Walden, and some books on words

The readers of my blog may interpret my absence as mack of reading, which is, to some extent, true. I've been busier and my time has been consumed by my job, and also by my increasingly unhealthy addiction to Shakespeare. The latter has proved to be a huge hindrance to my old reading habit, since now I use my time not only to read and reread Shakespeare, but also to do some research about his works, mostly, theatrically.

However, I picked up my old book Walden some time ago and started reading it instead of rereading Shakespeare's plays that I've read before. It's interesting that Thoreau and I agree upon some points about life. For example, I sure agree with his willingness to live in simplicity, and I agree that the more you have, the more you need to keep your possessions. I'm still halfway through the first chapter of Walden, so I don't have the full picture of Thoreau's idea of perfect way of living.

Apart from that, I've been drawn (by Shakespeare and other excellent poets) into the words and their significance. Before I realise it, I think about words almost everyday when I let my mind wander; their meanings, their origins, their sounds, etc. So, to prevent myself from getting insane I read some books on language, words, and linguistics. What I love the most is the relation between word, sound, and meaning. It's fascinates me how the words in different languages with the same meaning are different, or, sound differently because the people using them hear, or rather, translate noises around them differently.

Well, this, like the entirety of this blog, is more of a hobby than a study. So I don't really push myself to understand everything, but rather learn bit by bit conveniently.

So, that's it. Let's hope I'll finish Walden soon so I will have some material to review on this blog. Have a nice day.

Historical Fiction Characters - The Book Version vs. The Real One

Richard III. Henry V. Antony. Zhuge Liang. As a reader, we encounter so many historical yet fictional characters in our readings. The dramatized aspects of these characters may move us to strong likes or dislikes, even love and hate, and yet..

Are they mostly fictional or are they mostly historical?

It's not an easy thing to answer, and its answer may or may not influence our feelings towards those characters. After all, we read historical fictions mostly for fun. If we want real history, it's better to check the nearest history book available - and there are tons of them. The real pleasure in historical fictions depicting historical characters is imagining people like us making decision and the things that they underwent in consequence of that decision, reading and imagining that those people, great people in history were just like us in many aspects, and yet they were great.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

When reading historical fictions, sometimes it's difficult to separate the real person with the person in the story. If the story and plot are well-researched and well-prepared, or if there's any slight historical basis to believe in the storyline, it's even more difficult to separate fiction from reality.

For instance, long ago I watched a film (I can't remember the title) about the relationship between Sir Walter Raleigh and Elizabeth I. In that film, Raleigh and Elizabeth I had a sort-of romantic relationship, platonic maybe, but they adored each other, and yet their hands were tied because it's against any political interest for the Queen to marry Raleigh. Just impossible.

Anyway, long after watching that, I found that Raleigh was actually a poet (and a captain, but I knew it from the film). Guess what I found.

"Passions are likened best to floods and streams: The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb;"

Suddenly the film seemed real. I have a proof now, don't I? My diary entry says, "If it's true that he wrote these lines for Elizabeth I, then they would be some of the most beautiful lines about unrequited love ever written in mankind's history." The same thing happens in so many other instances where the fiction and the history are so intertwined that it's impossible to dismiss either once you read both.

So, which one do you like best, the fictional or the real people? For me, it's safer to say that I love somebody and somebody as depicted in this and that book. Real persons are more complicated than fictional characters, and it's impossible to scrutinize their hearts and feelings now. Their qualities are far from certain and the real them might not be what they seemed. But fiction, fiction is what we believe to happen, what we believe existed. It's up to us to judge, to analyse, to hate and to love a fictional character, without really offend the real one dead.

Let Go (of a Book) and Start a New One

I wonder if anybody else have this problem. Have you ever read something so good and you can't get over it? It's so difficult to just leave the book home and take up a new book to read because you want to dwell in that one book and dig it to the core.

That's my problem, and my digging seems endless because the book is Shakespeare's.

In his best plays, each of Shakespeare's word matters. In one of his best plays I'm currently in love, over-indulging myself in its prose and verse, its sound and letters, its language and its character. Every time I say "Enough," something new pops up.

What do you do when such thing happens? I have some alternatives and consequences.

Pick a new book anyway, and force yourself to read it.

With all the reading challenges you list yourself into, staying with one book isn't an option. Force yourself to read something new before your beloved book eat your soul up. (Seriously.) No book is good enough for you to marry, spending the rest of your life solely with. So throw away the book somewhere you can't read from and start a new one.

Read the particular book over and over again until you get tired of it.

I notice that if I read something too often it loses its power. Well, some of, its power. Instead of torturing yourself with books you can't enjoy, why don't you just stick with that ONE you know you enjoy right now?  It's not a crime to read or recite Henry V or Hamlet every night, right?

Problem is, those reading challenges. Right.

Wait. What reading challenges? I've forgotten them all. *denial*

Research is a good food for love.

Really. If you have a lot of reading challenges and you can't bring yourself to 'betray' your beloved book...read something new anyway, but something related to that particular book you can't get free from. Isn't it lovely?

So instead of lingering between the pages of Hamlet, why not trying to read Freud's Theory? (Won't be my choice, though.) Or stop reading Henry V and read real English History. Yeah, like why don't you just read Shakespeare biography right now and complete the reading challenge you assigned yourself into? *ehem*

I really don't know if these would work for you. For me they don't really help. Sometimes I pick the first solution, sometimes the second (like right now) and sometimes the third. Any other idea? I'd be more than happy to hear your experiences and advices. 

Liebster Award - 11 Facts about Me

Thanks Fanda for nominating me for this award. My blog is a (sort of) free blog, although I blog mostly about classics, but I read other books also, and especially am obsessed with poetry. So, without much ado, here are the rules:

The Rules:

*Thank the blogger that nominated you and link back to their blog.

