DECEMBER READING

1. Ketika cinta bertasbih (1 & 2)

Entah kenapa tiba-tiba ia merasa berdosa. Ia merasa berdosa dan jijik pada dirinya sendiri yang begitu rapuh, mudah terpedaya oleh tampilan luar yang menipu. Ia jijik pada dirinya sendiri, yang ia rasa terlalu cair pada lawan jenis yang belum halal baginya. Ia sendiri hairan kenapa jati dirinya seolah pudar saat berhadapan atau berdekatan dengan Eliana. Apakah telah sedemikianlemah imannya sehingga kecantikan jasadi telah sedemikian mudah menyihir dirinya. Ia beristighfar dalam hatinya. Berkali-kali ia meminta ampun pada Dzat yang menguasai hatinya.
Azzam meratapi kekhilafannya dan memarahi dirinya sendiri. Dalam hati ia bersumpah akan lebih menjaga diri, dan hal yang menistakan seperti itu tidak boleh terjadi lagi. Ia juga bersumpah untuk segera menemukan orang yang tidak kalah hebatnya dengan Eliana, tapi bertudung litup, solehah, boleh berbahasa Arab dan berbahasa Inggeris dengan fasih. Kalau terpaksa gadis itu orang Mesir tidak mengapa. Yang jelas rasa terhinanya harus ia sirnakan.
Ia harus menemukan kembali kehormatannya sebagai seorang Azzam yang memiliki harga diri. Meskipun masyarakat Indonesia di Mesir mengenalinya hanya sebagai tukang masak atau penjual tempe, tapi harga diri dan kesucian diri tidak boleh diremehkan oleh siapapun juga. Ia yakin akan memperolehi isteri yang lebih jelita dari Eliana, dan lebih baik darinya. Ia yakin itu tekadnya. Ia ulang-ulang tekad itu dalam hatinya. Ia rajut dengan doa. Ia bawa tekad itu ke dalam tidurnya. Ke dalam mimpinya. Dan ke dalam alam bawah sedarnya.

2. Slumdog millionaire

Ram Mohammad Thomas has been arrested. Because how can a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school correctly answer all twelve questions on the television game show Who Will Win a Billion? - unless he has cheated.
As the story unfolds, Ram explains to his lawyer how he knew the answer to each question by telling a chapter of his amazing life - from the day he was salvaged from a dustbin to his meeting with a security-crazed Australian army colonel while performing as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal. Stunning a television audience of millions, Ram draws on a store of street wisdom and accidental encounters that provides him with the essential keys not only to the quiz show but also to life itself.
In a beguiling blend of high comedy and poignancy, Vikas Swarup has created a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle of good against evil, and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive.

KHALID HOSSEINI

Finished reading 2 books in November. Both are by the same author: Khalid Hosseini. The stories took place in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation right to the new millennium. Things didn't change much for the better for them (the characters). They however survived the turbulence.
Great readings as you can get some insight about what happened in the patriarchal society where women were being greatly discriminated (in my opinion) even though they claimed that its for their (the women) own good.
1. THE KITE RUNNER

Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the making of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

2. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

EEH...DAH KAT MANA NI?

Everytime angkat muka dah nampak pemandangan lain. Nak suap makanan ke mulut pun rasa mcm pusing skit. Tu lah dia bahana makan kat Restoran Berputar Seri Angkasa. Nasib baik hidangan buffet dia tak bergerak. Kalau tak, huh dah tak tau tempat duduk kat mana. Tapi tercari2 gak seat lepas ambil hidangan pencuci mulut. Dah siap pilih tu, aik..orang lain lak ada kat depan mata. Rasa nak tergelak sendiri pun ada gak sekalipun dah tau hakikatnya tempat tu memang berpusing dan tak kan dapat pemandangan yg sama everytime you pandang depan.
Pengunjungnya, boleh tahan lah ramai. Food memang marvelous.

p/s: Thanks to you who treated me to this restaurant.

ANOTHER YEAR HAS PASSED

What have I accomplished this whole year? Not much. However, I managed to sign up for sewing class and I've sewing my own baju raya. I've 3 more modules to go: kurung moden, kebaya tradisional and blouse. I hope to finish them all soon. At the moment, I also am learning how to do patchwork and quilting. I've a lot of projects to do. So far, I've already started 3 and almost finished 2 of them.

Now I spend most of my free time sewing, apart from reading. Last month, I was quite busy with sewing that I managed to read only one book. I'm still halfway through my second book. Hope to finish reading it this weekend so that I can start reading new ones for December.

Two weeks ago, I managed to bake cupcakes for my cousin's birthday. Those were simple ones with choc topping and simple deco. Hope to be able to bake my own birthday cake.