror…you got the picture, right?)…but I enjoyed his works a lot!! I keep coming back to JF-Library and keep borrowing his novels. He likes to keep his book hanging unconcluded so I can imagine the ending by myself. My 1st Murakami was Kafka on The Shore.

Those three authors have captured all my ‘reading’ attention…I love their works so much!!

My number 2 Authors

But….I do not read books only by those 3 authors

My second degree favorite authors are Michael Crichton, John Grisham and Andrea Hirata. Michael Crichton’s Last World is my 1st English novel, it took forever for me to finish it….I keep re-reading it every year till I have enough money to buy more and more un-translated novels. Crichton has amazing books that required a lot of research before writing it down. I haven’t read any Science Fiction novel that isn’t written by Crichton.

I used to read a lot of John Grisham when I was in college because I can borrow it from a friend of mine. But after college, I haven’t read any more novels by him….but I can still pronounce him as the best ‘court’ author. My most favorite book by Grisham is The Chamber.

Andrea Hirata is the only Indonesian author that can capture my attention. Most of Indonesian authors write romance and comedy with many gue n lo…those kind of books are the books that will be left dusty in the corner of a room. Andrea wrote an amazing tetralogy about his life. It wasn’t 100% true autobiography…he exaggerates a bit (or maybe a lot) but I enjoy the way he writes the story. I could have easily put her amongst my most favorite authors…but I can’t because I need to read more from him to prove his ability in writing other stories.

Like I said before, I do not read books only by those authors mentioned above!!

I read many kinds of books from many kinds of authors…the authors haven’t become my favorite because I haven’t read more books by them…but I would love to read more

I would love to read more books from these authors: Koji Suzuki (the author of The Ring), Natsuo Kirino (the author of OUT), Jodi Picoult (the author of My Sister’s Keeper), Miyuki Miyabe (the author of Crossfire), and many more.

There are also books that I love so much but I am not so curious about the author’s other books; The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbits by JRR Tolkien; Harry Potter (but I hate the ending) by JK Rowling, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Death Note by Ooba Tsugumi, and many more.

Right now…I am trying to read books by John Saul and Dean Koontz because someone from BTT told me that their works are like Stephen King’s. I hope I won’t be disappointed like when I was trying to read a book by Peter Straub.

Here is the list of books I’ve read recently >> Book Reviews

Blairwitch Project Vs Paranormal Activity

They who said that Paranormal Activity is damn scary clearly haven’t watched Blair Witch Project yet!!!

That was my first reaction after seeing Paranormal Activity.

Blair Witch and Paranormal are both made by using a simple camera and were made as if it is a real documentary.

Both of these movies didn’t use sound effect that’s going to chill your bone.

Both of these movies relied on their actors to give their best frightened act.

Both of these movies didn’t show the ghost or the demon or whatever paranormal creature that gave them the creep.

Both of these movies used unknown actors and actress.

The different are: BWP has better story, BWP has better act, BWP has waaaay better ending, and BWP scared me more than PA.

I watched Blair Witch with my brother (mind you that I did not watch this alone) and yet both me and my brother could feel our goosebumps rising on our back.

I watched Paranormal ALONE and felt more bored than scared. The story lingers too long. The haunting is not scary at all. And the ending is the worst part of it.

A student of mine said that it is scarier if we watch it at the cinema…well, I watched Blair Witch at home and it freaked me out…so it would be fair to watch Paranormal at home too.

Maybe my expectation for Paranormal is too high and therefore I am expecting to be blown away by it…and when it didn’t blow me away…I fell disappointed.

But…

I also had high expectation before watching Blair Witch…and my expectation was well paid.

So…in conclusion…if I have to rate Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity…it would be a perfect 10 for BWP and 5 for PA.

The story:

Blair Witch Project
The story is about 3 students who were planning to make a documentary on a witch that existed a long time ago. They brought cameras and ready to camp in the wood where the witch used to haunt people.

They soon encountered a great terror!!

What makes this movie as the best horror movie ever made by American is the feeling of reality that was given into the movie. The actors are acting so well and made me feel like I am one of them and as scared as them.

The plot and the tension scared me badly. And the ending is just perfect.

Paranormal Activity

It’s about a couple who lived in a hauted house…but the house was hauted because of the woman. So they tried to deal it by capturing it on camera.

The plot is so sloooow….the day seemed too long. On several nights, the ghost only made few activities. And most of all, it lacks of suspense.

So….my suggestion is! If you guys like Paranormal Activity, try finding Blairwitch Project because I am sure you’ll LOVE it

L’Arc~en~Ciel Video: Touching Moments

This is when Hyde finally met the girl of his dream. This video is cut directly to the moment Hyde met Megumi. Before Megumi came, the hosts were talking about girls/women that each Laruku Member admired.