*Display the award somewhere on your blog.

*List 11 facts about yourself.

*Answer 11 questions chosen by the blogger who nominated you.

*Come up with 11 new questions to ask your nominees.

*Nominate 5-11 blogs that you think deserve the award and who have less than 1,000 followers. You may nominate blogs that have already received the award, but you cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.  

*Go to their blog and inform them that they've been nominated. 

11 Facts about me

1. Is this really necessary? I don't have much to say about myself.
2. I have a lovely brother and sometimes we let people assume we're not siblings and dating instead. That's funny.
3. I love, love, truly love poetry, and I believe in the power of written word. 
4. My favourite literary boys are in two opposite poles. They are either a gentle, calm, kind noblemen, or... truly bad, smart, naughty villain.
5. In high school I was obsessed with Victorian Era and Victorian fashion. I thought I would do anything to be a lady.
6. I am so capricious and I tend to do things on a whim. I almost took Chinese Lit major just because I liked Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and I studied Italian just to translate songs. 
7. I love researching. Once I researched the rules of heraldry and the blazoning of coat-of-arms. Again, just for fun.
8. Needless to say, people think I'm a nerd. Some of them. Well, maybe most of them. But that's what makes me and not everybody else. 
9. The thing that I hate most in a book: needless sex scene. Firstly, I don't really like sex scenes, because it's just too private for me. It's like watching someone doing whatever he does in bathroom, you know. Like it's out of your business. Secondly, if it's meaningless, it's worse. I don't watch, or read, porn, for that matter.
10. I love tranquillity. I love to walk on an evening watching the sky turning dark, I love the sound of the wind through the leaves on a grassy hill, I love the whispers of the raindrops when they fall. 
11. I am a Shakespearean, or Stratfodian, if you want to put it that way. Say whatever you like, but I am convinced that Shakespeare was Shakespeare who wrote those plays. It's not his fault he mimic Marlowe. I think Shakespeare was a Marlowe fanboy. He loved and hated Marlowe because Marlowe was so so good and because he thought he would never surpass him.

So here are Fanda's questions:

Who is your most favourite book character? Why?'
Do I have to choose one? RIght now I can only think of Edmond Dantes a.k.a Count of Monte Cristo. He is dark and light, bitter sweet, tragic and magical. There's no way I'd cease to love that man.

Do you have a full collection of books from one certain author? If yes, which author? If no, are you planning to do that?

I have the full collection of Shakespeare's works. Goodness, I love Shakespeare. It's far from surprising. I also have the whole Canon of Sherlock Holmes. 

When you are starting a new book, can you tell from the beginning how much you would like it, or you can only judge after finishing it?
Depends. But I definitely know if I read a book that I'm going to hate.

What book do you want to reread the most right now?
The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. It's may favourite, if you haven't guessed already. I wish I had the time to reread Les Miserables by Hugo. Those two books are eye openers. Both books show you how rotten the world is, and both tell you that there's nothing you can do about it except try to do good your own way and hope people will appreciate that (which usually doesn't happen).

By the way, that's how desperate I am right now.

What was the last book you rated 5/5 stars?
I don't remember any more. Robinson Crusoe maybe. 

The longest book you’ve ever read is…. How many pages is it?
Les Miserables. It's 2000-something, I suppose. But I hope next year I'll be able to put The Bible on the list. 

What country do you like most for book setting?
Nothing in particular. It's not the setting. I read books set in London, Paris, past, future, neverland, space, anywhere. It's the characters and the plot for me.

When buying book that has more than one edition, how do you decide which edition to pick?
Book cover. Except when it's first edition of something that I really like. But I'm pretty sure I will never obtain Shakespeare's First Folio or Gutenberg Bible. :(

How do you slip time to read books during your daily activities?
I read almost anywhere. I love ebooks and don't mind reading them. 

Do you read while traveling (when you are not driving, of course)?

Sure. 

Do social media hinder you from reading?
Sometimes. I have to confess sometimes I love blogging better than reading. And because my hobby includes music, poetry, and others, it's pretty hard to just read.

Now, my questions, right? Or should I name the blogs first? Fine. I nominate these blogs for Liebster Award:

1. BZee @ Bacaan BZee
2. Kimberlee @ Girl Lost in a Book
3. Ira @ irabooklover
4. Melissa @ Avid Reader's Musing
5. Annette @ Impressions in Ink

Now to the questions:

1. What is your favourite quote from your favourite author?
2. What genre do you mostly read? 
3. What is the best book ever written in mankind's history?
4. What is the oldest book that you've read?
5. What turns you on, or off, when reading?
6. Have you challenged yourself to read something really hard and completed the challenge?
7. People can read and read for themselves. Why do you blog about it?
8. What kind of author do you hate the most?
9. What kind of reader do you hate the most?
10. What is the literary dream of your life?
11. When you read something, do you research about the particulars? For example when you read Historical Fiction, do you check history, or when you read science-fiction do you check the science stuff?

That's all. Please have fun with it, and if possible, go back to this blog and post the link in comments so I can read your 11 facts. 

Happry reading.

My Heart Laid Bare: I read as I read and so will I read

Have you ever met anyone who asks you these kind of question:
"If you really like reading, why don't you read [insert a book title], or why haven't you finished reading [insert a book title]?" Honestly, I don't like those questions, especially when asked with a judging tone.

Ask a singer: "If you really like singing, why don't you sing opera? Why haven't you tried heavy metal?"

I find the question so disturbing because of these following reasons.

1. I don't read everything

Each reader has different tastes. Reading is pretty much like eating. If you don't like something it doesn't mean that it's bad, it just means that you don't like it, no matter how many people in the world say that it's delicious. Of course you would miss a lot if you don't try, but, hey, even trying or not trying is your choice; it's entirely up to you.

