How to Start Changing Your Lifestyle

Since 2013, I've been trying to change my lifestyle in two aspects of my life—fashion and waste. In truth, I suppose, these aspects are closely linked, as they both appeal to the consumer side of me. I suppose, then, you can also say that I've only improved in the way that I organise and live my life, in regards to my principles. Many, many people have asked me numerous questions which boils down to the one ultimate puzzle in their minds: How do you adjust your lifestyle to fit your goal? In all honesty, it is simple: you need only to know where your priorities lie. However, of course, that is much easier said than done. That's why, today I thought I'd share some simple tips that have helped me get through my lifestyle changes, so that you may be able to make a change too.

Do Your Research

Before you can dive into anything, of course, you need to know exactly what you need to do to change your ways effectively. Find out as much as you can about the aspect of your life you'd like to change. If you want to be able to manage your money better, figure out where to start and how to go about it. If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, find out what that entails. Learning exactly what you need to do helps you break down your task, understand it and stick to the changes that you're making. However, you don't need to have a "complete knowledge" on whatever aspect you're working on, before going forward with the change. You can and should keep educating yourself about the subject matter while living your new lifestyle—as this kind of information evolves all the time.

Allow Mistakes

The most important thing to remember about changing your lifestyle is that it's a process. You're not going to be able to give up anything cold turkey nor will you excel at something right off the bat. It's unrealistic and simply cruel to expect yourself to adapt to change instantly. It's okay to slip up once in a while, it's okay to have weak moments now and then. This concept—this lifestyle—is new for you, it's okay to make wrong decisions as you try to figure it out. It is only through mistakes that we learn about ourselves and how to best adjust our methods to make our lifestyle change, specific to us. It is how we find out what works and doesn't work for us, to reach our goals. So long as we use it as a learning experience and are determined to truly change, mistakes are good.

Get a Support System

Making such a major change in our lives is hard. Really hard. And sometimes we need someone—or a village—there to help us get through it. Ask your friend and/or family to join in your quest. Create a fitness group with your colleagues, cook weekly meals as a hangout plan with your buddies, get your family excited about waste sorting. Or, if there's no one in your life who seems interested in your goal, join a forum or a Facebook group—they have one for pretty much anything out there. Something as simple as a hashtag can open up your world to a whole other group of people. Getting support systems in your life—especially amongst your peers—can really help you feel motivated and may get you new information that'll help you keep with your resolutions. It's true what they say, there is strength in numbers.

Mind Your Own Business

One of the hardest parts about changing your lifestyle is how different it may still be with the people around you. You may have been accustomed to a certain way of life, before you decide to change it. However, when you change, your friends may not want to do the same. As a result, often there feels to be a certain friction among friends. You may feel forced to go back to your old ways or, at least, a tad uncomfortable with it. What you need to remember is that your life is none of their business, just as their lives are none of yours. If your friends try to coerce you into spending money, you've decided to send to savings, kindly ask them to respect your decision and decline the offer—or propose another option. Similarly, if your friends choose to buy from a store you don't approve of, don't give them a lecture about whatever reason you may have—and simply give out opinions when asked. Live and let live, you know.

Remember Why

When all of the above is said and done, there is only one thing left to do: stay committed. Whether it be to a spouse or to a principle, commitment is hella hard. Even if your lifestyle change is as simple as resolving to wake up early every morning, there may be days when you find that utterly impossible and even close to refusing to do it anymore. However, you must have a reason why you want to undergo such change. You must have a goal you want to achieve or an outcome you expect from going through with this change. What is it? Remember it and always keep it in your mind. Commit to it and know that you can reach it. Of course, if the reason is no longer applicable to you, you can discard the lifestyle, but make sure you won't regret it.

I hope this has been helpful for anyone thinking about changing their lifestyle. Also, check out my video down below to see how my relationship with others have changed along the way too!

5 Documentaries to Start Your Year Well

I don't know about you, but January is usually the month when I'm very determined to change my life. Let's just say motivation runs high. It's the perfect time to take in as many inspirational sources as possible—and I do tend to do that. This is the month I get the most job done and finish the most research. So it is crucial—heck, even critical—that I make the most of it. If you're like me too—or want to be so, I have a few recommendations of light but profound documentaries you can watch to widen your horizon and get you going for the rest of the year. Or, well, at least all through to July. These are not necessarily my absolute favourite documentaries on each topic, but they are a great introductions for newbies and a good way to kickstart your knowledge on the subject matter. Also, don't worry, they're all in English.

