[2Days1Book][Book Review] The Silkworm

Another novel from Robert Galbraith or J.K. Rowling, in the series of Cormoran Strike, the detective. When I saw this novel in the bookstore, I immediately bought it. Because of course I have the first novel of Cormoran Strike adventure and I want to read more about his adventure.

I like detective novel but it seems like this book is a little bit different that previous one. It's boring. I'm not sure why I think this way. Maybe because it's using english? but i think not really because I read many english books and novel, and boring is out of my list. Maybe because of the plot?

You can see in the back cover the synopsis of the novel. About how the victim is found died. But, to the point of story where the victim found dead is taking a long pages to be read. Almost quarter of the book, you can find that story.

It's kinda a bit... too many string attached in front of the story line. I know that it's interesting to know the introductory and why the case happened. But it's too much.

It's a good book. But not great enough.

It's actually depends on the person on how they read the novel. Some people like me wanna find the interesting stories as soon as possible. But some people like to read it slowly.

Okay enough for the "thought" about this Silkworm... let's move to the review.

Cormoran Strike has another case from a lady who lost her husband. Literally lost, means not coming home for weeks. Her husband's name is Quine, a famous novelist. Cormoran and Robin (his assistant) tried to find Quine's whereabouts. From going to one place to another, from one person to another. But, the most interesting thing to him is that most of the person he wants to meet are asking to meet him first. Because they seem to have interest in the son's of John Rokerby's son rather than the case itself.

He found out that Quine's have a novel manuscript that touch real people's lives. Dangerously, can make someone to kill Quine. What kind of novel is that? It called Bombyx Mori (the latin name of Silkworm).

Then, the murder is really happened. Quine is brutally murdered by someone he knew. Cormoran and Robin have to find the killer, at this point.

In the middle of the story, there are several romanticism touch. For instance, how Robin felt about Matthew (her fiancee) 's point of view on Cormoran, and how Cormoran felt to Robin. Kinda bizarre situation in this detective novel hahaha

So... how about the ending? nope I will not going to tell you because it's gonna ruin the story. hahaha 

[BackToSchool Series] Daily Productive Pouch

Several days ago, I got my opportunity to go "shopping" again. It was not like another kind of shopping, because it's different. I went to my favorite stationary store in the city and try to look something fun to buy, but also useful for my daily activities. And actually this is tricky because sometimes I don't even know how much money I'm gonna spend at this shopping day. hahaha Maybe it's the same thing to another girls who like shop a lot to buy clothing, shoes, etc. But, in my case... stationary and books. It can be as worst as that type of shopping if I didn't go there with my husband. Because he'll telling me what kind of things that actually useful for me or just for my pleasure oriented. haha

So, I found this pouch in the store. Just like my another posts about pouch that you can read in this link, I like Unicite model of pouches and bags for travelling. This one can be used not only for travelling but also for daily life. Actually you can choose which color and size you like. There are 3 options for size which are A6, A5, and B5. The color options are Black, Green, Blue, and Pink. However in this case, I choose the pink one with B5 size and it's perfect for me (it's my husband's choice by the way) because it can help me put everything I have in one place, including papers. Let me show you what's inside.

There are several pockets inside that can be used as stationary's placement. For example you can see in that picture it can be used to store colorful pens, ruler, markers, washi tapes, notes, cards, stickers, keys, even your phone. 

It means a lot for people who travel a lot, not only for pleasure but also for work and school, and also have a high productivity life. This people including me, can use this as a companion to store everything we have in this pouch. So, we don't have to worry about where we gonna suppose to place pens and papers in different place. We just put them in one place and ready to go.

Another thing that important enough for me is that the size. You can differentiate between the normal pen pouch that kinda big and this pouch which have book size. Therefore, when I put it my bag, it will easy to get and not gonna stuck under things, like I used to deal with my pen pouch. 

The price? ok if you buy this in the store you have to spend around NT$ 360, but if you buy it online you can get less than that. I recommend you to buy in Yahoo Mall, because it's cheaper, if you live in Taiwan. But, if you live in other countries, I think you can also buy one of this but need to spend more due to delivery cost.