2. I don't read everything that I read in the same pace

And when I don't read something as quickly I read other books, please don't judge me. It doesn't mean that I don't like the book, or I don't have a good reading habit. It's just hard for me. There are books that are just hard for me no matter how much I love it. Les Miserables is one my favourite books, but I dragged myself through it for more than 2 months. I love it, but the passages are by no means light reading. I won't be spending even 2 nights reading a young adult novel because it's all different genre. Other books I haven't finished are Walden, Faerie Qveene, Aeneid, and Shakespeare's and Neruda's sonnets. And you know full well that I love those, and other books God knows I haven't finished. Just give me time to digest them instead of skim through them.

3. I don't always read the things that I want to read

"So many books, so little time," is it? Not just that - I can't always read the books that I want to read. I waited for some time before reading Othello because it's so sad. I want to be well-prepared. I still haven't read Macbeth and The Man in the Iron Mask because I'm not ready. Just don't push me.

4. I don't always finish the book I read

Again. If you eat something and you think it tastes to weird that you just can't continue, wouldn't you stop? I do the same when reading. Again, it doesn't necessarily mean that the book is bad, it's just that I don't like it. Finish it, if you like, but I won't.

5. I don't always remember the detail after reading

Not even the writer would remember everything. That's why even great writer like Dumas made little mistake in detailing an event or timeline. I usually remember things in a context. So pluck it off the context and I would instantly forget everything. This morning I googled 'infinite jest' because I knew the phrase is Shakespeare's and is from Hamlet, but I couldn't remember the context. Never say to me, "Tell me the act, scene, and line number of 'To be or not to be' speech," because, guess what, I have no idea.

6. I might be a fan, but I'm not a stalker

My life doesn't revolve around an author, or a fictional character. I don't always invest my time on an author's biography, moreover a fictional character's. So forgive me if I don't remember ACD's birthday, or Dumas' family history. The most important thing for me is their works, and their lives only in connection to their works. If I like stalking people so much, I'd be watching celeb gossips.

7. My favourite authors' opinions do not reflect my own

I love Marlowe but I don't believe in predestination; I love Shakespeare but I don't like obscene jokes. I don't mind Oscar Wilde but mind his life style. I love Monte Cristo but I don't approve revenge. Please understand that before judging me of anything.

There are maybe many other things that I'd like to write here, but the length of the post is already too long for a personal complain. Before I finish I want to misquote Sir Thomas Wyatt.

And from this mind I will not flee,
But to you all that misjudge me,
I do protest as ye may see,
That I am as I am and so will I be.

Or, judge as you please. I read as I read and so will I read.

No update? When Life as I Knew It Ended

Some might wonder why everything suddenly becomes quiet over here. Well, remember when I wrote about Frost's poem? That's what happened.

Two roads diverged in the yellow wood, and I took the one hard to tread. Suddenly I became busier and busier, and it's still hard to find the right schedule to do all the things I'd like to do.

I have no intention to abandon any of my blogs. No. While this month has been hectic, and November would potentially be worse, I am sure I can manage to take care of both my book blog and Shakespeare blog.

Next month I will probably be super busy, but I hope I can manage to post at least one or two posts for the challenges I join. The drafts have been written for Puzo's Godfather (and the movie), The Hobbit movie, and also other books I have finished but not yet reviewed. 

Wish me a lot of luck. And as always, happy reading.

Weekend Quote #45

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train."

Taken from Wilde's play The Importance of being Earnest. This quote attracts my attention because that's exactly what I do every single day. I always leave my house with my diary and a pencil case in my bag.

Well, I've been keeping diaries since I was 10 or so. I don't write everyday, unfortunately, but I always bring it anyway, because I love reading it over and over again. It's funny to see how time and experience form you.

Besides, by having a diary, I can always track people I fall in love with. (Want to guess who are on the list?)

That's the quote for this weekend. Want to share yours?

Officially using Bloglovin

So, for various considerations, I have decided to join Bloglovin. Just consider this post as a brief announcement. Please follow my blog using the link below or the button somewhere around the blog. (I can't remember exactly where.)

Have a nice day...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Les Miserables: Grantaire and Enjolras - More than Friends?

I saw this discussion on Goodreads, and I was actually going to answer it right away there, but I realised that my answer has become too long. This is indeed an interesting issue, especially if you watch what the fans are doing in Tumblr. Somehow Enjolras/Grantaire has become increasingly popular. Is it true, though, that they are more than friends? Here's my opinion.

I seriously disagree with those who think that they are homosexuals. No! But their relationship is of course special, from a point that their beliefs are as far as the north to the south.

Honestly, what is more important and interesting from the Friends of the ABC aside from their differences in opinions and ideologies and still, they fight together for the things they believe in. Combeferre believes in education, Courfeyrac in human being, and so on. Without that aspect, the Friends would be no more than a bunch of kids hanging out in a cafe, chatting and having fun. But the fact that they believe and fight for what they believe in, makes them special.

Enjolras is one side of the extreme. His whole life revolves around the Republic. His mother is the Republic, his mistress is Patria. What could be clearer than that? Leave alone love, he doesn't even care about his life when it comes to the nation.

Enjolras' brightness and radiance attract Grantaire. He's a nihilist. He doesn't want to believe in ANYTHING – except Enjolras. Enjolras is capable of being a leader and of inspiring people that all his friends – even Grantaire – see him as a great person. Rather than 'love', it's more like idolatry, or even 'fanboying' of some sort. Enjolras, on the other hand, despises Grantaire's lack of belief, and hates his comments about others'.

That's it.

What makes it sounds so "romantic" is of course the fact that this admiration is not mutual. The story now becomes, "Grantaire loves Enjolras deeply but he doesn't seem to care, whilst deep inside Enjolras loves him all the same." It's not canon, and not likely to happen, even in alternate universe, if both Enjolras and Grantaire stay true to their characters.