Where to Invade Next

Let's start with something profound, yet quite hilarious. This documentary by Michael Moore is really eye-opening. It teaches me a lot of things about other countries and, I think, if you're a US citizen, you could benefit a lot from this. It follows Michael Moore's journey himself, going from one country to another to find values and practices that he can "steal" to take back to the US. It opens his eyes to a lot of things his country is lacking—and, funnily enough, so is mine. Although it really brushes on a lot of profound and, possibly, sensitive topics, Moore manages to edit and narrate through everything to make them a bit more comedic and lighter to watch. My favourite part is when he and the crew went to Germany and Tunisia—both national values should really be applied to Indonesia, I believe. Very inspiring and entertaining!

The Next Black

As far as ethical fashion goes, I really cannot recommend anything better than The True Cost, but I do find that is incredibly jarring and overwhelming—I myself had to watch it twice to be able to take everything in. It's probably a bit intimidating to kickstart your knowledge. Alternatively, I would suggest you watch The Next Black, which is a documentary by AEG on the future of (ethical) fashion—and it's available for free! It is presented in such a lighthearted way, that it becomes a great way to learn about fashion and the environment, without having to suffer through the horrifying—albeit inescapable—parts of it. This documentary really opens up to so many possibilities, from the dry-dyeing—which sounds insane but highly innovative—to microfarming. It would leave you in awe to know that the alternative isn't actually that far away from us.

The Red Pill

Okay, I'll admit, this one is very heavy. But I just have to put this here, because I can't find any other documentaries discussing the same subject matter. You might know this from a post I wrote about it several months ago. It is the story of Cassie Jaye's journey in digging into the Mens' Rights Movement from the activists themselves. Cassie, who started the journey as a feminist, is willing to open her mind to ideas from both MRAs and feminists on the same topic. Truth be told, I find that the Mens' Rights Activists have a lot of valid points that I've never even thought of before. Their stories and experiences actually brought me close to tears. This documentary is also very controversial—having been banned in several countries, including Australia—so a lot of people have prejudices against it. I would suggest you watch it; you don't have to like it or agree with it, but you need to understand it.

Girl's Life

On the flipside, let me offer a truce through this six-part documentary series from Wall Street Journal—each of only less than 5 minutes—following a young girl's life from various countries and cultures. I know, there are probably far greater feminism documentaries out there, but I feel like this one is a very light yet profound—notice a running theme here?—piece on the subject. The girls are all around 15-16 years of age, with various economical and cultural backgrounds. I find it fascinating to see their insights on what it means to be a girl-turning-woman today to each of them, with their various aspirations and dreams. It also lets you take a peek into the life of people from different countries—and continents. It's a good introductory piece, in my opinion, into the world of feminism—especially in terms of education. Hopefully it will lead you to find more reading and watching materials on the topic.

Before the Flood

You've probably heard of this one already, since it's Leonardo Dicaprio's collaboration with National Geographic. Before the Flood is probably the second heaviest documentary mentioned on this list. It follows Leo's journey on finding out how far climate change has affected the world—including Indonesia. It made quite a headline when he came to Sumatra to see the forest fire and orangutans and got deported by our government, without so much as an excuse to why he was kicked out. Personally, I don't think this is one of those films, where the star sits on his high horse, telling everyone else to change. Politics is mentioned as playing a huge role in fighting climate change—and also why people refuse to believe in their existence. It's a good conversation starter, like peeling off the covers of oblivion you might not know existed before, to reveal the scary melted ice caps underneath. If only just a little bit.

If you have any other documentary recommendations, let me know!

Also, another great way to start your year is by reading books. Check out the video down below to see the five books I'd recommend you start with!

Hoarding: Books I Need to Read in 2018

Everyone who loves books will relate to this: we've all bought books before that we haven't read yet. Mind you, when I buy a book, I have full intention to read it at some point. But, sometimes, I do buy too many books to squeeze into a limited amount of time. As a result, I find myself with an abundance of books to read at one time. This year, in particular, I don't really know how—okay, it's probably all the hauls I've been doing—but I ended up with a plethora of books. It's crazy! In the book blogging and booktube world, hauls seem to be highly encouraged. You see a lot of book haul videos, but rarely do you get to find out if all of them get read—as far as I can recall, mostly they really don't get read straight away. I find it kind of wasteful and it just doesn't sit right with me, especially for people who may live on a tight budget—like me. So I thought I would show you the books that I've been hoarding and hope to be reading in the new year. There are quite a lot, to be honest, but I'm excited to get through them all. Woohoo!

