The Book Room

New novel: a house without windows

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Author: Asma Nadia (Novel) - Aditya Gumay, Adenine Adlan (scenarioPrice book: 68 000 (20% discount for first 100 buyers Publisher: Kompas Gramedia

Rara, nine-year-old girl who lives in the slum on the outskirts of the capital, records his dreams in a thin notebook. Not on the doll, or a nice toy. Not also the clothes, handbags ornew shoes. Only in a window so every night he can stare the beauty of the moon. For everymorning he could see the smile of the sun. And every day can see butterflies, dragonflies,and hectic with rain, from the house.

But the tragic events distanced Rara, not only from the dream, also from the love of the people he loves. So sad to the halls of magic that had been open and often took him to the land of rainbows, hide themselves.

Then, how a slave will continue to live, when one by one source of happiness and dreamsback into his lap?

And Rara not own struggle to pursue a dream. Two young people fall in love and dreaming of the same figure. A flower girl dreams turn to then give up and forgotten. Meanwhile, in astately home, a boy struggling to be free from the box his own thoughts, dreams of going to the warmth of family, is also helping a sincere friendship.

A simple story that touches the fabric and have been appointed to the big screen. AsmaNadia's recent work, three times national award winner Adikarya IKAPI, and gift recipientsIBF award for best novel of 2008

Film House without windows will appear simultaneously in theaters homeland on February 24, 2011. 100% profit cinema tickets donated for the benefit of the children of Indonesia.Ask for the prayers and support of all colleagues, for quality films that inspire and enlightenthe community gets more space homeland.

see ya movie

Book review : Your Job Is Not Your Career

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:02:00 +0000

Book Title: Your Job Is Not Your Career
Author: Rene Suhardono
Publisher: Literati Books (Penerbit Lentera Hati), Jakarta
Publication dater: October 2010 (6th print)
ISBN: 978-602-8740-05-0
Number of pages: 160
Price: (Bundled with Career Snippet: Embrace Your Passion, Live a Life of Action, Build Our Nation) IDR 72,000

Rene Suhardono already successfully attracted many people with tips about career and passion at Radio Hard Rock FM. Now, these tips can be enjoyed in the box with book, Your Job Is Not Your Career, and a bonus book (which strangely even thicker than the main book) titled Career Snippet.

In his book, we still can feel the charisma Rene, bertuturnya a charming style, and wise messages contained therein. Do not imagine this book boring, because it is a very inspiring also coupled with language in a relaxed and humorous illustrations.

Rene lot of talk about passion, value and purpose of life. For those who are confused determine a career direction, or are tired of living a so-so alone, this book is very enlightening, especially to revive the idealism that was dead and buried.

Many parts in this book are enough to make me feel slapped-slap..

Do not blame yourself for being an annoying place! Error is when we know this place is annoying, but we do nothing. Do something! "(Career Snippet, p.138)

Job belongs to the company (or wherever it is that you work). It has to do with company’s goals, job descriptions, job enviroment, and compensation. Career, on the other hand, is about passion, values, the individual’s life objectives, fulfillment and happiness. Ideally, of course, your job should be the match for your career. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. For reasons of money, prestige, etc., we often sacrifice what we enjoy doing, our values, our own objectives in life, and even the feeling of being fulfilled and happy.

To offset that kind of situation, Rene suggested that we should know (or find them we haven’t already done so) what our passions, values, and life objectives are, and in step by step fashion showed us how to do it. He did all this like a very good friend who intimately knows who we are that in the end it feels like we’ve been confiding in a good friend about our worries and got the right answer.

Reading this book is guaranteed to make us want to rise up again to dig up every passion and dream that this long delayed. Enlightening

New Book : Craking Zone how to map the changes in the 21st century

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:26:00 +0000

Crackers are the new designation knowledge leaders who are level on top-level leadership. When you update your company's leaders, crackers instead update the industry. He changed the rules of the game. And more importantly, they do it secretly, and then cause big surprise when the market accept it. For some, the arrival of The Crackers was not preferred because they complicate the position of the incumbent. Like a ballet dancer who ends his toes so strong, they dance with nimble on the floor of thick glass, but caused large cracks in the neighbors garden. Make sure the cracks were not present in the middle circle of your garden. Because if that happens, you can be sucked, fall into the cracks trenches that "crack" it.

Industry Update Yesterday, when you submitted the manuscript Cracking Zone, my publisher told me that the market mainstay books has changed drastically. English-Indonesian dictionary for over 10 years provide the largest revenue began to move down. The fall of around 11 percent. Who stole the book market? You can guess easily.Right! Is not everything can be easily translated through an online dictionary. You just choose the language. No need to pay and very quick! Even the cost of telecommunication has become very cheap. Not just a book publisher. Almost every industry is currently changing. Ranging from airlines to hotels. From insurance to banking. Infant formula until crunchy peanuts.

Even well as plantation and energy. Long competition becomes irrelevant when the crackers industry update. As ever I have to say, has emerged a paradigm freemium to crack premiere products (premium) to Almost free of charge. The fares are very cheap, but the company became very rich. Not because of the volume being pursued or use a high frequency only, but because the business process they dismantled a sleek and simple. With this new model, I also hope the Indonesian bureaucracy can immediately do the cracking was not like now that it seems complicated and not friendly. I am not questioning the bureaucracy of public services services (such as driver's license and ID card processing), but the bureaucratic decision-making strategic decisions such as in infrastructure and agriculture, procurement of goods and services, and financial reporting.

Similarly cracking needs to be realized in the financial sectors-banking is still impressed inefficient. I hope there will be one of national banks with the courage to crack the interest rate is already too long perched on a high level.

Options that exist only on banks that have the potential to get cheap funds (such as BCA) or the Islamic banks. However, cracking is only possible if the authorities of the Central Bank (Bank Indonesia) played a role. Flowers are cheap is a trigger that runs the real sector of small and medium businesses (SMBs). Of course he is not as easy as Southwest Airlines or XL-Axiata update supermurah industry with tariffs. There are monetary implications to consider the monetary authority. However, as faced by the perpetrators of telecommunications in the year 2002-2005, every banker knows, the margin they earn are too high. Now we just wait, which one of the most brilliant bankers, who deserves the nickname The Crackers.

Tips Tony Fernandes "You do not have to listen to what people commonly spoken daily.Because they will give advice 'do not do that' and it turns out they lost. "That's the advice Tony Fernandes, founder of Air Asia, when asked by the entrepreneur in Jakarta last week. Ordinary people always think ordinary, standard, with small leaps. In fact all you need is a big leap. Right. How big is if we want to update the industry? You obviously can not ask the ordinary people that.