Another thing that support the 'theory' that there might be something between them is the musical. On stage, some Enjolras become extremely friendly with Grantaire. It's not Hugo-supported, and it is done so on stage to express the weird friendship between the two, just like Grantaire's lines "will the world remember you when you fall/can it be your death means nothing at all/is your life just one more lie" are put there to make it clear that Grantaire doesn't believe in any of those.

Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser as Enjolras and Grantaire
in Les Miserables musical

“But they died holding hands,” some might say. Isn't it touching? Very. I'd proudly say that I cried reading it. For once, and the last time, Enjolras views Grantaire as a worthy friend. Is it “romantic”? Read the passage in 16^th century view point. It's not even close.

I seriously think people should re-consider what they think about those best-friendships in literature. I've seen people talking about Sherlock and Watson, using ACD's 19^th century vocabulary as a proof ('intimate relationship' and so on). At this point, we only need another film played by good-looking actors to make Caesar/Antony or Hamlet/Horatio relationship romantic.  

Bad Translation: Julius Caesar

Just a break. Here's Act 1 Scene 2 of Julius Caesar for those who need relief from the complex language of Shakespeare.

CASCA. Narik-narik jubahku mau ngomong apa?
BRUTUS. Tadi ada apaan? Kok mukanya Caesar ga enak?
CASCA. Lho, bukannya kamu tadi sama dia?
BRUTUS. Ya kalo tadi aku di situ ga usah nanya kamu dong.
CASCA. Tadi dia ditawarin jadi raja, terus dia nolak, terus orang-orang heboh deh.
BRUTUS. Terus yang ribut-ribut kedua apaan?
CASCA. Itu juga.
CASSIUS. Yang ketiga?
CASCA. Itu juga.
BRUTUS. Mereka nawarin mahkota tiga kali?
CASCA. Iya. Dan dia nolak tiga kali, makin lama makin ga niat nolaknya. Tiap kali dia nolak, sesamaku rakyat jelata itu pada bersorak.
CASSIUS. Yang ngasih dia mahkota siapa?
CASCA. Antony.
BRUTUS. Cerita dong.
CASCA. Ga jelas lah, konyol banget pokoknya. Jadi Antony nawarin dia mahkota, terus dia taruh lagi, Tapi kata aku sih sebenernya dia pingin banget ngambil. Terus ditawarin lagi, terus dia taruh lagi. Tapi kata aku sih, dia kayanya benciiii banget ngelepasin itu mahkota. Terus untuk ketiga kalinya dia ditawarin lagi, dia taruh lagi, dan orang-orang langsung heboh, tepuk tangan, dan ngelemparin topi mereka ke udara. Saking udah ga jelasnya bau keringet dan bau mulut mereka Caesar sampai tersedak, trus pingsan deh. Aku sih nahan ketawa supaya ga ngehirup baunya.
CASSIUS. Caesar sakit apa?
CASCA. Dia jatuh, mulutnya berbusa.
BRUTUS. Epilepsi-nya kumat.
CASSIUS. Nggak. Yang epilepsi itu aku, kamu, sama Casca di sini.
CASCA. Aku nggak ngerti kamu ngomong apa, pokoknya Caesar pingsan.
….
BRUTUS. Terus waktu udah sadar dia ngomong apa??
CASCA. Ya sebelum dia pingsan, waktu dia nyadar bahwa orang-orang itu seneng dia nolak jadi raja, dia buka jubahnya terus ngasih tenggorokannya buat dipenggal. Kalo aku rakyat jelata yang ga punya kerjaan sih pasti udah aku lakuin. Terus dia pingsan. Waktu udah sadar, dia bilang kalo tadi ada khilaf, itu gara-gara penyakitnya. Tiga atau empat perempuan di situ bilang, “Ya ampun, kasian banget ya,” dan maafin dia setulus hati. Peduli amat lah, mereka. Kalaupun Caesar abis nikam ibu mereka juga kayanya dia dimaafin aja.
BRUTUS. Trus abis itu mukanya jadi serius gitu??
CASCA. Hooh.
CASSIUS. Tadi Cicero ngomong sesuatu?
CASCA. Ya. Dia ngomong pake bahasa alien.
CASSIUS. Ngomongin apa?
CASCA. Ga tau. Tapi yang ngerti dia ngomong apa senyum-senyum, terus geleng-geleng, tapi buat aku sih rasanya kaya dengerin bahasa alien.
….
BRUTUS. Perasaan dulu di sekolah dia rada pinteran dikit.

And here's Act 2 Scene 2 condensed.

CALPHURNIA. Caesar, aku udah tiga kali mimpi kamu dibunuh, Jangan berangkat.
CAESAR. Gue ga takut. Namanya juga orang ya pasti bakal mati kalo udah waktunya.
SERVANT. Kata para imam juga mendingan Caesar ga usah keluar rumah hari ini.
CAESAR. Bah. Takdir aja takut sama gue. Gue berangkat.
CALPHURNIA. Ya ampun! Udah jangan kepedean gitu. Jangan pergi. Bilang aja aku yang takut terjadi apa-apa, bukan kamu. Suruh Antony bilang kamu ga enak badan.
CAESAR. Ya udah, suruh Antony bilang aku ga enak badan, biar kamu tenang.
DECIUS. (manas-manasin)Masa sih Caesar ga datang gara-gara istrinya mimpi buruk. Nanti Senat bilang apa? “Rapat ditunda sampai istrinya Caesar mimpi indah, gitu?” Belum lagi ntar anggota-anggota Senat bisik-bisik, “Caesar takut ya?”
CAESAR. (kesel sendiri)Siniin jubah gue. Gue berangkat.