Splitterherz by Bettina Belitz

This book was given to me by Iva. She found it in a box full of books at her front door—she lives in a dorm, so it's not entirely unusual. She was supposed to take the second book to the Jette Weingärtner series, but she didn't pay attention and swiped this one instead. I'm not entirely sure what it's about—it's supposed to be a YA fantasy novel—and I'm not sure if I'll like it. It is also quite thick, with 630 pages in total, so I'm not sure how eager I am to read this, to be honest. At least I feel like I should give it a try, because Iva lugged it all the way from Germany for me (lol).

Astray by Emma Donoghue

I bought this book at Big Bad Wolf Book Sale in April—which was the most painful experience I've ever had with books. Emma Donoghue is not an unfamiliar name for me. I've read her previous works, Room—which I love so much!—and Frog Music. Judging from the cover, I think it will resonate better with Frog Music, though. From the synopsis at the back, I can't really tell much about the story, to be honest, but I believe in Emma Donoghue's story-telling and can't wait to read this one.

Number 11 by Jonathan Coe

My sister works as a teacher at a local primary school. One day the school got quite a number of book donations—I don't know if they were for the students or the staff, because they didn't seem suitable for children—and my sister was kind enough to take photos of all of them and offered to bring home as many as I'd like to read. This was one of the books I asked her to bring, most definitely only because of the cover. The synopsis on Goodreads really got me intrigued though!

The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages by Sophie Hardach

Another purchase from Big Bad Wolf Book Sale. It's also one of those books I grabbed mostly because of the whimsical cover—I mean, look at it! The title is just as intriguing and whimsical too! The synopsis at the back is incredibly intriguing and described in such a metaphorical string of words, that I can't help but to feel quite excited to read it. Sophie Hardach is a name that I haven't heard of before, though, so I have nothing to expect, in terms of writing style.

No Regrets by Wimar Witoelar

This was also part of the donations to my sister's school. Wimar Witoelar is such a familiar name, although I couldn't quite place it, but I knew I wanted to know what the book is about. His face also looks quite familiar. After reading the full title, I realise that he was the presidential spokesperson during the Soeharto regime—Indonesia's most controversial president/dictator to date. The New Order is such a mysterious time in the government and I always welcome information on this period.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Part of the purchases I made at the Gramedia World Fair, which is an imported book sale from a local bookstore chain—yeah, I go to too many book sales. At first, I was intrigued by the cover, but didn't really give the story or subject matter a second thought. Then my sister, who was with me, mentioned that it's about the environment and I quickly picked it back up. To this day, I'm still not exactly sure what it's about, but I'll find out when I read it.

Underground by Ika Natassa

When I first stumbled upon this book, I was highly intrigued by the rock-concert cover and English language. Why? Because this book isn't imported and Ika Natassa is definitely a local author. As far as I know, her other books are all in Indonesian, so this was quite an interesting anomaly. At first, I didn't know what to make of it, but then her other book was recently turned into a film, so I'm hoping this will be a book I thoroughly enjoy.

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

Been interested in Classics lately, when my sister offered her school's donations, I was excited to pick out the classic writers from the pile. The next three books are also from the same pile. Elizabeth Gaskell, to me, always feels like a Horror writer—I'm familiar with her work included in The Virago Book of Ghost Stories. Also, the name Gaskell...doesn't that just remind you of skulls? Anyway, I just mean to say that I expect this book to be along the same lines.

Platform by Michel Houellebecq

One of the authors and books mentioned in Romancing the East. From the cover, you can probably already guess the subject matter being brought up here: sex tourism. Although this was written quite a while ago, unfortunately this industry is very much the centre focus of Thailand's tourism, as I recently read on Jill Matthews's instagram. Very, very intrigued to learn about Southeast Asia from the eyes of a Western visitor.

The Beach by Alex Garland

Also a book mentioned in the previous non-fiction. However, I've also watched the film adaptation of this starring Leonardo Dicaprio. It was quite hard to watch, to be honest, but it really made an impression in me. Also, Romancing the East mentioned the aftermath of the film on the beach it was actually shot in. Rarely do fictions create such a catastrophic impact on the real world and it left me intrigued to read the work it's based on.

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

Again, this author—and book, perhaps—is mentioned in Romancing the East. As most of you would probably know, Ian McEwan is the famous author behind the James Bond series—and, you know, Atonement. I've never read any of his books, but I found the story of Atonement rather tragically beautiful—although the film put me to sleep, unfortunately—so I'm pleased to try one of his works. I've got no great expectations, to be honest.

