The Best Books I Read in 2020

I think we can all agree that 2020 wasn't particularly easy. For me, personally though, this year rocked—mostly because I got through hurdles I didn't expect to overcome. This year I had to do my thesis project, which was pretty time- and energy-consuming, so I was quite doubtful I could reach my reading goals at all. However, it turns out, that the project has actually allowed me to venture into topics I had never explored before—and ended up giving me time to read more books in the process. Since last year, I had vowed to myself to focus more on quality than quantity, in terms of reading—last year fell short somewhat, in my opinion, but this year was incredible. For starters, there is no book lower than 3 stars for me this year—and it started off with 5-star exemplars. Both for fictions and non-fictions, I'm so satisfied with my choices this year..and I'd love to share the best ones with you. Please read on to find out these worthy-of-a-flip-through titles.

Come As You Are

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Sorghum Cookies

Remember this post where I talked about eating locally-grown food? Well, it's actually been a while since I got incredibly intrigued by sorghum, in particular. When I spotted one in a local bulk grocery store—both in flour and grain form—I felt challenged to use it in a recipe. It wasn't instant, of course, as I scoured the nooks and crannies of Pinterest for months before I actually picked up the whisk and created this magic. I've been excited to try sorghum the whole time, however. You know, sorghum has so many amazing benefits: it's gluten-free, low in sugar level (which makes it diabetes-friendly) and requires very little water to grow—perhaps even cook? I'll have to test this, though. Not only that, sorghum can also be processed in numerous ways, including cooked (like rice), baked (like wheat) and even boiled (like porridge). I love that it can be baked without eggs, yet still come out either really nice and moist, or sturdy and crunchy. This recipe, in particular, is incredibly easy to make and I definitely see myself making it more regularly. It's also highly customisable to suit your individual tastes. Without further ado, enjoy!

TBR: The End-of-Year Pile

Lately, I have been completely and utterly hooked on used book stores on Instagram. After discovering a bunch in the past couple months, I find myself unable to stop purchasing from them. In total, I've bought 9 books by this means—and I still want more! It's been good to go low-waste on my book purchases, cutting down on my carbon footprints and supporting local businesses. That being said, the books have definitely piled up and taken up quite an amount of space in my room. I thought, to remind myself, I'd put the books here, so they can no longer be ignored—in the hopes that you guys will hold me accountable to reading them. Of course, if you feel the need for book inspirations, feel free to note down some of the titles in this post to add to your own TBR.

Life Is More Bun-Tastic When You're Around

Learning to Truly Eat Local

A few months ago, I stumbled upon this book online—on sale; it's about sorghum. Having seen sorghum in a local bulk store in the past, I was instantly intrigued. At the time, I didn't know what sorghum was and what role it plays in the food distribution in this country. Needless to say, I purchased the book. Thus began my journey down the rabbit hole that is food crisis. Did you know that we have a global food crisis and it is not caused by the shortage of food being produced? Yes, major food wastage also plays a role, but that's not the only one. The number one cause is, actually, food uniformity. We humans used to rely on 30,000 species of plants for food and medicine—now we only largely rely on 30. Sixty percent of our diet, in fact, is made up of only 3 annual crops—rice, wheat and corn (Source: Green Dreamer). It may not seem like much, but before you know it, children are suffering from malnutritions and farmers are planting the wrong kind of crops. This is something that I'm starting to learn recently—and what that looks like in Indonesia. Feel free to read more if you're as intrigued as I am.

Nothing is Black and White, There's Only Red

The Ultimate Halloween Watch List (NO GHOSTS!)

It's one week to Halloween! Eep! Are you guys already deep in the spooky vibe? I love Halloween, but I'm such a scaredy cat when it comes to the supernatural. That doesn't mean I don't want to be spooked or scared to my bones; it just means that I'd rather have it without the wandering spirits and demonic creatures. I can't be the only one, right? You're probably like that too, if you're reading this, right? Well, I thought since it's already sun down where I am,  it's the perfect time to give you last-minute Halloween-themed treats leading up to the holiday with only one week left. We've got feature films, series and short films from across the globe. There are psychological thrillers, disturbing plots and unexplainable mysteries—pretty much everything you need for a great horror story. Here we've got numerous recommendations that you can watch while counting down to the big night—with one guarantee: NO GHOSTS!

30 Before 30 List - SO FAR pt. II

 

I know we've all done away with goals and accomplishments the minute 2020 hit us with that pandemic—but I'm not willing to let it go yet. As you may know, I made this 30 Before 30 List of goals long before the pandemic hit, and I'm not about to hit reset on this determination due to a universally bad year. That, I know, is a very privileged thing to say—which is why I'm extremely grateful to be able to sit here and still have achievements to count. Last year I made a note of the things I managed to check off as well. This year, for what it's worth, for me personally, has been an incredible year. I accomplished something gigantic that I've been meaning to hit for a decade now—and I'm super thrilled at all the doors and windows that it has opened for me. It may be short in quantity—again—but it is unrivalled in quality to anything I've ever achieved thus far. One thing has changed entirely, though, thanks to this catastrophic year: I'm no longer dead set on my goals anymore. It's great if I can achieve them, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. Priorities shift, circumstances change; it's all a part of life.