Hope this post help you. :)

[#2Days1Book][Book Review] Cuckoo's Calling

I guess everyone knows who J.K. Rowling is. But, we've never heard Robert Galbraith, right? Suddenly the book became best seller in many book stores. Guess what? Robert Galbraith is J.K. Rowling. I guess she's trying to be another person. Try to prove that she can write another novel other than Harry Potter. haha

So, I decided to buy this novel, not only because it's Mrs. Rowling's, but also because I like detective novel. These months I like to watch CSI Cyber Crime, Hawai Five O, etc. haha

Because I bought the "translation" version which is using Bahasa Indonesia, I felt terrible. The translation is "not match" with the meaning and how the characters talk with each other. If you are Indonesian, you will feel "weird" when you read word "semriwing" in the sentence which represent how Cormoran Strike wash her face. The editor must be changed!! (just kidding haha)

I understand how this phase of translation is not easy from the translator and editor. But, I think they can do better.

But after all, I like the story. I like how the story goes from the moment Lula Landry (the supermodel) died until the culprit is found. And the culprit...is unpredictable. At first the culprit is Lula's apartment's security guy. But I was wrong. haha

And my question has also answered inside the novel, why the title is Cuckoo the bird. It's because Lula's friend called her Cuckoo. And calling because she is not suicide but murdered.

Still...for detective story, I like Sherlock Holmes more. Of course! Legendary detective story ever. haha

Mr. Galbraith or Mrs. Rowling has a good job in the writing, I believe. Even I prefer to read again the english novel so that I can capture the feeling of more.

This novel is worth to read!! I like it.

The Moments when I'm addicted to Starbucks

Everybody knows Starbucks...the biggest coffee shop chain in the world. Before I went to Taiwan almost 3 years ago, I've never every buy any kind of products from Starbucks. Because like most of the people said in Indonesia, Starbucks is only for rich people. Of course because it's expensive for a cup of coffee. My mom even can make more delicious coffee at home with cost less than 10.000 rupiah or less than $1. But, it changed now...

My impression when I saw a LOT of Starbucks shop in Taiwan is...weird. Why...there are so many Starbucks in Taiwan? Why oh Why? It's weird because Taiwanese has 7-11 and FamilyMart where we can find coffee too (the taste also nice for me), and these stores can be found in almost anywhere.

So... I decided to try one cup of coffee in Starbucks near my campus...I think 2 years ago. When I saw the price, I thought that it's not expensive when I use Taiwan Dollar. But, when I compare the price to Rupiah, of course it's expensive. I realized that is because of the culture where people at. Let me give you an example.

Green Tea Latte (which I like the most) has price NT$ 135 for Grande or Medium size. It's equal with Rp 54.000 if we use Rp 400 currency per NT$1. But, when I bought it in Starbucks Indonesia, the price is almost Rp 70.000 as far as I remember. Using that price in Indonesia...it's crazy! Many people will not going to buy with that price. That's why Indonesian said it's only for rich people.

But, when we talk about the culture in Taiwan, $135 is not expensive for a cup of coffee or latte. They don't have any coffee plantation and they have to import first from Indonesia or Africa, not like in Indonesia where we can find cheap good quality coffee almost anywhere. Taiwanese also like to hanging around with their friends after school or work, and Starbucks is the place. Because not many cafe can be found in Taiwan, except big cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung.

At first, I didn't have any addiction with Green Tea Latte (I only buy this in Starbucks). But after I married and stay in Hsinchu City, I've became bored all the time and my destination to waste my time is in Starbucks near my home. hahaha I already tried several other menu but I only like Green Tea Latte. I don't know why. Maybe because I found out that Indonesian coffee is better rather than drink instant Indonesian coffee in Taiwan. hahaha

My addiction of Green Tea Latte became worst because I usually go back and forth from Hsinchu to Taipei when I have class... and I don't like to use bus because I will get a seasick (or roadsick? haha)...and I need something hot. In the bus station, one thing that I can found faster is Starbucks. =.="

That's why almost every time I went to Taipei, I always buy Green Tea Latte to make my stomach and head better.

I think it's not like an addiction because if I didn't drink it, I would not going to have a headache or something like that. But, maybe it's because my need to stay awake after long trip using bus and spent my day when I didn't go to school.