As experienced by the Wright brothers successfully flew the plane that did not want to hear the advice of his father, a pastor who said that only the birds and angels can fly alone. But when the man was able to fly the plane, apparently not everyone can fly because the pricing is too expensive. Tony Fernandes also update the industry with the rates supermurah. In fact, when it will start a business flight, he was effectively blocked by people close to Mahathir Mohammad who did not give him room to meet with important people in the country where Tony Fernandes will do the cracking.

"There are only two people who can meet Mahathir. First is the opposition who opposed it and the second, from the CEO of Malaysia Airlines airlines only require $ 8 billion rescue package from the government, "they said. Important lessons from what has been done by crackers is the importance of creativity to grow the cracking effect. You have to keep moving looking for "door", tapping it, and if necessary mendobraknya with a big smile.

But what makes you happy, not the creativity in pintupintu knocking it, but your business process is really simple, modern, efficient, and able to make your products or services of premium quality, but its cost is really low. That's the year-end reflection, a kind of public lecture that I wish to retreat from where I was at the end of this year in Beirut, Lebanon. Congratulations to welcome a bright new year. Hopefully your business more fluttering and next year you also deserve my greetings as The Cracker.

Rhenald Kasali

http://news.okezone.com/read/2010/12/23/58/406397/selamat-datang-di-cracking-zone

Love For No Reason : 7 Steps to Creating a Life of Unconditional Love

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:33:00 +0000

By Marci Shimoff; Carol Kline; Marianne Williamson (Foreword by)

(Free Press, Hardcover, 9781439165027, 368pp.)

In Love for No Reason, transformational expert Marci Shimoff offers a breakthrough approach to experiencing a lasting state of unconditional love—the kind of love that doesn’t depend on another person, situation, or romantic partner, and that you can access at any time and in any circumstance. This is the deepest and truest form of love and is the key to lasting joy and fulfillment in life.

Like her New York Times bestselling book Happy for No Reason, this compelling and life-changing book draws on cutting-edge scientific research, ancient, time-tested wisdom from cultures across the globe, interviews with 150 experts (Love Luminaries), and practical, proven tools and techniques. Love for No Reason provides a revolutionary 7-step program that will open your heart, make you a magnet for love, and transform your life.

You’ll learn how to:

Open your heart fully and experience a profound and lasting love from the inside rather than needing to get it from the outside
Bring more love to your family, friends, community and the world without overgiving and burning out
Feel unconditional love for yourself and stop beating yourself up, criticizing and condemning yourself.
Turn off your body’s stress response and activate the physiology of love to improve your health and well-being.
Make your romantic relationships more fulfilling.
Experience more success and satisfaction at work.
Respond with love even to the things that you find most challenging in your life.
Break through the boundaries that block love’s flow—including past negative experiences, limiting beliefs about love, judgments and self-doubt.
Connect to that state of unconditional love inside that will make you naturally more loving and draw more love into your life.

This is love at its highest and best – it’s what people want most deeply and it’s what the world needs most urgently. Whatever your experience of love is right now—whether you’re in pain or feeling great—you can learn to love at a higher level starting today!

The International 3-Day Novel Contest

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:16:00 +0000

“It seems to me that the three-day gauntlet forces instinct to the fore; in the absence of conceptual and rewrite time, the writerly subconscious drives things on.”

—The Globe and Mail

“A coffee-fueled, plot-weaving literary juggernaut.”

—Playboy magazine

Can you produce a masterwork of fiction in three short days? The 3-Day Novel Contest is your chance to find out. For more than 30 years, hundreds of writers step up to the challenge each Labour Day weekend, fuelled by nothing but adrenaline and the desire for spontaneous literary nirvana. It’s a thrill, a grind, a 72-hour kick in the pants and an awesome creative experience. How many crazed plotlines, coffee-stained pages, pangs of doubt and moments of genius will next year’s contest bring forth? And what will you think up under pressure?

Prizes

1st Prize: Publication*

2nd Prize: $500

3rd Prize: $100

*The first prize winner will be offered a publishing contract by 3-Day Books after the winner announcement in the January following the contest. Once the contract is signed, the winning novel will be edited, published and released by the next year’s contest. 3-Day Books are distributed by Arsenal Pulp Press.

How It Works

The contest takes place every Labour Day weekend (usually the first weekend in September), as it has since 1977. You can read the rules for complete details, but here’s the basics:

Entrants pre-register by mail by the Friday before the contest. You are allowed to prepare a brief outline ahead of time. (There are no set rules on this, but the briefer your outline, the better the creative experience.) The contest runs on the honour system—this has always worked well because the contest is first and foremost a writing experiment and so, as the saying goes,cheating only harms the cheater. (Plus we can tell if you cheat.)

Entrants write in whatever setting they wish, in whatever genre they wish, anywhere in the world. You may start writing as of midnight on Friday night, and must stop by midnight on Monday night. Then you print up your entry and mail it in to the contest for judging. (Submitting your manuscript is not required, and many entrants do not, preferring to use the contest as a personal creative tool. We recommend you do, though. We like to see what everyone came up with, and it makes it a more complete experience for you. Plus you never know… even if you don’t like what you produced, the judges might.)

Our panel of judges from the writing and publishing community reads and rereads the submissions and picks the winners. We announce the judging results the following January, hand out some prizes, and send a fancy certificate to everyone who delivered a novel. Then wepublish the winner!

The prizes are a good incentive, but the contest’s true rewards go to everyone who gives it their all: the 72-hour exile of writers block, bragging rights afterward, an amazing mental kick-start, and a shiny new first draft your novel.

To sign up, read the rules and the FAQ, get your registration to a post office by the Friday before the contest, make a few outline notes (if you wish) and then, you know, just simply write an entire novel over the three days of the Labour Day long weekend. You can do it! Keep energized, stay hydrated, keep your goal in sight and let the momentum of the contest charge your creativity and break through your blocks.

The next contest will take place on the 2010 Labour Day long weekend (Sept. 4 - 6). If you have questions or want to join our mailing list, send an email to info@3daynovel.com.

About the 3-Day Novel Contest Administrators

The 3-Day Novel Contest and its imprint, 3-Day Books, are managed by Barbara Zatyko, Publisher, in Toronto and Melissa Edwards, Managing Editor, in Vancouver, along with the generous help of numerous volunteer judges and supporters from the writing, publishing and arts communities. Please visit the Contest History page to read about the excellent organizations that began and nurtured this unique literary institution.