Ode to My First Office

In December 2018, equipped with as much knowledge uni could give me, I sought out for an internship position and, thanks to my dear friend Gina, landed at a local startup tech company. Thinking there wouldn't be much of a career prospect in this place, I didn't intend to stay long. Dismissing the experience as one of those I had to go through as I waited for my then-boyfriend to come home, I thought I would give it a go. Little did I know life still had a few surprises up their sleeves—in fact, the place quickly became like a second home to me. For a girl who felt pretty lost the past 5 years, it was a huge relief to find I could still feel like I belonged someplace. Before I knew it, here were friends whose hellos excited me and goodbyes brought tears to my eyes. Finally, after all these years, I felt like home in the most unexpected place.

Indonesian Ethical Fashion Brands Index

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

As you know, I am an advocate for slow fashion. On this blog and social media, I often share tips on how to support slow fashion, how to thrift more effectively, how to love your clothes more, my decluttering experience and several slow fashion brands. However, it has been an awfully long time since I last shared some local ethical fashion brands here on the blog, so I thought today I'd create a master guide of all the brands that I've known thus far. Before we go on, I believe it's important to set a definition for what constitutes as "ethical" here. These brands take environmental and social impact into consideration, especially with the manufacturing process, which means their products are made of eco-friendly materials and their workers are paid fair wages—often they, too, strive to preserve local culture. Without further ado, here are some Indonesian slow fashion brands you can support.

Zero-Waste 3 Ways: Reusable Straws

It has been 2 years since I decided to adapt the zero-waste lifestyle—or, as I prefer to call it, low impact. And I still remember how big the concept seemed. As I have mentioned in this post before, it is important to do our research beforehand. For me, it is essential to be equipped with the right tools—in this case: reusable items. However, there are so many to choose from and everyone seems to have an opinion about each one. What is the right move here? Personally, I think there is no right way to go zero waste (or low impact). All you need to do is find a way that suits you best. Which is why I thought I'd try a few zero-waste equipments and tell you what I think, so you wouldn't have to purchase them all. Let's start with something simple and easy, shall we: reusable straws.

My Favourite Swapped Clothes

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

Lately, with the raised awareness of problems within the fashion industry, the popularity and demand for less-polluting secondhand clothing has also risen. Activities like thrifting and swapping have become all the rage. While thrifting has become more common amongst fashion enthusiasts, swapping has been met still with a shred of doubt. How do we do it? Will we get great items through this method? Is it safe? Personally, I have joined a few swap parties myself and, frankly, would do it again in a heartbeat. Not only does it cost you nothing, swapping also allows you to declutter unused items in your wardrobe at the same time. It's a win-win solution for everyone involved, and may spark social interactions among the participants. Today I thought I'd share a few swapped items of mine that I absolutely love to this day.

Plant-Based: Tiasa

Lessons Learnt: Starting Over

Up until I was 17, everything in my life seemed to be right on track—then I graduated from high school and it started to go downhill from there. At 18, I moved to Germany, starting my pre-uni a year later than I should've—and, ultimately, pushing my uni 2 years back. I failed to get into numerous art schools that I applied to. In the end, I was 22 when I decided to fly back home and put a reset on my life. Though at first I wasn't sure how I wanted to proceed, I ended up starting over with uni—with a major that I had been aiming for all along—at the time when all my friends have graduated. Not only was my boyfriend at the time still in Germany, but I felt pretty much alone in this experience. Fast forward to 4 years later, when I thought my life was going back on track somewhat—but then my long-term relationship ended. It was entirely my choice, yet it was still uncharted territory. Not too long afterwards, I began a new one. So, I guess you can say that I'm pretty experienced in this whole 'starting over' thing—and here are some thing I've learnt from it.

Mini Getaway to Nowhere

The (Emotional) Art of Decluttering

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

Ah, decluttering—I'm sure you've heard of it. It's been all the rage these days, hasn't it? People are doing it left and right; some even call it Marie Kondo-ing their wardrobe. Whatever you call it, you know it: It is the act of going through your possessions—be it in your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or garden—and deciding what stays and what goes, depending on whether or not you still need and/or want the items. Sounds like such a simple, yet laborious task, no? Which is why I also haven't done it in ages—the last time was around 2014/2015. But, now that I've finally got time to spare, I thought I should give it a go once again, as 5-6 years is a long time to go without curating your wardrobe, wouldn't you agree? So last Sunday I got some boxes ready, poured a glass of iced coffee, put on some appropriate music and opened my wardrobe—it was time for some decluttering.