Lafcadio Hearn's Japan by Lafcadio Hearn

Okay, last author and book from Romancing the East—I promise. Upon reading his life story on said book, I was quickly intrigued, because Lafcadio Hearn sounds like the kind of man I want to meet and exchange stories with—or, at least, I'd hear all of his. This was definitely an impromptu purchase after a terrible day—using the money I don't actually have the liberty to spend—from a highly discounted section of a local imported-books store.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a title that brings back memories for me, because my high school classmate Maya had incredible difficulty with this book that she couldn't get past the second or third paragraph. A few months back, while browsing at a local flea market, my sister picked up this book. I thought I'd add this to my list too, because I'm curious about the story and writing style. A lot of people seem to love it so much, though. I've always wanted to know what the Brontë sisters are all about.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

It was Sanne who first got my interest piqued on Jane Eyre—I think it's her all-time favourite book—and when it adapted into film, starring Mia Wasikowska and Jude Law, I decided to watch it. From the trailer, I thought it would be quite a thrilling and scary story, but it turns out to have no ghosts at all. This was purchased during an imported-books sale on my campus, which is deadly for me. I love this modern, tricoloured cover. It'll be one of my first Brontë sisters experiences too!

Wow, writing this post actually got me excited to finally dig into these books. Who knew I hoarded quite a number of books with such varying stories and topics? This will hopefully keep me from feeling the need to blow all my money on more books. How about you? Do you have books at home that you've kept for a while, but haven't read at all? Maybe you should list them, write a tiny synopsis of each of them or where you bought them or why you did so. Pin it somewhere you will most likely constantly see it and may it always be at the back of your head. I guess you can say this is the other side of book hauls. But what good are books when they go unloved and unread? On the flip side, if you want to see the best ten books I actually read this year, you can check out the video down below!

VIDEO: Siblings in Fiction

Usually, when I have a Youtube video up on my channel, there's a blog post to go along with it—and I was ready to write this one too—but I ended up getting caught up in the whirlwind of midterm exams, that I hardly had time to plan out the blog post to go with this video. That being said, I magically managed to film, edit, render and posted a video anyway—which is more than I expected of myself—even though it's uploaded later than I'd like. Just in case you've never known before, let me share this video here to let you know that I actually have a semi-active Youtube channel, where I generally talk about books monthly. This month I thought I'd look at my favourite books that put siblings on the epicentre of the story—there are seven! As a middle child of three, sibling relationships have always intrigued me. I think it's one of the most complex relationships a person can have with another. Please feel free to leave comments on what you think of the books and if you know any other books of the same topic!

#24Before25: German Books That I've Read

In the spirit of my birthday month, I thought it would be nice to continue on the review of my 24 Before 25 List. As is the case for several years, last year my list contains literary challenges as well—not one, not two, but four. For this post, though, I would just like to focus on the German books challenge. I didn't put a minimum number of books to read, which is nice, considering how unpredictable my life had become. Most of these books were given to me for free by my friends who still reside in Germany, so I'm super psyched about them. And, you know what, reading in German is definitely different from English—there's a character in each language, you know. Albeit not all these books are originally German—one is translated from Japanese, one from Swedish and one actually from English—the experience is more or less the same. Let's get started, shall we?

Der Dieb by Fuminori Nakamura

My friend Frederick got this at the Frankfurt Book Fair—it's a proofed manuscript, not for sale—and he didn't like the genre, so gave it to me. It's a very thin book—around 200-something pages—so it was a great introduction to the whole reading-in-German thing. It's actually been a while, though, since I last read a Japanese novel and I often forget how poetic even the proses can be. This book is concealed almost fully in mystery. To this day, I'm not entirely sure what the story is about—something along the line of mafia/hitman—but I will try my best to jog my memory. The story follows the main character, a professional pickpocket who, after an encounter and dangerous mission from a yakuza clan in Tokyo, drifts through the city, unsure of the condition of his partner—alive or dead? His world is painted black in the cold of the winter and his skills untouched from the traumatic experience—but he seems to still be in constant danger. I'm not sure how it ends, I feel like it has an open ending, but it was quite entertaining for a quick commute read.

Und morgen du by Stefan Ahnhem

Being the first Swedish book I've ever read, I absolutely loved this book! According to Goodreads, it's the longest book I've read this year so far—yes, it is quite thick. The story, though, wow! It's so full of mysteries, gore/blood and definitely plot twists that catch you off guard. It feels a bit like a maze, where there are twists and turns that you wouldn't expect to be there. The story follows Fabian Risk, a police officer who just moves back to his hometown of Helsingborg from Stockholm due to a sort of scandal. Not two minutes into his new house, he is already welcomed into town with a murder case. At first, he doesn't want to be involved just yet, because his working period has yet to start. However, it turns out the victims and crime scene are remnants of his childhood memory, which dragged him in anyway. Not only are there multiple murder cases, the victims are also killed violently—being quite vividly described throughout the book. It is so gripping! I found it very hard to put the book down—even at night, when I usually don't read scary things. Definitely one of the best reads of the year!