Contact

Email us with any questions or comments, or with media requests for an interview with a previous winner or an entrant from your area.

info@3daynovel.com

Please note our new mailing address:

The International 3-Day Novel Contest

PO Box 2106, Station Terminal

Vancouver, BC, V6B 3T5

Canada

Writing Competition 2011

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:27:00 +0000

For published and aspiring writers alike – enter the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2011 short story competition and you could win:

a cash prize of £500
a place on an Arvon Foundation residential writing course of your choice*
publication of your story on the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook website

We’re offering you the chance to win £500, plus a place on an Arvon residential writing course of your choice! All you have to do is enter a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words, on the theme of ‘compulsion’ and email it tocompetition@acblack.com with ‘WAYB11 competition’ as the subject line.

The closing date is 14 February 2011.

The Arvon Foundation runs four historic writing houses in the UK, where published writers lead week-long residential courses. Covering a diverse range of genres, from poetry and fiction to screenwriting and comedy, Arvon courses have provided inspiration to thousands of people at all stages of their writing lives. Find out more and book a course online atwww.arvonfoundation.org

*Courses are subject to availability at the time of booking.

Don’t forget to read the full details, terms and conditions before you enter. Good luck!

The Happiness Project book

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:53:00 +0000

“A cross between the Dalai Lama’sThe Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, and seamlessly buttressed by insights from sources as diverse as psychological scientists, novelists, poets, and philosophers, Gretchen Rubin has written a book that readers will revisit again and again as they seek to fulfill their own dreams for happiness.”

— Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want

“This book made me happy in the first five pages. And the more I read it, the happier I got. It’s filled with great insights that have changed every part of my life, from love to money, from work to play, from writing to Diet Coke.”

— A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically and The Guinea Pig Diaries

“Happiness is contagious. And so is The Happiness Project. Once you’ve read Gretchen Rubin’s tale of a year searching for satisfaction, you’ll want to start your own happiness project and get your friends and family to join you. This is the rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.”

— Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind

“The Happiness Project is a wonderful book. Gretchen shows how you can be happier, starting right now, with small, actionable steps accessible to everyone. Among her many attainable strategies, her discovery of the connection between inner happiness and outer order is spot on!”

— Julie Morgenstern, Organizing from the Inside Out and SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life

→ More Reviews and Buzz about The Happiness Project book.

The Happiness Project is one of the most thoughtful works on happiness to have emerged from the recent explosion of interest in the subject. Rubin weaves together philosophy, scientific research, history, analysis, and real-life experiences as she explains what worked for her—and what didn’t. Her conclusions are sometimes counter-intuitive – for example, she finds that money can buy happiness, when spent correctly – but they resonate with readers of all backgrounds.

Filled with practical advice, sharp insight, charm, and humor, The Happiness Project manages to be illuminating yet entertaining, profound yet compulsively readable. But The Happiness Project isn’t just an engaging and provocative book. Gretchen’s passion for her subject jumps off the page, and reading a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start your own happiness project.

Gretchen has a wide, enthusiastic following, and her idea for a “happiness project” no longer describes just a book or a blog; it’s a movement. Happiness Project groups have sprung up from Los Angeles to Enid, Oklahoma to Boston, where people meet to discuss their own happiness projects. More than a dozen blogs have been launched by people who are following Gretchen’s example. On her companion website, the Happiness Project Toolbox, enthusiastic readers track and share their own happiness projects.

Ranah 3 Warna

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:47:00 +0000

Alif has just graduated from Pondok Madani. He's even been able to dream in Arabic and English. Dream? Very high. Want to learn high-tech in Bandung like Habibie, then migrated to America. With bubbling enthusiasm he returned to Maninjau and not wait to get to college. But her closest friends, Randai, doubted he could pass UMPTN. Then he realized, there is one important thing that he did not have. High school diploma. How could catch all the high ideals without a diploma?

Inspired by Danish dynamite team spirit, he is breaking down barriers heavy. Just now she can smile, storm menggempurnya problem after another without mercy. Alif tired and began to wonder: "How long will I have to fast to be patient to face all the trials of life?" Almost alone he gave up.

Apparently the "mantra" man jadda wajada alone is not enough magic in winning life.Alif remembered "mantra" is taught both in Pondok Madani: man shabara zhafira. Who will be lucky to be patient. Armed with the mantra that he lives one by one storm Songsong. Can she win all her dreams?

Where fate brings Alif? What are the three different domains that color? Who Raisa?What about his rivalry with Randai? How are you doing Sahibul Tower? Why to appear Obelix, the Indians and Michael Jordan and the Knights Berpantun? What a gift God has made a strong patience?

Domains 3 Color is how the dream saga is still obliged to defend an all-out although life continues bun agony.

DETAILS Title Ranah 3 Colors Seri Negeri 5 Tower ISBN / EAN 9789792263251 / 9789792263251 Author Ahmad Fuadi Publisher Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU) Publish January 23, 2011 Pages 488 Weight 175 grams Dimension (mm) 130 x 200 Tags Fiction, Religion,

The Indonesian Capital Market Student Studies (ICMSS)

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 14:27:00 +0000

The Indonesian Capital Market Student Studies (ICMSS) is the biggest and oldest annual event held by Management Student Society (MSS) FEUI that gives you all information about capital market from the instruments (stock, bond, etc), the ways of investing in capital market to recent issues, which will be explained briefly by the experts in capital market.

For this year, we proudly present “The 10th ICMSS National Conference, Seminar, and Training”. This year ICMSS will be packed in three series of event that will be held for 5 days. The National Conference will be attended by numerous students from universities all over Indonesia to discuss some recent issues in capital market. The seminar and the training are annual events of ICMSS that will discuss the capital market in accordance with the main theme which are annually updated. ICMSS also presents ICON (Indonesian Capital Market Online) competition, the National Competition for Online Simulation Stock Trading as ICMSS’s pre-event.

http://www.icmss-feui.com

Sakinah With You; More Wisely menage Through Stories

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:12:00 +0000

Category: BooksTypes of Literature & FictionAuthor: Asma NadiaAuthor Notes From Heart Wants A Wife and Mother Naik Hajj:ASTHMA NADIA

Sakinah BersamamuLearn More Wisely housekeeping through Stories

Love is not looking for the perfect mate,but receive us with a perfect pair.

17 stories + 17 discussion about the exam in the household:@ Bridging the differences in character@ Mother of work or at home?@ Acting just as jealous@ Overcoming 'Old Love Bersemi Back'@ Being a better mother@ 3 alarms: a step towards cheating@ Healing the wounded heart@ Bakti a woman: between parents, husbands and in-laws

Synopsis:How does the color of love after 25 years have passed?Can he keep the rainbow?

Nothing is perfect in heaven. Not him, Bang Zaqi, and their marriage. Because perfection may only be attached to his name alone.