Satu Merdeka, Semua Merdeka

Freedom Is About Perspective

How to Successfully Keep Yourself from Shopping

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

Back in April 2017, I suddenly realised that I had stopped buying clothes for a whole year—without meaning to. For a girl who spent the years previously purchasing an average of 2 items of clothing a month, it was quite a revelation and groundbreaking revolution. I was surprised to find how easy it was to stop buying clothes completely and how little need I had for new items of clothing—and I guarantee, you will also feel the same. For the most part, it felt really effortless, because I wasn't planning on going on a long streak without shopping at all, but it might not feel the same for you, if you're interested in deliberately trying to do so. I believe, however, that there are a few things you can try to make it easier on yourself and successfully keep yourself from shopping. Here are a few tips I thought would be helpful, if this is your first time—or if you haven't been able to stick with it this whole time.

How I Feel When I Open My Wardrobe

This post is written as part of the #MulaiDariLemari campaign from Tukar Baju

My wardrobe isn't perfect; it is always a work in progress. One minute it can look all neat and everything's in place, the next it could be a complete chaos. But, when I open my wardrobe, I see something more than clothes. I see the history of how I built its contents into what it is now. I see the potential of what this wardrobe could eventually become. Most importantly, I see how it embodies me—how I present myself to the world, how I bare it all in private and how many memories each item tends to hold.

Lessons from My Finished 9-Year Relationship

Today would've marked the 10-year anniversary to my previous romantic relationship—the first one I've ever had. Starting as we were both entering adulthood, this relationship began at the cusp of major changes in our lives at the time. Alas, that relationship ended towards the end of 2019. I really thought it'd last forever. I really thought we would be our only partners. But 17-year-old me couldn't foresee the changes that were about to happen; she couldn't know the developments that unraveled along the way. She couldn't even imagine that I would be the one pulling the trigger. All that being said, I would say, we had a pretty good and healthy relationship. For a while, we were happy. Something like that—one that has been with you for so long—created a lasting impression, imprinted a series of habits and reflexes to fall back on. These are things you can't just shake off in a hurry. I don't like to think of it as a failure. I'd like to think that the relationship has served its purpose; he, however, might beg to differ. The relationship and the ending both changed my life and, if anything, there are so many things I could take away from it. If you'll allow me, I'd love to share a few major ones with you.

Zero-Waste Grocery: Naked Inc.

Before the pandemic hit and the quarantine started, Agung and I visited The Bulkstore & Co. at Kemang Village. It seems only fitting to hit up another packaging-free grocery store in the area, particularly in Kemang, called Naked Inc.—this one is located inside of Como Park. Out of all the bulk stores I've visited before, including Saruga in Bintaro, I think this one is the most diverse in the types of products it stocks. At the time, I came here in the height of my curiosity to explore gastronomically, especially locally grown ones, and be more conscious of the food that I put into my mouth. Food is one of the way we can contribute to fighting climate change and be more eco-friendly in our lifestyle—and it can be both easy and hard, depending on how you look at it. So here's the start of my attempts.

Noodling All Day with You

10 Overlooked Foreign Films to Watch Online

Lately, with being confined at home for so long, I've developed a new hobby—which you might remember from my previous post: watching foreign films. These are non-English-speaking films that happen to be on Netflix. It's just become my greatest pleasure to explore the world through films—because, apparently, we don't have the liberty to actually explore these days. Spanish films and series, in particular, have become a personal favourite for me, but I've also tried to venture into other languages as well to see what other countries have got to offer. Aside from that, I don't know about you, but I love short films as well. So I've also compiled some really great short movies that you wouldn't find on any of the streaming services—don't worry, I've included links on where you can watch these films as well! These films vary greatly from the absolutely comedic to the heart-wrenchingly dramatic, so whatever it is that you like, I hope you'll find it here.

HAUL: Gramedia Online Book Sale

Last week the biggest bookstore chain in Indonesia, Gramedia, hosted an online book sale on their website. I'd never bought anything from them online before, but the 20-50% offer got me hooked. With barely any expectations at all, I checked out what they had in store. It thrilled me to find so many amazing titles—some of which I'd been dying to own for so long—and incredible book covers in the store. The Indonesian book industry is certainly thriving and I'm very excited to dive deep into these local books again. Long story short, I ended buying quite a few books from this site and today a couple of them have been thoroughly read. Without further ado, here's what I've got.

(In My Head) I Do Everything Right

When Will We Start Believing the Scientists?