Archie Greene und die Bibliothek der Magie by D.D. Everest

Although translated from English—and being set in the UK—I've never heard of this book before. I felt quite encouraged when I saw the cover and it mildly reminds me of The Pagemaster. However—I don't know if it's the story or if it was just my preference at the time—I felt so unmotivated in reading this book until the end. I did finish it, mind you, but I definitely felt like nothing held me to the story. The characters also haven't had time to bond with each other very much before the climax happens and gets resolved. I think it is the first of several books, but I definitely will not continue the series—partly because this came to me free of charge. Younger readers might find this entertaining, though—I actually did too—but I don't see anything more to it than that.

Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo by Christiane F.

Probably one of the most intense books I've ever read in my whole life—even more so because it's non-fiction. I think this is the first German non-fiction I've ever read that isn't for school. The story follows Christiane who, at 13 years old, already tried her first heroin and got completely hooked it screwed over her life. It talks about the drug scene in late 1970s Berlin, particularly at Bahnhof Zoo, where Christiane, her boyfriend Detlef and their friends tend to hang out. Honestly, it's so scary how addicted one can be, basically selling themselves to get money for the dope and going from toilet to toilet to get it in their system. The scariest part is, at the time, Christiane wasn't an exception—many teenagers had somehow fallen victim to heroin, some of them even died. The book offers many false climaxes, with Christiane saying she wants to quit over and over again, but somehow always finds her way back to her drugs. The deeper you get into the book, the less of Christiane's dignity is intact. By the end of it, I'm just glad to get away from that whole world—and, thankfully, how different Germany is now.

Der Erdbeerpflücker by Monika Feth

This one was given to me by Iva, because she happened to find a box full of discarded books on her front door one day—this and two other books happened to be inside. It's a crime novel and—it turns out—not that bad. I actually loved reading this! The story has a really nice flow, the relationships between the characters feel natural and the case is rather interesting. We are offered various point-of-views, including the culprit's, so we know exactly who it is and how he did it, but we don't know how the others will be able to catch him. That in itself is quite exhilarating! For a thriller, it's not too thrilling, I must say. So, if you're a fan of this genre, you probably wouldn't find it as enjoyable. However, it makes up for it in philosophical and psychological backgrounds of the characters. It really gets you thinking that people are almost never as they seem. I have another book on this series—although it's the third one, since Iva mistakenly took another book and not the second one—and I just can't wait to read more books by this author.

So those are the German books that I've devoured this past year. I feel bad that there are only five, but I've still got a couple more I can flip through, so this will definitely not be the last you see me reading German books. One of the things that I've learnt from the experience is how much longer it takes me to finish books in this language—twice as long, I think—but also how differently I relate to the stories within the books. I'm sure it was pure coincidence that most of them have quite a serious/dramatic theme, but the language kind of suits it very well. In fact, it's probably much more serious and suspenseful exactly because they are written in German. Maybe next time I'll try reading comedy or romance in this language, just to see how they would feel. Also, here's a video of the top 10 YA series I used to follow as a teen—in regards to another literary challenge I gave myself on that same list. Enjoy!

Current Indonesian Books TBR

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8

Lately, I've been feeling the Indonesian Book-reading vibe. I think it's because I scored some good ones—with tremendous covers, no less—during the holiday and I've been spotting a lot of intriguing recommendations through Goodreads—add me there, if you have an account! There's not really much I want to say on each book, I suppose, because I haven't read any of them yet. This list is more for me, to remember, for the next time I find myself at a local bookstore, in the prowl for some local books—so that I will actually get to read titles I've been lusting after for quite some time. They're not in any particular order, by the way. If you own/have read any of the books listed above, please let me know what you think—also, let me know if I could borrow from you! We could also do a book swap, if you like—you can check out books I own on my Goodreads linked above. Aside from that, I've also filmed the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag, which you can watch down below!

Eid Mubarak with Paperless Post

Wow, I can't believe Eid ul-Fitri is coming in a couple days—it felt like just yesterday Ramadan was starting. This is probably my favourite time of the year—especially if I get to visit the Grandparents in Surabaya and reunite with my cousins. Everything just feels very festive during this time; there are ketupat everywhere, good-natured songs echo the streets, the family is together, and food galore. This must be what Christmas feels like to Christians. Sometimes, though, we can't always spend the holiday with our loved ones. They could be going to their own homes or even be oceans away, but we might still want to share our festive spirit and happy thoughts with them somehow. When they're not too far away, we could probably send them a greeting card by post. But what if they live continents away?