Riri is not aware of this. But false if the woman was storing the hope that they will have a perfect love?He wants to love, the days sakinah, only it is imagined as he recounted the journey of their love. The shadows of togetherness is always chasing each other so clearly on the eyelids, each time looking at Bang Zaqi asleep.

But there's no love that is not tested.And then he should knuckle under when the love that has been almost perfect, shaken storm? When the figure of that never disappoint in fact, can write with injuries?

This is not the perfect love story.But the story of two people who learn to perfect love.Learning to receive, give and update love.until they turn a blind eye

"Why do we get married, Bang? "I asked one day.You answered steadily, without a pang of doubt:"Because without you there is no marriage for me ..."

---

Sakinah Together With You, there are 16 other short stories about the household. Of the short stories in which there is never published many years ago. But this book is not just a collection of short stories. Readers also will find fun and intimate chat with the author at each end of the story, about a variety of household test.Learn More Wisely housekeeping Through the story? Insha Allah.Hopefully sakinah, mawaddah and mercy of Allah presenton every inch of our house.

-----Purchases at the beginning before the book published (15 October) an unconditional 30% discount:) The normal price of Rp. 55 000 30% disc so ... SAVE!:)

How To Order Books Onlineemail or sms to one of the following nowrite your full name and address along with any order book.

after that part of our online sales will send you details of prices that will transfer to our account. thank you ......

The 10 Best Books of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:06:00 +0000

FREEDOM
By Jonathan Franzen.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.

The author of “The Corrections” is back, not quite a decade later, with an even richer and deeper work — a vividly realized narrative set during the Bush years, when the creedal legacy of “personal liberties” assumed new and sometimes ominous proportions. Franzen captures this through the tribulations of a Midwestern family, the Berglunds, whose successes, failures and appetite for self-invention reflect the larger story of millennial America.

THE NEW YORKER STORIES
By Ann Beattie.
Scribner, $30.

As these 48 stories published in The New Yorker from 1974 through 2006 demonstrate, Beattie, even as she chronicled and satirized her post-1960s generation, also became its defining voice. She punctures her characters’ pretensions and jadedness with an economy and effortless dialogue that writers have been trying to emulate for three decades, though few, if any, have matched her seamless combination of biting wit and mordant humor, precise irony and consummate cool.

ROOM
By Emma Donoghue.
Little, Brown & Company, $24.99.

Donoghue has created one of the pure triumphs of recent fiction: an ebullient child narrator, held captive with his mother in an 11-by-11-foot room, through whom we encounter the blurry, often complicated space between closeness and autonomy. In a narrative at once delicate and vigorous — rich in psychological, sociological and political meaning — Donoghue reveals how joy and terror often dwell side by side.

SELECTED STORIES
By William Trevor.
Viking, $35.

Gathering work from Trevor’s previous four collections, this volume shows why his deceptively spare fiction has haunted and moved readers for generations. Set mainly in Ireland and England, Trevor’s tales are eloquent even in their silences, documenting the way the present is consumed by the past, the way ancient patterns shape the future. Neither modernist nor antique, his stories are timeless.

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD
By Jennifer Egan.
Alfred A. Knopf, $25.95.

Time is the “goon squad” in this virtuosic rock ’n’ roll novel about a cynical record producer and the people who intersect his world. Ranging across some 40 years and inhabiting 13 different characters, each with his own story and perspective, Egan makes these disparate parts cohere into an artful whole, irradiated by a Proustian feel for loss, regret and the ravages of love.

Nonfiction

APOLLO’S ANGELS: A History of Ballet
By Jennifer Homans.
Random House, $35.

Here is the only truly definitive history of classical ballet. Spanning more than four centuries, from the French Renaissance to American and Soviet stages during the cold war, Homans shows how the art has been central to the social and cultural identity of nations. She meticulously reconstructs entire eras, describing the evolution of ballet technique while coaxing long-lost dances back to life. And she raises a crucial question: In the 21st century, can ballet survive?

CLEOPATRA: A Life
By Stacy Schiff.
Little, Brown & Company, $29.99.

With her signature blend of wit, intelligence and superb prose, Schiff strips away 2,000 years of prejudices and propaganda in her elegant reimagining of the Egyptian queen who, even in her own day, was mythologized and misrepresented.

THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES: A Biography of Cancer
By Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Scribner, $30.

Mukherjee’s magisterial “biography” of the most dreaded of modern afflictions. He excavates the deep history of the “war” on cancer, weaving haunting tales of his own clinical experience with sharp sketches of the sometimes heroic, sometimes misguided scientists who have preceded him in the fight.

FINISHING THE HAT: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) With Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes
By Stephen Sondheim.
Alfred A. Knopf, $39.95.

The theater’s pre-eminent living songwriter offers a master class in how to write a musical, covering some of the greatest shows, from “West Side Story” to “Sweeney Todd.” Sondheim’s analysis of his and others’ lyrics is insightful and candid, and his anecdotes are telling and often very funny.

THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration
By Isabel Wilkerson.
Random House, $30.

Wilkerson, a former national correspondent for The Times, has written a masterly and engrossing account of the Great Migration, in which six million African-Americans abandoned the South between 1915 and 1970. The book centers on the journeys of three black migrants, each representing a different decade and a different destination.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/books/review/10-best-books-of-2010.html?ref=review

Think Dinar!

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:55:00 +0000

Author: Endy J. Kurniawan
Believe
Hajj costs down every year?
school fees more affordable?
the lower the cost of living?
If you think dinars!

From the time of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad up to now, one dinar was always enough to buy one of the goats. This proves only the Dinar, the only investment (currency) of proven anti-inflation!

Many who thought when talking Dinar, we talk about gold or gold coins only. In fact when talking Dinar, we talk of investment, the world economy, political policy, the welfare of mankind and all aspects of life.
At present we can be sure those who Think Dinar! (Thinking Dinar) will be more prosperous than those who think conventionally and financial investment.
In the future, will prove to those who Think Dinar! will be the survivors of the crisis in the future.
This book will reveal the dinar as a whole not just as an investment tool but also a solution of the present and future for you. The reader will find illustrations complete the various forms of investment and compare it with the Dinar.
You will be amazed at how the Dinar can help solve your problem solution (save for the hajj, the cost of education, old age, even paying off debt) and mankind as a whole.
Islamic civilization had been a leader with the Dinar. Hence there is no other way to restore civilization, except for investment returns us to the Dinar.
Think rich and super rich today in the future?
Thought to be the hand that gives and not ask?
The answer is simple: Think Dinar!