Classic Club November Meme: Intimidating Books

Huft. Intimidating books? Let's be honest. I classify intimidating into 2 categories: intimidating story and intimidating length. Let's look at each of them.

Intimidating Length:

Les Miserables

I really had no idea about its length when I first put it on my list. I mean, I thought it wouldn't be as scary as Monte Cristo. I was wrong. Taking up the book from my pile of to-read novels is really something. I finally took it for a read-along. I won't be able to read it otherwise. Fortunately, the book captivates my heart right at the first volume. Tedious as it is in certain parts, I find the book to be inspirational and touching. I'm reading the 4^th volume now, and I hope to finish it on December.

Candide

It's a long book indeed. Another fact: I have never read Voltaire before. The story also seems to be complicated. I think I will wait for another read-along before I pick that up.

Intimidating story:

Man in the Iron Mask

I hate sad endings. Those who know me well know too well of that fact. Accidentally (or not), I read the synopsis of it once. It frightens me to read such an ending for the four heroes I truly adore. I just can't. But I know I have to read it sooner or later.

Othello

Same thing applies. Othello, the one that loves “not wisely but too well” is very lovable. I watched the opera by Verdi and fell in love with him at the first sight. He has the manliness of a soldier and gentleness of a prince. Knowing how the story would end, I have put the story in my reading list without ever dared to touch it. That's why I pledged to read it in Classic Club's Project.

Those are the most intimidating books in my reading list. Let's hope I won't change my mind and actually read them and finish them all.

Proudly a Member of BBI

This post is all about me being a member of BBI, a community of book blogger in Indonesia. I will write in Bahasa Indonesia for this post.

Sebagai blogger baru dan anggota baru BBI, belum banyak yang bisa saya ceritakan tentang komunitas ini. Hmm. Gimana mulainya ya?

Pada bulan Mei yang lalu, saya memutuskan untuk mulai menulis blog. Alasannya sederhana. Saya kehabisan orang yang mau mendengarkan curhat-curhat saya yang mulai membosankan (karena itu-itu saja) tentang buku-buku klasik. Apalagi curhat saya beragam, mulai dari menceritakan seluruh kisah sambil melampiaskan berbagai hasil analisis yang ruwet hingga kalimat sederhana seperti, “Opa William (Shakespeare) keren deh. Coba aku digombalin sama dia,” atau “Athos ganteng. Kenapa coba dia ga bener-bener hidup?” Sebelumnya, diari sempat menjadi pelampiasan. Namun karena diari saya sudah terlalu banyak dihantui hal-hal tidak penting, saya jadi ragu kalau menuliskan tentang bagaimana Milton dengan berani ngotot bahwa pemerintah tidak berhak melarang suatu buku terbit atau bagaimana Shakespeare membuat karakter-karakter wanita yang begitu berani, diukur dari standar umum di zamannya di diari saya. Satu-satunya cara: Blog.

Karena pada dasarnya senang berbagi pendapat dengan orang lain, saya mulai bongkar-bongkar mbah Google untuk mencari komunitas blogger buku. Eh, ternyata di Indonesia sudah ada, yaitu BBI ini. Saya langsung tanya Mas Tanzil apa boleh saya bergabung. Begitulah ceritanya hingga saya bisa bergabung dengan BBI ini.

Sebenarnya banyak manfaat saya peroleh. Misalnya jadi kenal sesama blogger buku di Indonesia seperti Mbak Fanda, Alvian, Melissa, trus Bzee Why juga. Walaupun kenalan saya belum terlalu banyak di BBI, setidaknya jadi ada teman lah. :p

Makasih banyak ya BBI, mudah-mudahan semakin banyak blogger yang peduli buku dan mau membagikan pengalaman dan manfaat yang didapat dari membaca. 

Why I'm not a good translator at all

I'll be honest. When I read classic, in language and vocabulary so distant from the one I usually speak with, sometimes I translate them in the most vulgar and barbaric means that even scenes where people are supposed to cry (and I do cry when I read it), may sound so comical that they incite people to laugh.

I have a habit of telling stories to people after I read them, and traslate them to Bahasa, my first language. So here's what happened when I told a friend about Faramir's word to Eowyn before he said that he loved her.

Text

“You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn. Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is.”

My translation

“Eowyn, kamu sebenernya ga cinta sama Aragorn. Kamu cuma nge-fans aja.”

And the same thing happened when I related the scene where d'Artagnan tried to write a letter for Lord de Winter under Athos' censorship.

Text

“Monsieur and dear friend —”
“Ah, yes! Dear friend to an Englishman,” interrupted Athos; “well commenced! Bravo, d’Artagnan! Only with that word you would be quartered instead of being broken on the wheel.”
“Well, perhaps. I will say, then, Monsieur, quite short.”
“You may even say, My Lord,” replied Athos, who stickled for propriety.
….
“Well, then, we will put simply, My Lord, do you remember a certain little enclosure where your life was spared?”
“My dear d’Artagnan, you will never make anything but a very bad secretary. Where your life was spared! For shame! that’s unworthy. A man of spirit is not to be reminded of such services. A benefit reproached is an offense committed.”
“The devil!” said d’Artagnan, “you are insupportable. If the letter must be written under your censure, my faith, I renounce the task.”

My translation (in Bahasa)

D'Artagnan: “Tuan dan kawanku”
Athos: “Bagus, ya! Temennya orang Inggris. Kamu mau cari mati ya?”
D'Artagnan: “Oke, kalo gitu, 'Pak,' cukup pendek.”
Athos: “Bilang kek setidaknya 'Tuan,' gitu.”
D'Artagnan: “Tuan, apa Anda ingat kejadian waktu nyawa Anda diampuni?”
Athos: “Kamu bener-bener ga bakat jadi sekretaris. 'Waktu nyawa Anda diampuni' itu apa maksudnya coba? Mau bikin dia malu? Mau bikin dia ngamuk?”
D'Artagnan: “Udah ah. Mending nyerah kalo disuruh nulis surat tapi kamu yang sensor.”

