I've Finally Read The Hunger Games!

I've become such a slow reader now.

Maybe you remember that I bought my copy of Suzanne Collins's best-selling book The Hunger Games a long time ago, in May. But, you know what, I just finished reading it last week. I spend a lot of time outside my home these days and when I reach home I usually feel too tired to read, which turns me into the slowest reader on Earth. Anyways, I've read The Hunger Games, and I love it more than I expected. I've always thought that the film adaptation is great, but I was surprised to find that the book is even better.

Source: id.pintterest.ccom

The book is told from Katniss's point of view, which makes things in the book feel more intimate than what I've seen in the movie. It also makes it easier for me to relate to Kaniss and understand why she does what she does. When I watched the movie, I wondered why she is so bitter and rude. I even found her attitude a bit annoying. However, seeing things from her point of view helps me see her differently. Now I know how hard life is for her. You know, she has to live in poverty, become the head of the family because her parents are unable to do that anymore, lose her beloved father and, of course, go through the Hunger Games... Now I understand why it's so hard for her not to be cold.

Before I read the book, I could never decide which team I was on, Team Peeta or Team Gale. But now I've made  my decision: Team Peeta! I have one friend who is madly in love with Peeta (yes, Lia, it's you hahahaha), but, on the other hand, a lot of people see Peeta as a weak person. I never hated Peeta but I was never deeply in love with him either, but, man, now I am. Josh Hutcherson portrayed Peeta very well and precisely in the films, but we all know that books can tell about their characters in a way that movies can never do. When I looked back at Peeta's actions in the film after reading the book (I watched the film again as soon as I finished reading), I could understand them more because they are explained more clearly in the narration. To me, Peeta shows that being strong doesn't always mean being good at fighting. He shows that strength has many forms. When you're able to sacrifice yourself to protect other people or stay true to yourself when the world forces you to be someone else or be caring to other people when they don't care at all, that means you're strong too. Maybe that's why people see him as a weak person; because people, without realizing it, tend to associate strength with only physical abilities. My friend says that it might also be caused by people's tendency to expect a man to be physically strong too. I agree with that. Sometimes the stereotypes make us forget that people have different qualities and that we can't generalize them. Peeta might not be physically strong. Unlike what people expect men to be, he is gentle and loving, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have strength. Oh yeah, I love you, the boy with the bread!

"Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games..." -Peeta Mellark, page 165 (Image is from id.pinterest.com)

So, reading The Hunger Games after seeing the film makes the experience pretty interesting. I usually read the books before seeing the film adaptations, but this time I did the opposite. Doing it this way feels surprisingly great. It's like the film builds the foundation of the story in you while the book does tthe finishing. It makes your understanding of the story and characters richer and deeper. Maybe I should do this more often...

Rating: 4,5/5

Attending "Book Lovers in Digital World" by Yes24 Indonesia

Last week I only had to go to work for two days (Monday and Tuesday) because it was the first term break of the academic year. I didn't have any plan to leave Jakarta and go on a trip on my holiday so I thought I would fill it with something good, positive and enlightening. As if God knew my intention (haha), God made my old friend contact me before the holiday and inform me about an event that was going to be held by the company where she works. The event is a mini gathering for bloggers who write about books. I thought the event was a great opportunity because it would allow me to meet new people who blog and are passionate about books, just like me. So I registered for the event and went there last weekend.

The event is called Book Lovers in Digital World and it was organized by a company called Yes24 Indonesia. When you hear the name of the company, you might directly associate it with Korean things. Yes, the company does sell things like cosmetics, CDs and clothes from Korea, but I found out from the event last week that Yes24 Indonesia also sells books online. I first thought that they only sell Korean books, but I checked their website (http://www.yes24.co.id/) and found that they have many kinds of books in their online store. They have books about religions, dictionaries, language books, children books, imported books written in English and Korean, school books and textbooks. I checked the fiction section in the English books category, typed up some book titles in the search box and found all the books that I looked for in their collection. So I think their collection is pretty complete. I'm definitely going to try buying books from them because I love buying books online; it's easier and sometimes I just don't have time to go to bookstores. I will use the vouchers they gave me last weekend too hahaha.

Me and the other participants at Yes24 Indonesia's office.
Go check their website and start shopping!

At the event, I met other bloggers and we shared our thoughts and feelings about being loyal fans of printed books in the era of e-books. Even though our lives can't be separated from digital devices these days, it turns out that book lovers, including myself, still prefer reading printed books. The attendees have many different reasons why they choose printed books over e-books, but I myself like printed books more because reading them has its own sensation. Flipping the pages, folding the top right or left of a page when you find a good quote there, journeying from the first page until the very last one... There's nothing quite like it. E-books might be easier to access and more efficient, but I will always love printed books more.

Our discussion

The discussion got more exciting and interesting as we continued talking about our love for books. We all agreed that we have to spread our love of reading to other people because the people in our country, Indonesia, have generally low interest to read. I personally think that we should make reading a habit. How can we do it? I would suggest what my school does (I work as a teaching assistant for an international school in Jakarta). There, there is one period every week when the students can go to the library and choose some books to be taken home and read. After they finish choosing, they usually sit with the librarian and listen to a story that he reads from a book. My students really enjoy these activities. I think these activities really help growing children's love for books and turn reading into a habit for them.