Hyde always said that Megumi Oishi is the cutest girl alive (a bit exagerate ;p), so the hosts decided to give Hyde Megumi’s photobook…but Hyde didn’t know that Megumi herself was the one who was going to give it to him.

I LOVEEEE seing how akward hyde became when he saw Megumi. Even a super kakkoi guy like him can be this awkward.

uploaded by IceHeart09

They started dating after this show and got married 3 years later

This is an interview on Tetsuya Takeda (the star of Kinpachi Sensei) who said that his daughter is a big fans of Hyde. It was quite funny and that’s why I put it here.

uploaded by Shin0125Eddie

Ninja Assasin: Amazing but Lame

Demi lebih ekspresif…gw putuskan untuk menulis review film ini dlm Bahasa Indonesia

Peringatan!!! DILARANG BACA KALO BELUM NONTON KARENA BANYAK SPOILER

Jujur alasan gw nntn film ini karena sutradaranya sama ama yg bikin Matrix. Matrix is my all time number 1 action movie because of it’s amazing effect and twisted story. …karena itulah gw berharap Ninja Assasin bisa menjadi pembalas kerinduan gw terhadap film action dgn cerita bermutu.

Tapi…..

Begitu mulai….gyaaaaaa (teriakan dlm hati) kuereeeeen buangeeeet!!!! Adegan pembunuhan si Ninja T.O.P B.G.T atau dlm bahasa kerennya Freakin’ Awesome!! Darah bercipratan kemana2, bagian tubuh berterbangan dengan potongan2 yg bersih….keren bgt deh pokoknya. Gw langsung mengancungkan jempol krn kagum.

Adegan pembunuhan ini ala Zatoichi tapi tentunya dgn efek yg lebih keren…tapi tipe2 pembunuhan dan darah dimana2nya sgt mengingatkan gw ma Zatoichi.

Film dibuka dgn pembantain kelompok Yakuza…awalnya ada anggota yakuza itu yang kepalanya putus tepat diatas mulut, trus ada yg lagi diri kakinya kepotong dan ada yg kedua tangannya kepotong….ih pokoknya keren deh….gw terkagum2 dgn efek darah dan pemotogan itu …. ehem…it’s so my kind of movie

Lalu dimulailah cerita sesungguhnya. Ceritanya ketebak bgt!!! Damn!!! too easy to guess!! Raizo yg dididik secara ninja sejak kecil jatuh cinta dgn ninja ce, kiriko, yg punya hati yg lembut. Pas ce itu kabur, Ayahnya (istilah terhadap si ketua) nyuruh Takashi ngebunuh Kiriko di depan ninja2 lain. Pembelotan Raizo dimulai pas dia disuruh untuk membunuh ninja ce lain yg mencoba kabur.

Raizo pgn bgt ngebunuh si ayah….wow ketebak bgt kan!!! Trus dia ketemu ce dr Europol, namanya Mika….and…jeng jeng jeng…keburukan film amerika pun dimulai!!!

Sekelompok ninja yg dah ada dr awal tahun 1900an bisa dihabisi oleh sekelompok tentara bersenjata n ber-tank!!! Gyaaaaaaaaa apaaan tuh????!!!! Pas liat tentara2 itu gw lgsg kecewa berat! Okeh gapapa deh ceritanya ketebak tapi kenapa sih mesti senjata terlibat dlm traditional martial art??? sumpah deh tuh tank, senjata n bomb merusak keindahan Ninja Assasin

Selain itu…di tengah2 film dibilang mereka bisa mencium bau orang….Masa iya mereka ga bisa nyium bau mesiu sampe2 bisa di serang tiba2 gitu??? SO LAME!!! Di tambah lg mana ada kendaraan sejenis tank yang suaranya ga kencang?!  Pleaseeeee….Mereka itu ninja gitu loh!!!!! manusia2 yg ditraining untuk memanfaatkan pengunaan indra2nya melebihi manusia lain….lagipula mana ada base ninja yg ga da penjaganya ampe2 ga tau ada musuh datang!!!

HUAAAA KECEWA BERAAAAAT!!!!!

Tambah kecewa pas tau2 si Mika nembak si ayah!!! DAMN!!! lame abis!!! Untungnya si ayah ga mati gara2 tembakan itu….kalo sampe mati….nih film bakal gw hina dina abis.

Hehehehe namun….

Untungya cerita yang buruk itu ditutupi oleh jenis action yg gw suka bgt!!

Kareografinya KUEREEEEEN PISAAAAN…melihat fight mereka sangat2 menghibur. Bahkan latihan Raizo pun enak diliat walopun dia cuma sendirian. Fight di dalam dojo juga keren bgt, pas Raizo melawan beberapa ninja sekaligus dalam dojo yg setengah kebakar. Pembantaian para tentara di Jerman benar2 menghibur mata.