My greatest sin in translating is perhaps against Shakespeare, because I ruin his beautiful lines into horrible phrases.

Text from Hamlet

Guil. Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you.
Ham. Sir, a whole history.
Guil. The King, sir-
Ham. Ay, sir, what of him?
Guil. Is in his retirement, marvellous distemper'd.
Ham. With drink, sir?
Guil. No, my lord; rather with choler.
Ham. Your wisdom should show itself more richer to signify this to
the doctor; for me to put him to his purgation would perhaps
plunge him into far more choler.
….
Guil. The Queen, your mother, in most great affliction of spirit
hath sent me to you.
Ham. You are welcome.
Guil. Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the right breed.
If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do
your mother's commandment; if not, your pardon and my return
shall be the end of my business.
Ham. Sir, I cannot.
Guil. What, my lord?
Ham. Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseas'd. But, sir, such
answer is I can make, you shall command; or rather, as you say,
my mother. Therefore no more, but to the matter! My mother, you
say-
Ros. Then thus she says: your behaviour hath struck her into
amazement and admiration.
Ham. O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother!....
O, the recorders!….I do not well understand that. Will you play upon this pipe?
Guil. My lord, I cannot.
Ham. I pray you.
Guil. Believe me, I cannot.
Ham. I do beseech you.
Guil. I know, no touch of it, my lord.
Ham. It is as easy as lying. Govern these ventages with your
fingers and thumbs, give it breath with your mouth, and it will
discourse most eloquent music. Look you, these are the stops.
Guil. But these cannot I command to any utt'rance of harmony. I
have not the skill.
Ham. Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me! You
would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would
pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my
lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music,
excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it
speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be play'd on than a
pipe?

My translation

Gui: Tuan, kami mau bicara sama Anda
Ham: Boleh, boleh
Gui: Yang Mulia Raja..
Ham: Kenapa dia?
Gui: Gelisah di kamarnya.
Ham: Kebanyakan minum?
Gui: Nggak, kaya ketakutan gitu.
Ham: Ya bilang ama dokternya lah. Ngapain bilang ama gue?
Gui: Mamahmu ngirim saya ke sini.
Ham: Selamat datang.
Gui: Bukan gitu maksudnya, ni kamu ngomongnya mulai ga bener. Jawabnya yang bener lah.
Ham: Gue ga bisa.
Gui: Ga bisa apa?
Ham: Ga bisa bener lah, gue kan gila.
Ros: Kelakuanmu udah bikin ibumu geleng-geleng kepala.
Ham: Hebat dong gue, anak yang bisa bikin ibunya kagum. Oh, ada rekorder. Main dong.
Gui: Ga bisa, Tuan.
Ham: Plis.
Gui: Beneran, aku ga bisa.
Ham: Gampang kok, kaya orang boong aja. (nunjukin caranya)Gui: Aku ga bisa tekniknya.
Ham: Nah, jadi kamu anggep gue serendah itu? Kamu ga bisa main rekorder tapi berasa bisa mainin gue? Emang gue lebih gampang dimainin daripada rekorder?

You see, even Shakespeare sounds so crazily messy in my mouth, and yet I wanted to make a translation of classic from English into Bahasa. Really doubt my skill now.  

Classics Club Group Check-In #1: September

It has been several months since the project started. I've been enjoying the Club and things in it immensely. The readalongs, the memes, the people, the reviews, and many other things. As a new blogger, reading and enjoying others' review and joining readalongs has been such a great experience.

I've read 9 books from my list this far. For the last few months, Dumas has been dominating my choices, that among 9, 3 of them are actually Dumas'. Those are The Count of Monte Cristo, my favourite, The Three Musketeers, which title is actually misleading because it doesn't count D'Artagnan as one of them, and Twenty Years After, its sequel. Even now I still find it hard to move from those novels to others I've never touched.

The other six are John Milton's Areopagitica, Stevenson's Treasure Island, Solzhenitsyn's Ivan Denisovich (I know I must make a review, but later, please), Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, Pyle's compiled ballads of Robin Hood, and Leroux's Phantom of theOpera.

As for the other books, I'm reading the book of Nehemiah in the Bible now, in order to complete it soon. The last book I read from Aeneid was Book IV, but I think I'd rather read it in a readalong. Reading alone makes it harder to understand what it says. Starting this month, I will be reading Les Miserables through October and November. And for Historical Fiction Challenge byHobbyBuku, I will read Vicomte the Bragelonne from Dumas as well (for the sake of Athos). For the same event perhaps I will add Sabatini's Captain Blood to the list.

I've been enjoying also the Weekend Quotes. By doing that I remind myself what lesson I can learn from the books that I read. I also love participating in Fanda's Character Thursdays. My choice of characters may not vary a lot, but I still love to look deeper into the characters, protagonists as well as antagonists. I also love to exploring the use of coat-of-arms in literatures. Though I'm no expert in the matter, I like to learn the blazoning of each to understand better those mentioned in the novels I read. 

Me, Love, and Pushkin

This sounds more like a confession than an analysis. In fact, I think it IS a confession. Alexander Pushkin's two love poems are my love stories – in real life. I'd like to share it to know whether my readers have the same experience.

All my love stories consist of either of these things below. The first is an unwanted love, or, perhaps, a forbidden love. I liked a person with whom I could never be, and then I found Pushkin's love poem, Confession.