Recently, I've been reading a couple books about the environment. Ironically, as someone who aspires to do right by nature, I haven't actually read a lot of books on the matter. Don't get me wrong—I've read numerous articles and watched countless videos as well as a few documentaries, but, for some reason, not many books. There have been a few environmental fiction—or cli-fi (climate fiction) as some people choose to describe it. However, somehow I found myself with some new books on the environment and it's the kind that gets deep and rough with all the excruciatingly detailed data. As a girl who believes in numbers, these data excite me. Finally, I could start learning about the truth behind environmental sciences—but, boy, was I not ready for reality.

Pandemic Aesthetics

Comfort First

Plant-Based: Sprout

#StayatHome: 10 Books to Flip Through on Goodreads

Woohoo! It's been three weeks of self-quarantine for me, how about you? I hope by now you've been keeping yourself entertained and sane one way or another. If you've run out of ideas of what to do, you can check out the Netflix and Spotify recommendations I've got posted this past two weeks. Today I am back with more recommendations—this time it's books! Clearly, I was saving the best for last. If you follow me on Goodreads, these are all books in my Most Beloved Read list—meaning they all got five stars from me and more. Some of them you have heard of before—either from me or from everyone else—and some you may find completely unfamiliar, but you've got my guarantee that these are all worth your while. Without further ado, here are some of the books I believe you should read before you die of boredom.

#StayatHome: 10 Names to Listen to on Spotify

Hi, there! How are you holding up during these physical distancing efforts? Are you deadly bored yet? I'm back with more entertainment recommendations to accompany you for as long as you need. If last time we talked about movies and series on Netflix, this time please allow me to introduce you to 10 artists and podcasts I've been digging for a while. Just like last time, all these names are all available for you on Spotify, as it seems to be the most popular music streaming service in the world—and, again, one I actually have full access to. Before we go on with the recommendations, though, let me just applaud you in appreciation for staying home during these hard times—thank you for that, it may not seem like a lot, but it makes a difference. Now, hope you find new names to listen to here and enjoy!

#StayatHome: 10 Things to Watch on Netflix

So, uhh, this COVID-19 thing, eh? Looks like it's here to stay for a while. Well, at least where I live. I hope wherever you are, you have more luck than I do. But, if you're being responsible and staying home, you might get a little—or a lot—bored, right? Fear not! I've got a series of posts chock full of recommendations for you—films, music, books, you name it! Let's start off with some films and series recommendations. These are mostly exclusive Netflix contents as, I believe, it is the most popular and affordable streaming service out there—and one I actually have access to. Actually, I've recommended several movies and series on Netflix before—when I first tried this service—so you should go check out those too. Now I'm trying to be as diverse in choosing these titles as possible, so I hope you'll enjoy them. 

Zero-Waste Grocery: The Bulkstore & Co.

Lately, I've been finding more and more bulk store appear in Jakarta. Earlier this week Agung and I paid a visit to a packaging-free, bulk grocery store at Kemang Village called The Bulkstore & Co. Just like Saruga, this bulk store provides household needs pretty much without packaging. Agung and I had been here beforehand and we loved the selection of items they have in store, so we decided to go back and restock on some supplies. With this pandemic panic of COVID-19, people have been opting for the disposable more often and the demand for unsustainable items have risen significantly. Truthfully, this breaks my heart. Personally, I still believe there's a place for a low-impact lifestyle in this chaotic situation, but we have to be more proactive and conscious about our decisions. And this is how we are doing that.

Boba Baby

It Smells Like Autumn

#NYE2019: A Tale of Two Palaces

It's mid January already, so I know it's high time we stop dwelling on the New Year. But, hey, I promise you the second part to our Cirebon trip and it is here! Unlike the usual way I serve a travel post—I know no one cares (lol)—where you'll get a chronological view of the trip, this time I thought I'd tweak it a little bit. These two destinations—one visited before the previous post and the other the next day—are so intricately connected, that I felt it would be best to tell you about them in one go. Aside from food, our main attractions from Cirebon are palaces. There are a total of 3 palaces in this town, as far as we know. Out of those three, we only managed to visit two, yet they have such rich history and are a complete contrast to one another. Are you intrigued?

#NYE2019: Tunnel Caves to Nowhere

Roots Growing into Warm Soil

At the beginning of 2019, I posted a recap of 2018 with the title The Wheel Starts Turning. There is a certain symbolism in that which reminds me of Narnia's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. My life in the past few years felt eerily similar to the eternal winter of The White Witch, and only recently—in 2018—did spring seem to arrive. I've never imagined that I would once again feel a sense of belonging in the faces of strangers—like I used to feel back in 2012 and 2013. I thought finding one's place is a luxury and indulgence of youth—something I believe I no longer have—but, somehow, my roots start to grow into this warm soil. Change is just part of everyday life these days, that I've got no choice but to embrace it. Some changes are easier to swallow than others, and this year is chock full of them. But, hey, this is my life, not a lack thereof; there's not much else to do, but to live it.

January