Monday 1 January 2024

Books read in 2023

Gilaaa, sudah tahun 2024 lagi dong. Happy New Year!

Jadi, saya tuh tahun ini lumayan oke kecepatan membacanya. Tidak sampai panik di akhir tahun karena harus kejar target. Walaupun saya memang mengganti beberapa buku tebal dengan buku yang lebih tipis biar bacanya lebih cepat saja. Lagipula saya lagi pengen pangkas tumpukan to read yang sudah terlalu banyak itu. 

Berikut buku-buku yang saya baca tahun 2023 (based on genre):

A.  Fantasy and Science Fiction

B.  Romance


D.  General and Classic Literature 

Masih seperti biasa. Saya bacanya nggak jauh-jauh dari genre fantasi dan YA. Tahun ini sebenarnya saya berharap bisa jatuh cinta dengan Mistborn karya Brandon Sanderson. Sayangnya, tidak sebagus yang saya kira.

Untuk tahun 2024 ini, saya berencana memasang target membaca 48 buku. Saya harus terus mengurangi target setiap tahunnya karena terasa kalau kecepatan membaca saya sudah melambat jauh.

Top 10 books read in 2023 (not in particular order):
1.   Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (science fiction)
2.   Animal Farm by George Orwell (classic literature)
3.   Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare (young adult fantasy)
4.   Someday by Winna Efendi (young adult)
5.   The Architecture of Love by Ika Natassa (contemporary romance)
6.   The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins (dystopia)
7.   Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare (young adult fantasy)
8.   Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (dystopia)
9.   Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (historical fiction)
10. A Little White Lie by Titish AK (teen literature)

Sampai jumpa tahun depan! Semoga saya membaca banyak buku bagus lagi di tahun 2024!

Sunday 31 December 2023

Chain of Gold


 Judul : Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1)
Penulis : Cassandra Clare
Tebal : 624 halaman
Penerbit: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.

But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.

Animal Farm


 Judul : Animal Farm
Penulis : George Orwell
Tebal : 148 halaman
Penerbit : Bentang Pustaka

Suatu malam, Major, si babi tua yang bijaksana, mengumpulkan para binatang di peternakan untuk bercerita tentang mimpinya. Setelah sekian lama hidup di bawah tirani manusia, Major mendapat visi bahwa kelak sebuah pemberontakan akan dilakukan binatang terhadap manusia; menciptakan sebuah dunia di mana binatang akan berkuasa atas dirinya sendiri.

Tak lama, pemberontakan benar-benar terjadi. Kekuasaan manusia digulingkan di bawah pimpinan dua babi cerdas: Snowball dan Napoleon. Namun, kekuasaan ternyata sungguh memabukkan. Demokrasi yang digaungkan perlahan berbelok kembali menjadi tiran di mana pemimpin harus selalu benar. Dualisme kepemimpinan tak bisa dibiarkan. Salah satu harus disingkirkan … walau harus dengan kekerasan.

Crank Palace


 Judul : Crank Palace (The Maze Runner #3.5)
Penulis : James Dashner
Tebal : 166 halaman
Penerbit : Riverdale Avenue Books

Newt has been to hell and back with his friends.

The Glade. The Maze. The Scorch. The inner halls of WICKED. But now he has a burden that can't be shared with Thomas and the others—the Flare. And Newt can't bear the thought of his friends watching him descend into madness as he succumbs to the virus.

Leaving only a note, Newt departs the Berg before the Gladers return from their mission into Denver, Colorado. From there, he experiences the gritty nightmare of life on the streets, running from the infected and those hunting them, until he ends up in the Crank Palace, the last dumping ground of those without hope. Although Newt thought he was running away from his friends to save them from himself, along the way he meets a young mother named Keisha and her son, Dante, who end up saving Newt in a way he could never have imagined.

Inferno


 Judul : Inferno (Talon #5)
Penulis : Julie Kagawa
Tebal : 400 halaman
Penerbit : HQ Young Adult

Ember Hill has learned a shocking truth. She is the blood of the Elder Wyrm, the ancient dragon who is on the verge of world domination.

With the Order of St. George destroyed, she must journey to the Amazon jungle in search of one who might hold the key to take down Talon. As the stakes are rising and the Elder Wyrm is declaring war, time is running out for the rogues and any dragon not affliated with Talon.

The final battle approaches and if Talon are victorious, the world will burn.

Unsouled


 Judul : Unsouled (Unwind #3)
Penulis : Neal Shusterman
Tebal : 404 halaman
Penerbit : Simon & Schuster UK

Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, the last safe haven for AWOL Unwinds. But for the first time, they’re not just running away from something. This time, they’re running toward answers, in the form of a woman Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history itself. If they can find her, and learn why the shadowy figures behind unwinding are so afraid of her, they may discover the key to bringing down unwinding forever.

Cam, the rewound boy, is plotting to take down the organization that created him. Because he knows that if he can bring Proactive Citizenry to its knees, it will show Risa how he truly feels about her. And without Risa, Cam is having trouble remembering what it feels like to be human.

With the Juvenile Authority and vindictive parts pirates hunting them, the paths of Connor, Lev, Cam, and Risa will converge explosively—and everyone will be changed.

Goodbye Days


 Judul : Goodbye Days
Penulis : Jeff Zentner
Tebal : 399 halaman
Penerbit : Random House UK Children

What if you could spend one last day with someone you lost?

One day Carver Briggs had it all—three best friends, a supportive family, and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts.

The next day he lost it all when he sent a simple text to his friend Mars, right before Mars, Eli, and Blake were killed in a car crash.

Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident, and he’s not the only one. Eli’s twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. And Mars’s father, a powerful judge, is pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver’s actions.

Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her to share their memories and say a proper goodbye to his friend.

Soon the other families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver, but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or—even worse—prison?