I love you-- though I rage at it,
Though it is shame and toil misguided,
And to my folly self-derided
Here at your feet I will admit!
It ill befits my years, my station,
Good sense has long been overdue!
And yet, by every indication,
Love's plague has stricken me anew:
You're out of sight-- I fall to yawning;
You're here-- I suffer and feel blue,
And barely keep myself from owning,
Dear elf, how much I care for you!
.....
Aline! I ask but to be pitied,
I do not dare to plead for love;
Love, for the sins I have committed,
I am perhaps not worthy of.
But make believe! Your gaze, dear elf,
Is fit to conjure with, believe me!
Ah, it is easy to deceive me!. . .
I long to be deceived myself!

The second type of love that I experience is the love described in Pushkin's other poem, I loved you. I feel like I don't love the person anymore, but who knows whether some love lingers still within my heart?

I loved you; and perhaps I love you still,
The flame, perhaps, is not extinguished; yet
It burns so quietly within my soul,
No longer should you feel distressed by it.
Silently and hopelessly I loved you,
At times too jealous and at times too shy.
God grant you find another who will love you
As tenderly and truthfully as I

Truthful in every line, I was driven to madness upon reading it. I read it over and over again aloud while taking a bath, hurting my heart everytime I did so. I had forgotten this poem for some time, then I remember it again. The occasion dictates so.

I don't know what's wrong. Perhaps Pushkin and me, far separated by time and place in this world, share still the same fate. Or perhaps the story is so common that the poems are just general thoughts or ordinary phase of life. But I'm still grateful that at least somebody can put in words what I cannot put myself. And perhaps instead of these two sad love poems I will find a love fit for Shakespeare's line, a love “for one, of one, still such and ever so” that won't “alter when alteration finds, or bend with the remover to remove.”

(Re-)Reading Ivanhoe

I'm going halfway through reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Just a little background of my reason for reading it.

When I was 14, and was in love with Sherlock Holmes, I went to a friend's house, a fellow fonder of the detective. She told me she made a review of SH's short stories for her homework, and showed me her Sherlock Holmes book, a translation in Bahasa. In the shelf, however, I saw a book, thin and small, with a soft purple cover. That book was a English simplified version of Ivanhoe.

Needless to say, I borrowed the book right away. My friend consented, and I read it. My English was not very good at that time, naturally, but was enough to understand the brave and noble character of Robin Hood and King Richard. Thanks to the book, I've been very fond of them ever since. But simplified version is still a simplified version. I looked for the original, and was frightened by the size of it, not mentioning the difficulty of its language. So for the moment I gave up and diverted my eyes to other books easier to comsume.

Yet it is destined that I must read the book somehow. After Robert Lancelyn Greene's Robin Hood and Dumas' Musketeers, I am hungry for more adventurous tales, and I remember my old bold Ivanhoe. Now, my English permits me to peruse the book without letting the language deprive me the joy of reading it. Besides, the words unknown to me, whether in the old English or the modern one, enrich my vocabulary after I search their meaning.

Anyway, I'm in the 21st chapter of it, and very impatient to finish the story. Hope the end will be as happy as related in the simplified one.  

To read, or not to read

To read, or not to read – that is the question. Whether it's better for the mind to suffer all tickling thoughts and curiosity, or to bear the pain of endless lamentation upon finding the end unhappy.

Enough of that. That's my problem in short. I am between my highest possible curiosity to know how the Four Inseparables fare, and the hesitation of finding out because I know the end would not be as I wish. As Shakespeare said:

Journey ends in lovers' meeting – and friends' adieu.

Alright, I made that up a little bit. But that's what exactly happens. There are only few things in the world I read before reading the synopsis, and d'Artagnan Romances are not in the group. So I know what will happen to them all, even though I haven't read the story. And since I hate sad ending, or sappy ending, or whatever you call it, I feel reluctant to read those books.

I've told you that I cried reading the Count of Monte Cristo, and the end is not sad. The same can be said for Robin Hood ballad. Reading about his death made me gloomy for days. Phantom of the Opera haunted me for weeks with its melancholy air. Aragorn's death, which I read in my Physics class, erased all the lecturer's words from my head. Sad ending is not for me.

Parting produces the same effect. Lord of the Rings is a good example. The more I read, the more close I am to the end, the more sad it makes me. Because I know they cannot stay together forever. They must part, at least by death. Even the Epilogue of The Three Musketeers grieves my heart deeply.

So how can I read two more?

And yet I force myself to read. I'm on Chapter 15 of Twenty Years After now, although the book is not on my Project List. If my heart must break, then it will break. After Twenty Years After, and a little fangirling, or weeping, I shall continue to The Man in the Iron Mask – if I have the heart to read it.

(I think tonight I will remain awake, and perhaps, finish the second book of the Romances.)

Classics Club August Meme: Favourite Classic

This is a meme held by The Classics Club, an awesome club dedicated to classic literature. As you may see from my blog, I love detective stories, adventure, and poetic works. “To love only one would be cruel to others,” for me, as Don Giovanni says in Mozart's opera. Difference is, he talks about women, I about authors. So let's see what I can do.

Favourite Adventure:

Look at my authors list, and you will see Dumas triumphs over others. Why? Simply because I love The Count of Monte Cristo so much. I read the simplified version first, when I was in Senior High, but because I love Faria so much I dashed to my computer and downloaded the ebook. I read it during my holiday and cried. I re-read it and re-read it again, just because I love how Monte Cristo speaks. Definitely my favourite this far.

Favourite Detective Story:

My favourite is the one and only Sherlock Holmes. As I have stated somewhere, he's my first contact with the past, I mean, with classics. His personality is so unique, or perhaps, annoying, that I can't help laughing everytime he mocks other people's stupidity. Among SH's novels, my favourite is perhaps The Valley of Fear, not only because it's thrilling, but perhaps because Sherlock finds himself a worthy collegue, Mr Douglas.

