reading time!

Books have been one of my best companions since I realized how much they helped me to build my character and thoughts. Besides The Alchemist, For one more day, Message in The Bottle, I have read few other books that were equally mesmerizing me.

I am now reading few books given by good friends of mine, but I have done reading the list below and I want to share how touching the books were. As usual, I am not a good story teller, so I'll just quote the best part of the books (in my opinion) so that they will reveal their own treasures.

*Jejak Guru Bangsa by Mohamad Sobary

Orang-orang yang nalar kritisnya belum sepenuhnya terbungkam sadar bahwa mereka hendak dijadikan klangenan oleh penguasa. Maka, biarpun "rumah" bagi mereka tadi mewah, bahkan bila terbuat dari emas pun, sangkar emas tetap sangkar. Belenggu tetap belenggu. Dan manusia berjiwa "merdeka", yang masih bisa menghargai diri dan kemerdekaannya, akan mencari cara untuk tak terkurung, biarpun - sekali lagi - ibaratnya di sangkar emas.

It told me not only the story of how Gus Dur lived his life, but also how he struggled for Indonesian revolution - against the Old Regime - knowing the rights to speak and to be heard are in the vein of the citizen.

*Your Job is Not Your Career by Rene Suhardono

Your strength is (NOT) what you're good at.

It is what you enjoy the most!

It's your passion.

A refreshing start for those who are looking for their passion, just like me. The book tried to explain that your career is the journey, your job is only the media to go for the journey. And the media that you use is never yours, the journey that is. To be able to be the ULTIMATE YOU, you need to find your passion, know your purpose of life, and have your values.

*Career Snippet by Rene Suhardono

Embrace your passion.

Live a life of action.

Build our nation

The second book to compliment the first one tried to capture how we need to find our rockstar -people who inspire you to do what you love to reach success.

*Queen of Heart, Kartu Andalan Memenangkah Hati Pria Idaman by Alexandra Dewi

Being women, you need to be HARD TO GET, EASY TO BE WITH.

The thing I love about this book is how she tried to put dignity into every woman existed and to bring confidence in every single of them. It will give you tricks of how to get men's attention at best. We'll see, haha.

*The heart inside the heart, Apa yang Perlu diketahui Wanita Sebelum Menikah, Selingkuh, atau Bercerai by Alexandra Dewi

Seorang wanita dicintai bukanlah karena ia cantik.

Dia cantik karena dia dicintai.

Aku terima apa adanya, bukan cari ada apanya.

Aku cinta kamu bukan KARENA....

tapi

Aku cinta kamu WALAUPUN....

Satu tangkai mawar yang diberikan HARI INI jauh lebih berarti

dari satu ton kembang melati yang diberikan NANTI ketika orang itu sudah tidak bersama kita di dunia ini.

Berjanjilah memeluk dan dilakukan jauh lebih berarti daripada

janji memberi emas tapi tidak ditepati.

May the seed of profound love in our heart grows strong and beautifully.

That was the line I found in the first page of the book, which drew me directly to it. The book told me that it is easy to fall in love, but it is not to stay in love. A marriage needs hard work to keep it steady. But it is worth to try. And the best thing it told me is that Wedding day is just a day, the marriage itself takes the rest of your life.

*Brida by Paulo Coelho

When you find your path, you must not be afraid.

You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes.

Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.

A true meaning of love, faith, soulmate, God's mistery, doubts, and magic.

I really recommend those books listed above for you to read. AweSOME, seriously.

At the moment, I haven't finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, Paulo Coelho's The Valkyries, and Ellen Miller's One Year Book of Inspirations for Girlfriends. And I really can tell that these book I am reading are totally awesome as well :)

Yeah, tell me I am a geek. Haha.