Usually, I never send greeting cards—hardly ever include them with birthday presents too—because I tend to think they are a waste of paper. Most people would just chuck them in the bin right after anyway. And e-cards or digital invites never appealed to me—I feel like they have a reputation for being really generic and not well-designed. That is, of course, until I found out about Paperless Post.

Starting in 2009, siblings James and Alexa Hirschfield launched Paperless Post "to prove that communication could be personal and well-designed regardless of the medium"—damn straight! It was love at first sight—from the very first moment I visited their website, I instantly wanted to get me one of those cards. They have greeting cards and invitations for practically any occasion—even Ramadan and Diwali, which you barely ever see in Western card businesses. Collaborating with great names, such as kate spade new york, Oscar de la Renta and Rifle Paper Co., they offer some great selections of amazing and eye-pleasing designs to choose from. If you still prefer the printed option, they also offer those with price starting as low as $1.65.

For the purposes of this post, they have offered me coins to be used on their website and to try their services. Since Eid holiday is only a couple days away, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to send some last-minute cards to some of my loved ones—another great advantage of using Paperless Post. So, first, I went to their Ramadan section to check out some of the Islamic designs which might be perfect for the occasion. After choosing a card, I can customise the card however I see fit. I can change the writing, the backdrop, the colour, even the envelopes and reply card—they have a lot of great options to choose from. When the editing stage is done, I can add the recipients—and even schedule the sending or have a free test sent to me. You can see some of the cards I decided to make for this occasion below.

What a simple and quick process to create well-designed products—even the recipients will get it in such a short amount of time! If you're not celebrating Eid, you could also perhaps send your loved ones birthday cards, holiday cards or even, if you're getting married, the save-the-dates and other wedding stationery necessities. I know I want to have my wedding invitations done by them. Plus, if you sign up to their website, you will get 25 complementary coins to start off with—cool way to try out their digital cards, right? So, if you're in need for some last-minute greeting cards, you should give Paperless Post a go!

This post is in collaboration with Paperless Post but all the opinions written are 100% my own

Also, if you want to get in the Islamic mood, check out some of my favourite books down below!

Monthly Read: Let the Right One In

Not too long ago, a friend of mine asked me for some horror book recommendations. As much of a bookworm as I am, horror is just not a genre I'd voluntarily approach—I'm just a terribly huge chicken, okay? That being said, it turns out that I've stumbled upon such books at some point in my life and I've enjoyed some of them greatly—one of which is this Swedish title. You might know this title from the cinematic feature from 2008—which is also where I first experienced the story. After watching the film several times throughout the years, it turns out that my sister had the book this whole time—story of our lives, really—and so I thought I'd add this to the tiny list of horror books I've delved into. The story revolves around Oskar, a twelve-year-old boy who gets bullied at school and has virtually no friends, and Eli, a twelve-year-old vampire who moves in next door. They form a friendship, which slowly develops into something more—without Oskar knowing what Eli truly is.

There are significant differences, I feel, between the film and the book. First off, there are characters that don't even get honorary mention in the film, such as Johan—Oskar's closet friend—and Tommy—Oskar's older neighbour. Second of all, the movie leaves out crucial details and plot twists, which should give the story a different impression—though most of these are seriously disturbing information that may not have been necessary or appropriate for the film. The book allows the characteristics of the people involved to develop and be given a 360º view. There are some background stories that give the story a whole other feel—including Håkan's point-of-view, the big picture of Oskar's parents' divorce and the life of the middle-aged group that will later on link to Oskar's and Eli's lives. If you've watched the movie before, this book could enhance or ruin your impression of the story, but I do feel it would give you the whole picture.

Check out other horror books I recommend and would like to read!

#23Before24: A Year in Non-Fictions

As part of my 23 Before 24 List, I've resolved to read one non-fiction each month. I feel like at this age, it's time I start gathering more knowledge and actually reading things about the real world so as not to get left behind by my peers in terms of general knowledge—because apparently I'm a clueless idiot about anything. Reading non-fictions turns out to be one hell of a ride. It's opened wider doors for me, learning about all these things I didn't know before—or never really cared to get to know—and getting some perspective from various people's point-of-view on the world and everything within it. So here is the recap of all the non-fictions I've read in the last year.