Endorsment:
Gold as an investment tool is very unique. Gold is suitable for short-term, medium-to long term. Gold profitable in the long run, but still very liquid, such as short-term investments. And gold investments can be done by anyone without the need to learn to read graphs that 'meticulous'. Starting from parents in the village who save for their children's education with the gold, the farmers who store gold reserves, up to a social gathering with the city of gold. And this book gives an explanation why I strongly suggest you to start investing in gold. Gozali-Ahmad (Islamic Financial Planner and President of AG Golden Investment Club)

Frankly, I am proud and very pleased with the publication of the book Think these Dina, through this book has increased by more public access to the ins and outs of per-Dinar's. Through the writing and creative approach to the author, Hopefully Dinar will be more easily understood and applied in society.
Muhaimin Iqbal (Author Dinar Four Books and www.geraiDinar.com Manager)

This book invites us to think how to "rearrange" the world monetary system which is currently felt very unfair. With a style that is attractive, the author is able to present a systematic analysis and "tickle" on the application of gold-based currency system, as the foundation building the world's economic future.
Irfan Syauqi Beik (FEM IPB Syariah Economist, Caregiver Clinic Rubric Sharia - Islamic Business Republika Online)

A "tour de force" with a powerful conclusion: that investing in gold gives more benefit (outperform) compared with other investment instruments. Gold Investments God's creation is a form of "green investment" and "back to nature. - IGGI H. Achsien (Practitioners Islamic Finance and Investment, Insight Investment Commissioner managament)

Title of book:

Author: Endy J. Kurniawan
Publisher: Publishing House AsmaNadia
Thick books: 320 p. / hvs
Price: Rp. 57 000 (30% discount for early purchase of the publisher-only to transactions prior to the book published December 17, 2010! *)

Buy online @ Asma Nadia's books and other authors that we publish? Discounts every month and the undersigned author (unless the author lives outside of town, yes).
Ways: - via email send to penerbitasmanadia@gmail.com - via sms send to one of the following numbers: Lemon Roonie 081282210742 087885273530 085711946854 Padiku Dedi

@ Social Fund RumahBaca AsmaNadia
BCA: An. Asmarani Rosalba, BCA Margonda Depok, No. Rek: 8690632111
Mandiri Depok Norek Mandiri: 1570000255480's. Rosalba Asmarani

How to Write, Finish & Publish Your Own Book Fast!

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Are you willing to follow

7 proven steps to gain increased credibility, visibility, new income opportunities, branding for you and your business, a changed life?

From: Earma Brown

http://www.writetowin.org

Dear Future Author,

Have you been looking for a change-your-life-experience? You know to start the year right. Look no further. You can absolutely change your life for the better by getting your book done and out to the world this year. In fact, that's exactly what happened to me in 2000. I wrote my very first book and released it to the world. It changed my life beyond my best dreams. Hi, I'm Earma Brown and I've been doing business online since 2000 and in business Arrow Productions http://www.arrowproduction.com since 1995. I develop websites and internet communities on the web - including the WritetoWin.org and BookWritingHelp.com websites. I'm the author of nine books including "eBook It! Ten Tips to Profit from Your Passion" and "Article Marketing Speedway: How to put your article marketing in the fast lane to sales" as well as other inspirational nonfiction titles.

Here's What I Love: I love to develop resources that helps you as a service business owner, infopreneur or writer deliver your message effectively and then make money online using your information.

For years, my students and peers told me Earma you should write a book. I would chuckle inside because I knew secretly I had been trying to write a book without ANY success. You may be familiar with this one.

For years, I used the stop and start method. Write a little bit and then quit because life happened. I would end up with not enough time, so I thought. Or a major event interrupted everything and the book manuscript ended up in the drawer with other unfinished projects.

You see, I didn't have a lack of ideas for books. I just didn't have a plan and the focus to bring it all to fruition. You've probably already guessed it. One day it all came together for me. It was like I had been handed a gift.

I always knew deep inside there was something I could do that would make a difference in the lives of others. I don't mean just 4 or 5 people or even 10 or 15. I mean hundreds and even thousands of people. Have you ever felt that knowing inside your knower?

I have a suspicion that you have if you have made this far in my letter. I believe its in you to write your best book this year. It's your destiny too to impact the lives of others. If you have a messasge that you want to put in book form, you are in the right place. This is the right book for you.
"How to Impact the Life of Thousands for the Better!""I was inspired by your 'Write Your Best Book Now' principles last year. This year I have published my second book of poetry! 'Just Sitting Here Thinking' is the follow up book to 'Through My Eyes.'"

Felecia Okpagu
http://www.feleciawrites.com

The 'Write Your Best Book Now' epackage offers 7 Proven steps to write, complete, publish your book and change your life. Think of how muoh easier it will be to have a friendly mentor to guide you through your book writing and publishing journey.

If you're like most people, the thought of writing a book freezes them in their tracks. That's because most people look at their dream as something hard to achieve. This is what I call, dream-killer thinking that blocks the truth 'anyone can write a successful book if they know how.'

You might be one of those people who think: "I'm just not creative enough." "It's too hard." "It'll take too long." This is why you must get the " Write Your Best Book Now." This ebook and epackage with seven bonuses was designed especially to walk you through the steps of writing a book to completion.

Earma Brown wrote Write Your Best Book Now as a step by step guide to take you by the hand and walk you through the process of writing your book. And she tells you exactly how you can profit from your book after it's been published -- so you can gain creditibility as an expert and receive multiple streams of income from it after you have written, finised fast and published. You will gain insight to:
Gain credibility as an expert in your field
Receive life long passive income
Change your life forever
Give your career a long awaited boost and
Impact the life of thousands for the better"Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”
--Gene Fowler

"How I Discovered a Way to Write Your Best Book Now In 7 Easy Steps!"
by Earma Brown, Author, Write Your Best Book Now
http://www.writetowin.org

This step-by-step book will show you how you, too, can easily write, complete and publish your book. The Write Your Best Book Now book includes:

Ch. 1. How to Write to Win
Why it's Worth it to write your best book and
10 Secrets to getting it done Now!

Ch. 2. Win With the Writer Inside You
7 Step Program to Profit from Your Passion

Ch. 3. Designing Passion Points to Sell More Books
Top Ten Ways to Make Your Book Show You the Money

Ch. 4. Write Destined to Win
10 Steps to Map Your Journey

Ch. 5. How to Sizzle Your Title and Win More Sales
10 Top Tips to Sizzle Your Title

Ch. 6. Dig for Gold Like a Winner
Mine the Gold Called Your Knowledge

Ch. 7. Lay a Good Foundation to Win
Build a Successful House for Each Chapter.