Awalnya gw pikir Rain ga bakalan cocok jd jd pemeran utama….eh ternyata oke juga!!! Gw akui gw suka bgt liat Rain disitu….hehehe badannya bagus bo!!! *slurp*

Jadi kesimpulannya….Gw pengen bgt liat lagi karena faktor fight scenenya TAPI ceritanya haaaaah berharap bisa tiba2 berubah tapi ga mungkin ya??

Kalo dirating Untuk efek dan fight scenenya gw kasih 5/5 tapi untuk ceritanya 1/5

So….I am still waiting for the next THE MATRIX

Funny Onepiece: Minna..let’s dance!!

From Onepiece 416. Luffy was trying to live up the banguet in Amazonlily

hehehe this next one is a total laugh!! Taken from Onepiece 418. Franky’s hentai dansu

Hello Japan!

I have been joining in this Challenge for 2 months and realized that I haven’t made an introduction for this challenge yet…Shame on me!!

This challenge is all about Japan.

I love almost everything about Japan.

My love for Japan 1st came from Manga…I love reading Manga, especially Shounen Manga. My favorite Manga of all time is Onepiece by Eiichiro Oda.

Then I encountered Dorama and it is waaay better than meaningless Indonesian Sinetron…I fell in love with dorama the minute I saw Anything For You. I like a lot of Dorama and had made review for some of them (mostly written in Indonesian but I’ve been writing in English lately).

And after that, I started paying attention to almost everything about Japan. I fell deeply in love with L’Arc~en~Ciel, the greatest band in Japan (at least for me). I learn Nihongo… jibun de bekyoushimasu kara atashi no nihongo wa amari jyozu jyanai desu. I ate some of Nihon Ryouri, as long as it is still Halal (allowed by my religion). I also love Haruki Murakami’s books and many other Japanese writers.

So…when I found this mini challenge, I haven’t got the slightest hesitation to join in

Here are the challenges:

December 2009

Topic/Task – Choose a temple or shrine in Kyoto and learn something about it.  (In conjunction with the current Japanese Literature Book Group selection, The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata.)

Link round-up (will be posted at the beginning of January)

November 2009

Topic/Task – Eat Japanese food.

Link round-up

October 2009

Topic/Task – Read or watch something scary, spooky or suspenseful.

Link Round-up

My Post for this challenge are:

December 2009: I have nothing to write on temples

November 2009: Ramen and Others

October 2009: Natsume Yuujinchou

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a book written by Stephen King for his son, Owen, who loves playing baseball. The 1st time I heard the title, I thought it was gonna be something like Misery, an obsessed fans…but I was wrong, it was about a girl who got lost and tried to survive in the forest.

Patricia McFarland (Trisha) lived with her mother and her brother, Pete. Their parents had been divorced for a few years. Pete hated their new place. He kept on saying that he wanted to live with his dad, this attitude of his caused a never ending debate between Pete and Their mother. Trisha tried to be the middle person…and it didn’t work.

One day, Quilla (their mother) took them for a hiking on The Appalachian Trail. And as always, Pete and Quilla kept on debating along the way, they seemed not to forget about Trisha. Trisha tried telling them that she needed to take a pee but they didn’t listen to her…so Trisha decided to leave them alone and walked to side to find a safe place to pee. But, her safe place caused her to lose her way back to the road.

She tried to survive in the forest by doing the basic things she knew about survival. She tried following rivers, because rivers always led to civilization…or so they said! Being cut off the world could easily break anyone’s spirit, the one thing that kept her sanity was her walkman. She survived mentally by listening to Red Sox Games and imagining that Tom Gordon, her favorite baseball player who wore number 36, is walking along with her.

In the dark, a dark creature was spying on her and marking her as it’s pray. The creature left dead animals and scratched tree as its mark. Can Trisha be found? Can Trisha survive from the forest and that creature? That’s something you have to read it for yourself.

This is my 1st King’s book on a single character story, I said single character because the whole book is only about Trisha. For me, this book is unlike most King’s books…Why?? Because the story is not as complex as his other books, not as cruel as usual, and not as captivating as usual. I won’t say that I didn’t like…I just said, It’s not like him!!!

I felt like reading Goosebumps in a more detail way. I don’t know if Goosebumps series is still exist, but I still remembered that series, thriller for kids. The stories were short and lack of detail. TGWLTG is somehow felt like one of the story in that series, but in a more detail way.

It was fun reading it but it wasn’t something I am going to read again one day.
I rated this book with 3 stars out of 5 (I liked it)

I am using this review for my 1st book on Thriller and Suspense Challenge 2010