I remember when my sister ever said to me that I'm crazy to buy Starbucks in Indonesia. =.=" She said "you're wasting your money". Yeah, sometimes I agree with that when I'm in Indonesia. But when I'm in Taiwan, I will say to her I don't agree. Because I will buy when I need it, not to buy this all the time. It's impossible for me to buy any kind of food or drinks when I don't have money, right? haha

So...the point is...my addiction is not an addiction. It's a need of tea with milk (a.k. latte) not coffee.

My Productivity App in May

May is coming and spring is almost end to the start of summer. But, it doesn't make me lazy to do something, even outside world is waiting for me to explore the beauty... :p haha

So, in the first post of this month, May, I'm gonna tell you guys what kind of productivity apps I've been used and still gonna use these in this beautiful month.

INBOX

If you use Gmail for your e-mail service, I think you probably notice that these days (I'm not sure start when) Google try to give you notification in your Gmail window to try to use Inbox. Inbox is another Google product that allows emails to be bundled based on the purpose. So, for example, if I buy something online, sometimes the conformation will be sent to e-mail, then Inbox will bundle this email into one folder called Purchase. The same case for travelling, Inbox will bundle your itinerary in the Travel folder. Inbox also have a functionality that help people notice which email should be seen first using "pin" or remove the seen email using "done", even "snooze" the email to be read later, just like alarm.
This app is very useful for me now. Because it can bundled everything in my inbox and I can easily manage what kind of email which is important and not important. But, if you want to use this app, you have to be invited first by your friend. Actually I'm not sure about this because when I first use this app, I don't have to be invited by my friend, but when my husband wanna tried it, I had to invite him first in order for him to use the app.

FOCUS@WILL

Have you ever experience the feeling of desperate to focus on something? I think many people have this kind of experience. That's why people need something that can make them focus. Music is one of the solution. But, not "jedug jedug" music (if you know what I mean) hahaha I like to listen an instrumental music, specifically guitar. Yeah sometimes, I will listen to Sungha Jung in YouTube. But, if I use YouTube in my tab, I can't open another app to do my tasks. So, there is this app called Focus@Will that will provide you with kind of music do you like. Not only acoustic but also something like piano recital, mozart songs, etc.
It's proven (at least to me) that music can help someone to focus and do the job faster and become more productive. But, you have to pay if you want to use this app for more than 1 month. Instead, you can still try it using 30 days trial. After that? let's find another app. haha

POCKET

Pocket is an app that can help you store websites links, videos, pictures, etc when you want to read it later, offline. So, for example... I like to browse a lot, sometimes I will got into a moment when I can't read the article and want to store the link in one click. And of course, if it's possible, read it offline. Pocket provides this need for people like me who likes to store many information online and to be read offline later maybe at home. And also, this app can be installed in phone, tablet, and computer.


EVERNOTE

I like this app a lot!! Because this app can help me store many notes, todos, pictures, websites links, videos, etc then I can share those files to my friends.

Because this app is using cloud service, the synchronization between one device with another is fast and no need much storage to save all notes we have.

It's good to save many meeting notes, research ideas, summary of the paper, todos for project (i dn't like t put my personal todos in here), websites offline page (just like pocket but i prefer pocket more than evernote website clipper), recipes, travel pictures, etc.

WUNDERLIST

Another app that can help me store and keep on track of my todos is this app called Wunderlist. I can also put my dreams or my monthly accomplishment, books to read, movies to watch, groceries list, etc. Because, this app put lists on the folders. You can download it in your mobile phone, tablet,or computer. The todos also can have deadline and can be repeated for several days, months, or anytime you want. You can also share your folder of lists to your friends, it's good for project list, and also you can chat on each other.

That's all for My May's App and hope it can help you to find perfect productivity app for you. Remember, there are a lot of apps in the store, you can manage to try one but then realize it's not good at all for your productivity. My suggestion to you is try at least for a week and if it's not good, try another one. Maybe my apps for this month are not suitable for your needs, it's fine, just find another app that similar but based on your needs.

Jazakallahu Khairan Katsiran. ^^