Favourite Children Story:

Does Christmas Carol counts as children story? If it is, then it is my favourite. It moves me to tears. I like to travel with Scrooge and observe as he remembers his past, reflects upon his present, and thinks about his future. The change that comes into his personality reminds us that somewhere inside everybody, there's good, that sometimes slumbers. We only need to shake the soul to wake it up.

Favourite Fantasy Story:

Lord of the Rings, of course. I can't find the right word to express how I feel about it. The details, the legends inside legends, the complexity of the story, the appendix, the languages, each with its own characteristics and alphabeth. I am almost convinced that the Middle-Earth really does exist somewhere here on earth. Once I even studied Sindarin just because I want to appreciate the effort Tolkien exerted to make it.

Favourite Romance:

Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. It's a beautiful story that makes me cry. I watched the movie first, and lately read the novel for the Classics Club Challenge. I forget whether I cried or not the first time I watched the movie, but I cried the first time I read the novel, and then cried like a baby when I watched the musical. I know it doesn't end happily, but I love it.

Favourite Poem:

I am torn between Shakespeare's Sonnets, Venus and Adonis, Milton's Paradise Lost, and Neruda's 20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair. But I think I will take Shakespeare. His sonnets inspire the Muse in my heart, and only after reading his I was able to write my own sonnets. His vocabulary is unmatched. Perhaps his motto in writing is, “If you can't find the word, make it.”

Favourite non-Fiction Prose:

Milton's Areopagitica. You can find me babbling passionately about this work in the related review. Beautiful and strong language that expresses his thoughts precisely. I always envy those who can write in charming way, because I can't, naturally.

So, instead of choosing one, I have seven favourites here. Haha. Can't wait to read yours. 

Suddenly remember my Shakespeare experience

Just like I said in the title, this is just a short Shakespeare experience with me and my dad. No, it's not about reading or watching the play, but a bit more personal. No, not meeting the person as well, of course.

It was years ago, not long after I read my first Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet. I was in love back then, with a certain person older than me. What I did was practically "sighing every minute and groaning every hour" because of thinking about him.

My father apparently observed this, so he asked me in my mother language (but thanks God he understands English and speaks it well too), "What's the matter?" I answered casually, "Nothing." He didn't give up. "Are you in love?"

Alright, so this is really crazy. Romeo's line popped into my head, and I answered, "Out." My father was confused and raised his eyebrow, so I explained, "Out of his favour where I'm in love."

My father, being unfamiliar with Shakespeare, didn't know where was the line from, but he understood, so he made that face of somebody who listens to something very cute but tries to control himself and not to laugh. And he just said, "Ewwh." I couldn't help laughing.

That's all. I always remember this because it was the first time I used Shakespeare line to communicate with others in real life.

My Reading Habit

Found this on Fanda's blog, and since she invites anyone who wants to try this to do it, I did it. Yay!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack:

Yes, I do. Well, sometimes, when there's something to eat nearby. Else I can just read without eating, and that is okay as well. My favourite reading snack? Potato chips perhaps, or biscuits.

What is your favourite drink while reading?

Tea. It has to be tea or at least coffee. I have this unhealthy addiction to both. And I can drink more than 2 huge glasses of tea when I'm reading or doing something that needs extra concentration.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

It depends of what kind of book I read. I usually mark non-fictions – even my e-books – with notes scribbled all around the margin, but I usually just highlight fictions on the parts I love the most, like some notable quotes, for example.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

Bookmarks. And I have plenty of them.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Both. I like poems (it's counted as non-fiction, right?), and essays as well as the fiction. I also read people's thesis and dissertations on literatures, also references books that enrich my knowledge about the world in the past. I read history as well, and I love it. So, yup, it's both.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of a chapter, or can you stop anywhere?

If the book is good enough, I cannot stop until I reach the back cover. I remember reading books like Lord of the Rings and Da Vinci Code in one night (and waking up looking like a panda) because I simply couldn't stop. But I'm reasonable enough to stop somewhere pleasant, like at the end of a chapter, if the book is too thick to read in such a way. Of course you cannot read the Bible in one night, can you?

Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?

Sort of. I'd slam the book and ramble about the author – or rather the annoying character in that book. My Mom sometimes complain about that. For example, when I read how Raoul asked Christine whether she would have loved him still if Phantom had been handsome, I said aloud, “Of course she wouldn't, you silly blushing boy. She loves Phantom, can't you see it?” or something like that.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

Usually no. I'd save it somewhere in my mind and guess the meaning until clearer context makes me understand it fully later, or at least until I have spare time to google it.

What are you currently reading?

Treasure Island. Of, I should have finished it long ago, but this job absorbs my time.

What is the last book you bought?

The Count of Monte Cristo. I rarely buy books. First, because my room is small, and our house is full of books already, so my father doesn't like me adding more and more books to our little shelves. Second, my university has this huge library full of books, so I can simply borrow them.Third, because I love mostly classics, I can just download them free from Project Gutenberg.

Are you the type of person that reads one book at a time, or can you read more than one?

I usually finish one before continue to the other. But sometimes I just grab the nearest book when I have spare time and read it casually. Only one at a time for serious reading though.

Do you have a favourite time/place to read?

My room on my bed, the university library, and a cafe library near my campus.

Do you prefer series books or stand alones?

Stand alones, or series compiled in one. I don't like finishing a book without finishing the story. But Tolkien's LotR is an exception. Three huge books, and yet I love dearly. The details and the setting and the hard work put into it make the series worth reading.

Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?

Oh yes! Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Dumas' Monte Cristo, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Shakespeare's writings, Phantom of the Opera of course. I won't list all of them, it needs a separate post to do that. Ha!

How do you organize your books? (by genre, title, author's last name, etc.)

By size. Haha. Remember that I don't have many physical books? But I organise my ebooks by author's last name.

Voila! My reading habit. Please post yours so I can read it, my fellow bloggers.