A Cultural History of Fashion in the Twentieth Century by Bonnie English

It was one afternoon when I decided to check out the campus library that I stumbled upon this book. Fashion has always been a subject which intrigues me—hence this blog (ha!)—and I thought it was high time I actually read up on its history. It definitely shed some light on how consumerism and fast fashion came into being. It is truly fascinating to learn how the way we dress evolves throughout the ages—and how much of that has to do with the cultural and economical changes. I also got to know several prominent fashion figures, such as Delaunay, Schiaparelli and Rei Kawakubo—besides the household names like Chanel, Balenciaga and Ralph Lauren—and how they came to be so famous. It is a little glimpse into how the fashion industry turned into what we know today. This is like a little trip down memory lane of when I used to study Art History.

Unhooked
by Laura Sessions Stepp

Since puberty hit—or maybe towards the end of it, I think—my sister has had this book hanging on the bookshelf. It's always been quite uninteresting and a taboo for me, because of its "vulgar" cover—according to 15-year-old me. The book really talks about the sex culture within the young adult community in the US. It really gave me a lot of insights on what dating looks like halfway around the world, which is very different from my circles of friendship. It baffles and shocks me how casually—yet personally—teenagers think and talk about sex and sexual activities. What's more shocking is how terrible the effects are towards their faith in love and their trust in people. It really explains a lot why articles like this one seems to pop up more often on the internet. Though this book is written quite some time ago and in a different part of the world, I cannot fully dispute that these things don't happen around here now. The book is very eye-opening and not at all written in a lecturing kind of way, which is refreshing.

Tenun Ikat

This book was given to me by Ms. Sancaya Rini. It was published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia and is not for sale—so, if you want to read it, I'll lend it to you. She had two copies and said I could have one of them. Ms. Rini's love for traditional Indonesian craft, dip-dyeing and nature really rubs off on me, otherwise I wouldn't've read this book. It talks about the definition of ikat weaving, different patterns usually used in ikat weaving and what each region's specialties are. It beautifully explains the history and culture behind each ikat—i.e. the traditional functions of each pattern and form. This book is written in English, because it was meant to be handed out to foreigners who want to learn about the Indonesian culture.

Horse Breeds of the World 
by Judith Draper

When we were little, my sister and I—and our cousin—were obsessed with horses. We would go to the mountains to go horseback riding every other weekend and fantasise about buying one for ourselves. It was only natural that we bought several books about horses (yes, I said several). This one talks specifically about the breeds of horses around the world. For an encyclopaedia, it is relatively light (in weight) and thin. It starts off talking the history of horses and then off to talk about the different breeds of horses—plus, how to identify them, their strengths and weaknesses and how the breed came to be. Though I can't say I'm a horse expert now, it really gave me an insight on all types of horses. The one I instantly fell in love with was Camargue. They're just too elegant!

Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano

Towards the end of middle school or the beginning of high school, I was suddenly all pumped up about being more environmentally friendly. I purchased several books on the subject to get me going. This book was one of those purchases. Back then, however, housework and beauty products were of little concern to me (if not none), so I couldn't make myself read past the first few pages of the book. Years later, with a fresh new perspective, this book proved to be useful for me. It gives me several insights about toxic chemical substance in beauty and cleaning products. It's really opened my eyes to really look into the things I put in and on my body. Though the writing style is a little bit fickle for me—and several other people, according to the reviews—and I read that the writer might have gotten several things wrong, it was the first step into living a greener lifestyle.

The Alpha Girl's Guide 
by Henry Manampiring

The first time I found out about this book was through the pages of a fashion magazine. I think it was Nylon or something. The title alone really intrigued me, but the fact that it was written by a guy is actually worth applauding, I thought. The cover finally captured my heart, though when I found it at the bookstore, I was quite perplexed by how much thinner than expected it was. Soon after I bought it, I dove straight away into this book. The first impression I had of it was rather nice; I like that the author outright said that it was meant to be an argument/conversation, instead of a fixed set of rules. His words made it a lot easier for me to reject parts of what he had to say—which was a little double standard, I'm afraid. My initial intention in reading this book was to find out a man's point-of-view on the subject, so I guess I got what I wanted.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

The only reason I even considered to read this book was because I panicked that we were running out of non-fictions for me to read. To be fair, when I read the title, I thought it was going to talk about how to stop procrastinating—boy, was I wrong. Though, after reading it to the very end, I could see the point this book is trying to deliver. Mainly, it really tells us to appreciate the present more and stop looking back to the past or worrying so much about the future. There is only now, the only time in our life that we can truly control. I love how it is written like a FAQ page of a website, making it so much easier and the less boring to read. That being said, I don't fully agree with this book—which, I think, is a healthy way of reading such books. By the way, it delighted me to know that Will Darbyshire read it too.