Ch. 8. Write Your Best Book Now
9 Easy Steps to Speed Writing Your Book

Ch. 9. How to Create a Winner's Synergy
How to Fish in the Profit Streams Created by Your Book
Will a Book Give My Career the Boost It's Been Needing?

You might be asking how a book can change my life. Will it make me more attractive to my clients? Will it give my career the boost its been needing? Will I be viewed as an expert in my field? Yes and Yes.

Publishing your book will do all of that for you. But it gets even better than that. You mean there's a better than that. Yes, after you have completed and published your book, it can give you increase up to 400%. Keep reading if you want to know how a published book can give you a competitive edge like that.

Think about it? Have you been browsing your local bookstore or even surfing online lately? Every book in your Barnes & Nobles, in your Borders and on Amazon.com, someone had to write it. Someone had to have a dream, a vision to see their message in print.

Well have you realized yet that you gain instant credibility just by having a book published? And that credibility gives you the power to increase your fees to expert level - up to 400% and more.

You don't have to call your spouse or family member and tell them you'll be late again today. You won't even have to pull in more people to help you work harder. I can't think of an easier way to change your career, your bottom line and even your life than by publishing a book.
A Step by Step Plan
Discover how to create your own 130 page book in 7 easy steps."Tomorrow's life is too late. Live today.”
--Martial.

When you get this book now, you will receive:

INSIDER KNOWLEDGE TO PUT YOU WAY AHEAD OF THE CROWD - You can partner with an expert writer that can point to the easiest, shortest, and most profitable ways to write and publish.

Weapons that Stop Dream-Killers - Uncover how to stop wasting years procrastinating and get your book done now!

Send for Book and Receive 7 Book Writing Help Bonuses!

LEVERAGE TO REAP PROFITS FROM THE INTERNET - Find out how to leverage the internet and your book to create book sales (If you don't learn this secret, you could end up finishing last in the race for book sales)

Techniques to Save Time - A simple 'but powerful technique' of speed writing your book to save time and effort. (Leave it out of your plan and you might add years to writing your book.)

TECHNOLOGY TIPS TO EMPOWER - How to transform your emails into a promotion machine that has the green light on 24/7. (Previously only Industry Insiders knew how to put this simple system to work for them)

Expert Partnership to Just Make It Easy - Master the art of book writing by reading 'Write Your Best Book Now' with 7 step program designed to help you profit from your passion.

MAKE THE BEST PUBLISHING CHOICE FOR YOU - Publishing Tips for 'Traditional Publishing' and unique ways to 'Self-Publishing' in the new millinieum.

The Truth About Good Manuscripts - The truth about 'traditional publishing' and why so many good manuscripts are passed on by major players in the publishing field.

How to Author a Book Without Writing It Yourself - The Write Your Best Now ePackage is loaded with Secrets the Pros Use To Crank Out Profit Generating Books (Without Writing A Single Word) While Lounging At The Pool!

Don't be discouraged about how much you don't know but be encouraged by the opportunities to discover a new world through publishing your own book. Get this book and use the step-by-step plan, insider knowledge and more to get your book done now.

Yes, these Proven 7 Steps helped me to write, finish and publish a book and they will help you too. This ebook and bonuses will give you the tools to write your own unique saleable book.
http://www.writetowin.org/bestbooknow1.html

Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing Handbook

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Low Cost Strategies for Attracting NEW Customers Using

Google, MSN, Yahoo & Other Search Engines

! UPDATE - ALL-NEW 2007 EDITION IS NOW AVAILABLE. ORDER TODAY !

In this book, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising pioneers Boris and Eugene Mordkovich share their knowledge from the most basic “Pay Per Click 101” information - how pay per click works; why it is so extraordinarily effective; how to craft an ad campaign that generates sales; and how to know what works and what doesn’t - to the most advanced PPC strategies being used today, including contextual advertising, social media, click fraud, local search, and more!

After reading this book, you will learn:

How to put your site in front of 80% of Internet users in under 24 hours

How Pay Per Click can be used in any type of business to drive up sales and profits

How ad tracking software helps you KNOW true Return On Investment (and show you what works and what wastes your money)

Exciting new “Local” pay per click options that allow even hometown businesses to prosper online

How to choose best keywords AND bid effectively on them (and why #1 is usually not worth the money)

How to write a PPC ad to get better results than your competitors

How to expose your ads to thousands of people without paying a cent

How to use research and bid management tools

How businesses without a website can still use local PPC

If you can you trust the tools and reports the search engines provide?

What are the Top 10 PPC Search Engines

And, we cover in depth other vital marketing concepts important to any business, such as--

Website strategies to convert more visitors into buyers, then into repeat buyers (does your site work well?)

When you should use an outside marketing firm, and when you should do ot yourself

How to get thousands of people to view your ads without paying a penny

Split testing using 3rd party tools (the best way to determine the most effective ones)

Click fraud, and the tools, methods and techniques that protect your business online

Affiliate, partnership options and other ways to enhance profits with ZERO additional expense

Pay Per Lead, Pay Per Sale & Pay Per Call -- and how to use them ALL

You also get full Reviews of the newest PPC tools and three appendices including an extensive Pay Per Click Glossary and Recommended Resources to help your business grow. Finally, we asked 17 recognized experts in online marketing to share what they feel are the absolute most important things to do, and to avoid, to build a super-successful business on the Internet today. Their responses, along with the other detailed information in this one book, will revolutionize the way you do business online.

Order Now! | View Table of Contents | Download Sample Chapter

You have never read a resource book as thorough and as well thought out as the Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing Handbook. You get 14 chapters, 83 sections and over 200 pages of solid, straightforward information you can use right away. For example, by using the strategies and tools described in depth in this book, you could save thousands of dollars every year – or lose it all to runaway Click Fraud alone! And with the incredible tips and techniques you’ll learn, you will get the very best keywords, the highest possible clickthrus, and convert the greatest number of visitors. With this one book, you will learn how to leave your competition in the dust!

Your cost for the Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing Handbook is only $49.97 (reg. $79.95) when you Order Now. And, as a FREE Bonus when you order, you will receive the acclaimed 42 page White Paper report, The Three Keys To Profitable Online Advertising covering “The Art Of Marketing,” “The Science Of Marketing,” and “Consistency & Persistency In Marketing.” This Special Report alone is worth $49.97… yours FREE with your order.

PLUS! $250 Bonus (For A Limited Time)! When you order now you get over $250 worth of credits on major PPC search engines, including Yahoo, FindWhat, Search123, Findology, SearchFeed, Kanoodle, Enhance Interactive, Mamma, Verizon SuperPages, and many others… to directly enhance your online marketing efforts right away!

