Tag: books

september reading list

with the ban lifted, in what seemed to be a twice a week to kinokuniya trip buying absolutely nothing, and with some ketua pemuda from twitterjaya giving off books for birthday presents, and borrowing stuff from dude who lost a bunch iof stuff over raya, this month seems to be a hopeful one. mostly read during the raya.

i mainly survived on reading during all rayas. last year was trainspotting together with the portrait of an artist as a young man, the year before was nine stories, the year before that was franny and zooey, and year before that particular year was the catcher in the rye together with beyond good and evil. yeh, i know, i’m pretentious. i am fond of mr. salinger. sadly about three people didn’t return all those three books; the pristine white version. i am left with a sad looking seymour; an introduction, quite alone on his own.
anyway, without any reviews, because i’m too lazy. just a lazy list.
  • Tapai by Hishamuddin Rais (!!!!!)
  • Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato’ Hamid Adventures by Kam Raslan (!!!!!)
  • On the Road by Jack Kerouac
  • Paradise Lost by John Milton
  • Program Pendidikan Pelajar Pintar Cerdas: Teori dan Praktik by Nik Azis Nik Pa (!!! – dug this number from the dad’s shelf. very um, academic )
that should suffice. lots to do this week and the week after. some stupid critical thinking speech, a subject that should be rightfully murdered and burned. also that essay. blegh. and some video for some subject. things like these they kill me. as much as i wish for timelessness, i also wish for time to be extended. one to block out people and shit, and another to welcome whatever subject. blegh.
Chuck Palahniuk akan ditangguhkan bulan depan. I like your humble narrator better. Also, New Malaysian Essays 3 will be released sometime this week.
until next time.

august reading list

to be compiled.

Can someone recommend me something highly amusing, yet at the same time satirical, witty, hilarious, though never stoops to something you call downright stupid, laden with conversations and dialogs, or perhaps with lots and lots of irony?
It’s tiring reading serious stuff. Too much philosophy and ideas and concepts to grasp all at once.I need a good laugh, one of these days.
Expand. I’m thinking of adding Chuck Palahniuk on the list but dunno where to start. On the other hand, I’d probably pick Herman Hesse’s stuff before moving on to Siddartha next month. Also there’s Irvine Welsh waiting to be read.
Ah. Help me. Local books would be fine. I’m waiting someone to buy me Tapai by Hishammudin Rais. Sebab ada reference kepada Bob Harris. and some other stuff. I just don’t have the money to buy them books no more.
Tolong.

buku buku buku


KL Alternative Bookfest. Ada beberapa buku yang perlu dibeli di sana. Malam semalam habiskan baca Faust lepas tu rasa agak tertipu. Damn kamu part one. I knew I should buy Paradise Lost instead. Tengah hari tadi pergi kedai buku ‘terpakai’ depan pkns bangi dan oh hanya berjaya capai 1984 dengan buku bosan Bertrand Russell. Tiga ringgit saja setiap satu. Aku sukakan benda murah.

Tadi ketika sedang berbincang hal hal domestik tiba tiba muncul hal Kenapa Kamu Masih Tidak Ada Mamat Lagi dan mak aku point out bahawa aku harus ‘cari satu’. wtf. kemudian lantas menyebut nama-nama orang yang mungkin aku pernah mention suatu ketika dahulu. ugh, Aku cakap bahawa semua orang bodoh dan membosankan, lantas terus mendefinisikan apa itu bodoh dan membosankan. Perkataan perkataan yang harsh tak patut dilontar kepada orang ramai. Haish.
Itu sahaja untuk kali ini.
Oh lagi satu, pertandingan menulis ini, kalau kamu berminat nak tulis esei panjang-panjang mengenai negara ini dengan objektif tanpa complain merata-rata di blog blog kamu. Ini mungkin projek terpendam aku kut untuk tahun ini.

buntu

I tried to write again stories. But I forgot how. Damn. Most of the things written are either self-reflections on certain things and rabble. There’s no plot, no eloquence at all I feel ashamed. I need to write more stuff.

“You know what don’t Sara? You suck at writing essays. You don’t know how to describe people, and put those words at the right time, you know? All that “heartbroken and chest-fallen and crimson blood and shadowy pale blue eyes” kinda stuff. You can’t write an essay without describing something in detail, lad. It’s sinful. People don’t get it. You don’t try to make the people figure out things in your essays, boy. It’s confusing. And most of all, Sara dear, you don’t try to go and make nonsensical stuff and suddenly jump to one thing to another without telling people. Or you just don’t stay at one place in a story. People get bored. You get that, old sport?”

“Yes, I do, my conscience. I am deeply sorry for letting you down and fail to put my best I writing superb essays that entertain and fulfill your fine taste. Lately, I have been most aware of the lack of effort and motivation to write beautiful essays, if any. I have yet to attribute this to any factors for certain, but I suspect it highly has to do with the recent events and the untimely homeworks that somewhat, put me off reading new materials, let alone write! The collection of books I have bought throughout the holidays seems to be left untouched, and have become yellowed and dusty, that I must say, has become an ornament rather than a refugee. Tell me, dear conscience, what am I to do?”

“Ah Sarah, you make me ill with all your excuses. Homework, you say? Why, have you seem to have forgotten the time when you used to ignore all of those and rather embrace the comfort of the books you have? Did you not sleep late at nights to read them, instead of scribbling notes like the others did? And you did swell at school. There’s naught to be worried for you, ain’t it? “

“But things have changed. Now, that homework precedes everything. That time you spoke of was when I was sick. Now, I am not as sick as before. I have normalized myself, and thus, my talent to interpret everything and write like a madman has long disappeared. It is lost. I am sorry but I am being more of an idiot now, and my eyes have gone blind, my ears have gone deaf, and my brain becoming dead. Tell me, dear conscience, what am I to do?”

“Ah, Sara, you put me in a dire situation. I cannot see you become like this. Do not falter. You can’t just go around everyone else and conclude “you get sadder, the smarter you get”. You’re becoming of a bore to me and I do not want to lose you to some bastards. Don’t lose hope, okay? You might suck today and tomorrow, and I’ll keep lash out at you and mock you and make you go mad, but you know what, Sara? People don’t suck everyday. You just gotta, you know, have a good night sleep and ignore everyone for a while, or hole up in a goddam room or something, and listen o some good music and you’ll wake up feeling absolutely swell. But swell.”

Written months ago.

But first, I need to read. Perlu dapatkan supply buku-buku baru. Rakan-rakan baru. Yang berpengetahuan. Bukan filem-filem baru. Bukan game-game baru. Shit, otak tak berkembang langsung di sini. I need to stop using the internet for 2 whole weeks and see how it goes. Reliance on such technological things causes my mind to go astray.

Aku mahu compile list-list buku perlu baca untuk dipesan di Kinokuniya. Siapa mahu cadangkan? Tak kisah Bahasa Melayu atau Bahasa Inggeris. Seriously. I need new books.