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

It was only natural that a non-fiction roll means reading a memoir at some point. This book in particular has been sitting on my shelf for years now. I think my sister bought it because it was one of the books chosen in Oprah's Book Club in 2005. I tried reading it several times already, but couldn't get past the first couple pages. The unusual writing style as well as strong language really put teenager me off. However, now with a bit more of life experience in me, this book actually becomes an intriguing and meaningful read. It holds the story of the author's struggle to sober up from the vast amount of drugs and alcohol abuse he put himself through for many years. Though, now after a bit of digging, I found out that parts of this book has been fictionalised, so I don't know if it's even right to call it a non-fiction. That being said, this book really taught me a lot—despite the embellishments and alterations, which seems minor to me. It still tells the feelings of the author and what he went through, whether or not it's wholly true.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

When I was little, I remember watching The Diary of Anne Frank and being on the brink of tears. The pain and suffering haunted me for weeks; I can't believe a little girl had to go through all that. I think my Dad was the one who bought this book and kept it for many years afterwards. I dove into this book, thinking it would be anything like the film. If you have the same notion, I would advise you not to read this book. I didn't really like it much, to be honest. Because, just as the title says, this is actually nothing but a diary of a young girl—which might as well be the 1940s female-written version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, if he were living in confined spaces to hide from the Nazis. I think I probably would've enjoyed it when I was fourteen or so, but now it really doesn't impress me in any way. She rarely talks about the war—unless from a distance—and mostly talks about teenage problems, which any teenager in any era could relate to. Please keep that in mind before you read it.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? 
by Mindy Kaling

I've been hearing good things about this book from Estée Lalonde and other sources. When I purchased this book secondhand and put it up on instagram, many people responded endearingly toward this book—and Mindy in general. Truth be told, I never followed Mindy's career. I never watched The Office, I'm not following The Mindy Project and knows virtually nothing about  American comedy. Just like the other books in this list, I think you need to be a certain kind of people or in a certain stage of your life to enjoy this book. There are some parts of the book that really resonated with me, particularly the chapter with the same title as the book. But, for the most part, I think you need to either follow Mindy's career or understand the strange world that is SNL and American comedy to truly enjoy the whole of this book. I was just lost in most of the self-referential comedy that she uses. In the end, I gave this book away to my friend Divina.

A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s 
by Adam Schwartz

Well, lookie here! A book about politics; who would've thought? If you'd asked me five years ago if I would ever read a book about politics, I most likely would've scoffed or spat at you. When I was still in Kassel, though, my roommate Adit used to talk to me a lot about the 1990s and several conspiracy theories that I don't remember ever learning from history books. Adit likes to watch tons of documentaries too, and that intrigued me. When I was staying at my grandparents' in August, I was bored because I finished my Mindy Kaling book on the train trip there and I brought nothing else. After a bit of rummaging about, I found this book among my Mom's old belongings. It turns out, this book was borrowed from a friend of hers—and now she'll never get it back. The book really went into the many concerning aspects of Soeharto's 30-year presidency. It's a really tough—and long—book to read, taking me around 4 weeks to finish, but I really learnt a lot. Now I'm feeling a little bit anxious about this nation, because I still see traces of foul play from the New Order.

Romancing the East by Jerry Hopkins

The title alone was enough to intrigue me, but then I read the back of the book and I was instantly hooked! Though, to be honest, I only recognise the Memoirs of a Geisha reference. It's always been a tremendous wonder for me, how mystical the East seems to the West. With artistic movements, such as Mooi Indie and Gauguin's exoticism—plus, the Chinoiserie influence to the baroque and rococo period—I can't help but to wonder of what the Occidentals think of us. At first glance, I thought the book was going to reveal the mistakes Western writers often make in writing about Asia—as is the case with Memoirs of a Geisha, which is hugely rejected by the country of origin, Japan. But it warms my heart to see there were indeed writers who were born and/or raised in Asian countries, thus knowing our culture by heart and soul (as opposed to seeing it as a mere object of fantasy). This book really opens my eyes and mind to the East-West relationship and now I'm intrigued to read all the books mentioned within.

So those are the 12 non-fiction books that I've read this past year. I'm sorry if it was a little tl;dr for you, but I hope you would at least read one review that intrigues you the most. Reading non-fiction has been really eye-opening and refreshing for me. I'd like to think I've grown up a bit after reading these incredible books—though some of them were a bit of a let down. While fiction may be a great source of comfort and entertainment, some things are just better to read out front, without the need to decipher the meaning behind each prosaic code. Since this year I have two reading challenges, this was as many as I can read, I'm afraid. Speaking of which, please check out the video below on my Reading Diversely tag. It's an awesome reading tag that I encourage everyone else to do too! Enjoy!