The Da Vinci Code

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:46:00 +0000

WOW...
Blockbuster perfection. An exhilaratingly brainy thriller.
Not since the advent of Harry Potter has an author so flagrantly delighted in leading readers on a breathless chase and coaxing them through hoops.
--Janet Maslin
THE NEW YORK TIMES

A new master of smart thrills.
A pulse-quickening, brain-teasing adventure.
--PEOPLE MAGAZINE

This is pure genius.
Dan Brown has to be one of the best, smartest,
and most accomplished writers in the country.
--NELSON DEMILLE

Thriller writing doesn't get any better than this.
--DENVER POST

This masterpiece should be mandatory reading.
Brown solidifies his reputation as one of the most skilled thriller writers on the planet with his best book yet, a compelling blend of history and page-turning suspense. Highly recommended.
--LIBRARY JOURNAL

Exceedingly clever.
Both fascinating and fun...a considerable achievement.
--WASHINGTON POST

A heart-racing thriller.
This story has so many twists -- all satisfying, most unexpected -- that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds.
--SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

A thundering, tantalizing, extremely smart fun ride.
Brown doesn't slow down his tremendously powerful narrative engine despite transmitting several doctorates' worth of fascinating history and learned speculation, "The Da Vinci Code" is brain candy of the highest quality -- which is a reviewer's code meaning, ''Put this on top of your pile.''
-- CHICAGO TRIBUNE

One hell of a read.
A gripping mix of murder and myth.
--NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

An international chase...a quest...codes within codes. Brown's novel is a pager-turner... and you'll never view "The Last Supper" the same way again. Favorable review.
--THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

Dan Brown's conspiracy-theory thriller is the pulp must-read of the season...an ingenious mixture of paranoid thriller, art history lesson, chase story, religious symbology lecture and anti-clerical screed, and it's the most fun you can have between the sort of covers that aren't 300-count Egyptian cotton.
--SALON.COM

One of the finest mysteries I've ever read.
An amazing tale with enigma piled on secrets stacked on riddles.
--New York Times bestselling author, CLIVE CUSSLER

Far more than the average thriller.
Intellectually satisfying...page-turning suspense.
--HOUSTON CHRONICLE

I would never have believed that this is my kind of thriller, but I'm going to tell you something--the more I read, the more I had to read. In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown has built a world that is rich in fascinating detail, and I could not get enough of it.
Mr. Brown, I am your fan.
--New York Times bestselling author, ROBERT CRAIS

The Da Vinci Code sets the hook-of-all-hooks.
This novel takes off down a road that is as eye-opening as it is page-turning. You simply cannot put it down. Thriller readers everywhere will soon realize Dan Brown is a master.
--New York Times bestselling author, VINCE FLYNN

Brown has assembled a whopper of a plot that will please
conspiracy buffs and thriller addicts alike.
--PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

A dazzling performance by Brown...a delightful display of erudition.
Brown delivers a crackling, intricate mystery, complete with breathtaking escapes and several stunning surprises. It's challenging, exciting, and a whole lot more. The race across France and the United Kingdom leads us on a fascinating journey through a covert, enigmatic world revealed through a seemingly endless collection of codes, puzzles, anagrams, cryptograms, and messages hidden not only in Da Vinci's art but in things we think we know well.
--BOSTON GLOBE

Dan Brown is my new must-read. I loved this book.
The Da Vinci Code is fascinating and absorbing--perfect for history buffs, conspiracy nuts, puzzle lovers, or anyone who appreciates a great, riveting read.
--New York Times bestselling author, HARLAN COBEN

A stunning new thriller that will provoke much debate.
Dan Brown's extensive research on secret societies and symbology adds intellectual depth to this page-turning thriller. His surprising revelations on Da Vinci's penchant for hiding codes in his paintings will lead the reader to search out renowned artistic icons as The Mona Lisa, The Madonna of the Rocks and The Last Supper. The Last Supper holds the most astonishing coded secrets of all and, after reading The Da Vinci Code, you will never see this famous painting in quite the same way again.
--BOOKREPORTER.COM

Some readers spurn genre fiction, often due to a misguided belief that mass entertainment is always mindless dribble. For those of you who know better, The Da Vinci Code will make you feel justifiably smug. It's that rare book that manages to both entertain and educate simultaneously. Dan Brown has managed to outdo the best of Robert Ludlum in this byzantine....and engrossing story. There is enough medieval history to please any historian and enough action to satisfy a hardcore thrill-seeker. Combined, it makes The Da Vinci Code an early favorite for thriller of the year.
--ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Secret fanatical religious sects...codes hidden in Da Vinci's works...intelligent writing...one whopping fabulous read.
--NEW HAVEN REGISTER

Brainy stuff. The standard car chases and intrigues are leavened with Crichtonesque discursions on medieval iconography, the formation of the early Christian church, and history's suppression of the "sacred feminine."
--ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Enthralling....
Dan Brown masterfully concocts an intelligent and lucid thriller that marries the gusto of an international murder mystery with a collection of fascinating esoteria culled from 2,000 years of Western history. Brown's hero and heroine embark on a lofty and intriguing exploration of some of culture's greatest mysteries--from the nature of the Mona Lisa's smile to the secret of the Holy Grail... rich food for thought.
-AMAZON.COM

Taut and engaging.
From the explosive start to the explosive finish,
The Da Vinci Code is one satisfying thriller.
--MOSTLYFICTION.COM

The Da Vinci Code shines--brilliantly--in its exploration of cryptology, particularly the encoding methods developed by Leonardo Da Vinci, whose art and manuscripts are packed with mystifying symbolism and quirky codes.
-WIRED MAGAZINE

Brown's intricate plot delivers more satisfying twists than a licorice factory.
--BOOKLIST

A blockbuster with brains.
The Da Vinci Code is a thrill-a-minute adventure as well as an educational tour of France and England, symbology 101, riddle-breaking for dummies, the magical powers of anagrams, numerical codes to die for and navigational factoids.
--THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Brown's scholarship never slows down the sizzling action [of this] absorbing new novel...a labyrinth of intricate schemes, sidetracks, and deceptions.
--BOOKPAGE

Moves at the speed of sound from the first page and never stalls. The Da Vinci Code is full of mystery, betrayal, suspense and intelligence.
--LAURINBURG EXCHANGE

A multi-layered, highly sophisticated tale.
Readers with advanced degrees in comparative religion, European history, symbology, art and cryptology, will have a grand old time with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. The rest of us stumble through, grasping at this clue and that, gasping in surprise at one or another shadow around the next corner, and likewise have a grand old time. The novel is maddening, scary, complicated and almost impossible to put down once you're hooked.
--LOUISVILLE VOICE-TRIBUNE