So, I had so much fun attending the event last weekend. I hope there will be more events like this in the future because I would love to join more events like this. It's just really nice to meet and talk to people who have the same interest as me. Thank you, Yes24 Indonesia, for creating the event!

Combined Review: The Magnificent Seven & Deepwater Horizon

Sooo we have reached that time of the year when all the anticipated blockbuster movies of the summer have been released. It's October right now and there is no film this month that has much hype. I've seen a couple of movies this season. I saw Jason Statham's Mechanic: Resurrection and The Magnificent Seven in September. Earlier this week, I saw Deepwater Horizon. I think the first film is horrible in every aspect (sorry!), but the other two films are pretty enjoyable and I have some things to say about them. Here they are!

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

The Magnificent Seven is a remake of a movie that has the same title that was released in 1960. The original movie itself is also a remake of a Japanese film entitled Seven Samurai. The 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven tells the story of Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), a woman whose hometown is threatened by a greedy man named Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), who intends to take over the small town. Desperate to reclaim her town but not able to fight on her own, she seeks help from a bounty hunter named Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington). Chisolm then forms a team of seven deadly cowboys who are willing to risk their lives to help Emma and her neighbors face the evil Bogue. The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua.

Source: moviesinthephilippines.com

For me the movie is not bad, but it's definitely not as magnificent as the title.

The storyline itself is such a stereotype and, from the very beginning, I know how it's going to end. It's understandable, though, as this one is a remake of a classical movie which was probably one of the pioneers of cowboy movies. Furthermore, the plot also goes a little too slowly for me. Some scenes, like the ultimate shooting scene, are too long and slow and made me a bit bored.

The Magnificent Seven has a list of great actors in its cast. There are Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard, Byung-hun Lee, etc. So before I went to see the movie, I had high hopes in terms of the acting quality. However, I must say that I was disappointed. Well, I'm not saying that these actors have bad acting quality; I just think that their talents are not supported by good writing here, so they don't really shine throughout the movie. The story doesn't give time for the characters to have bonding time and let the actors show the chemistry that they have with one another. I think the bond should have been the focus of the movie because this movie is about a squad that is so magnificent. They should have given us some squad goals moments! But, unfortunately, the movie doesn't show this bond. To be honest, I still don't understand why the other six members of the squad are willing to join Chisolm and risk their lives for the job. They all just agree to join without any strong reason. They should've shown the reasons behind the cowboys' actions; the reasons why they make such a solid team.

There are two things that I admire from the movie. The first one is Haley Bennett's character, Emma Cullen. Although she doesn't have much screen time, we can really see her as a brave and strong woman. She stands up for her town when nobody else dares to do it and even joins the bloody, deadly fight for her freedom. I find it very inspriring. Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Bogue also amazed me. He is really unrecognizable as Bogue here; I didn't even realize it was Peter Sarsgaard until I saw his name linked to Bogue's name during the end credit. You know, I always remember him as that charming man who breaks Carey Mulligan's heart in An Education, but he looks nothing like that man here. He transforms himself into the mean and greedy Bogue here. An actor who is able to transform himself into his character is a great actor, right?

Rating: 2,5/5

DEEPWATER HORIZON

Deepwater Horizon is a movie that is based on true events. In 2010, a drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded due to some malfunctions in its system. This movie shows the story behind the disaster; the conflicts that led to it, the people who were involved in it and the brave heroes who emerged during the disaster. The movie is directed by Peter Berg while the cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Gina Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson and Dylan O'Brien.

To be honest, the main reason why I wanted to see this movie is because one of my fictional boyfriends, Stiles Stilinski aka Dylan O'Brien, is in it hahahaha. Sadly, Dylan's pretty face is covered in mud most of the time there, but I still enjoyed the movie.

As I said before, this movie is based on true events, so the conflicts that are featured here are very realistic and relatable. The realness of the story is also supported by the actors' great performances. I love how they all look like real people here; it makes things feel even more realistic. The chemistry between Kate Hudson and Mark Wahlberg, who play a married couple, is really sweet yet so real. Kurt Russell really transforms himself into his character here. Similar to Peter Sarsgaard in The Magnificent Seven, I didn't realize that Kurt Russell is in this movie until his name showed up during the end credit. He looks so badass with that awesome mustache hahaha. John Malkovich successfully made me hate his character here haha. I also admire Dylan's bravery to make himself unrecognizable by letting his face, that cute face that makes girls love him hahaha, be covered in mud for the entire movie. I heard he and the film's director decided to do that to make things seem real because real people who work in rigs like Dylan's characters do have their faces covered in mud most of the time. That's what you call dedication.

Dylan an his muddy face :D (Source: www.imdb.com)

The set that they built for the movie is pretty impressive as well. I heard they really built a huge set for the rig scenes in a water tank. The explosion and the fire scenes successfully made me scared. The explosion and the fire are so massive and crazy. When I remember that that kind of explosion and fire really happened and that people really did have to go through that, I just shiver. No wonder Mark Wahlberg's character becomes very emotional and broken at the end of the movie.

Rating: 3,5/5