A mystery that challenges our intelligence, and enough believable twists and turns to keep the reader turning the pages. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown does all this just right. This is how a mystery thriller should be written. So grab this book, sit back, and prepare to be entertained and educated. It's well-written, it's intelligent, and best of all, it's fun.
-- REVIEWS OF BOOKS.COM

Calling Dan Brown's latest novel, The Da Vinci Code, simply a "smart suspense novel" is like referring to Harvard as simply a pretty good university. Incorporating massive amounts of historical and academic information is no easy task, but Brown does it in such a seamless fashion that it is almost invisible within the story's natural narrative. Definitely the mark of a master craftsmanÉ
--THE MYSTERY READER

Fast-paced, intricately plotted.
A skillfully written read, complete with secret codes, anagrams, elaborate technology, pagan sex orgies, sudden reversals of fortune, age-old conspiracies, pre-Christian fertility cults, the Knights Templar, Gnostic Gospels, corrupt cops, brutal murders, feminist ÒtheoryÓ, and frantic midnight rides through Paris.
--NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER

You'll love this.
The Da Vinci Code has enough twists and turns in a short amount of time to give you over to gasping "More, Dan, more!" It is thrilling that anyone could contrive such an adventure.
--THE SEATTLE TIMES

This season's most spectacular read...
blends a high-speed thriller with a spellbinding re-examination of 2,000 years of religious history. Hard to put down, and impossible to forget. The chief delights of "The Da Vinci Code" are the endless twists and turns the story takes, from the streets of Paris to the dark, airless cathedrals of England. In the end, Langdon is left alone to solve the final mystery. Look closely at the epilogue, in which Langdon returns to where everything began, and determine if the most viable truth is the one gained from personal discovery.
--THE ATLANTA JOURNAL

Extraordinary reading.
This books sparkles with energy and adventure. It grabs hold of your imagination and answers all riddles in the end. You will never look at a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci the same way again.
--NASHVILLE CITY PAPER

A real page-turner....
Readers are scrutinizing Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa" for secret codes just as Beatles fans once hunted for "Paul is Dead" clues on album covers.
--BOSTON HERALD

Word of mouth has pushed this top-notch thriller onto best-seller lists throughout the country, and the word is right. The intelligent, deftly plotted story is the best that the thriller genre can offer. "The Da Vinci Code" is chockablock with fascinating historical detail (the true meaning of the pentagram, for example) that doesn't slow the action but draws the reader into the story. The "code" and all the clues are a true joy, giving this thriller the extra stuff that raises it above being just another spy and chase story.
--KATHI KIRBY, POWELL'S CITY OF BOOKS
(courtesy of The Portland Tribune)
http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/reviews.html

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:42:00 +0000

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent effectiveness. Covey argues this is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that, unlike values, he believes to be universal and timeless.

The book was enormously popular, and catapulted Covey into lucrative public-speaking appearances and workshops. He has also written a number of follow-up books, such as The Power Of The 7 Habits: Applications And Insights; Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families; and Beyond the Seven Habits. A sequel to The Seven Habits is The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness published in 2004.

Also, Sean Covey (Stephen's son) has written a version for teens, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This version simplifies the 7 Habits for younger readers so they can better understand them. In October 2006, Sean Covey also published The 6 Most Important Decisions You Will Ever Make: A Guide for Teens. This guide highlights key times in the life of a teen and gives advice on how to deal with them. Stephen Covey's oldest son, Stephen M.R. Covey, has written a book titled The Speed of Trust.

A course based on The Seven Habits is offered through FranklinCovey and at many corporations and government agencies, such as the Regional Community Policing Institute-California, (www.rcpi-ca.org), United States Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

A Principled Approach

Throughout the book, Covey points to principles as the focus. The book presents the principles as an approach rather than a set of behaviors. The book imparts the principles in four sections.

Paradigms and Principles: Covey lays the basic foundation for the creation of the habits.

Private Victory: The first three habits are intended to teach a person how to move out of a state of dependence and beyond a state of independence. Covey refers to his ideal state as interdependence, which begins with the creation and manifestation of a highly developed sense of personal values and goals.

Public Victory: Habits four through six complete the steps that lead to interdependence by showing how to align one's needs and desires with those of other people and create effective relationships.

Renewal: In the final section, Covey directs the reader to begin a process of self-improvement.

[edit]

The Seven Habits

The chapters are dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:

Be Proactive. Here, Covey emphasizes the original sense of the term "reactive" as coined by Victor Frankl. You can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for everything in life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey also shows how man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we have the power of free will to choose our response.

Begin with the End In Mind. This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends formulating a "personal vision statement" to document one's perception of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational vision statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization rather than prescribed.

Put First Things First. Here, Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at short-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear not to be urgent, but are in fact very important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed upon in advance, rather than prescribed as detailed work plans.

Think Win/Win describes an attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.

Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in rejection of that advice. Thoroughly reading out your own autobiography will decrease the chance of establishing a working communication.

Synergize describes a way of working in teams. Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Sharpen the saw focuses on balanced self-satisfaction: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People

Team Motivation: Ideas to Energize Any Team by Peter B. Grazier

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:14:00 +0000

After 25 years of working with teams, it was time to collect our thoughts and share those highly-prized secrets of team motivation. What we have seen through the years would fill volumes, but since most of us don't have the time to read them, we've condensed the best of these ideas into a single, downloadable book of 36 pages.

These are practical ideas we have used and gathered over the years that will energize any team, and provide a foundation for sustainable team motivation.

The book contains 54 motivation ideas divided into the following categories:
Recognition
Challenge
Camaraderie
Relationships
Communications
Vision & Mission
Exercises Training
Community Service
Measurement
Fun
Responsibility
Involvement
Meetings

Excerpt from Team Motivation

Challenge

Many people will say that their most rewarding team experiences resulted from some sort of challenge. You have probably heard the stories of mediocre groups that responded to a challenge with heroic success. The challenge itself was the motivator. So for ongoing teams, periodic stimulation in the form of a worthy challenge is another method of maintaining motivation.

An important consideration for a challenge is the level of difficulty. If a challenge is too difficult, perhaps perceived as impossible, then team members may give up before they start. However, the same result may occur if the members perceive the challenge as too easy. Little energy is required to accomplish something so easily obtained.

1. The Team Special Project – Most of the time we feel we don’t have time to do our work, let alone a special project. But sometimes people’s juices begin to flow when they become engaged in some challenging, but interesting, task…even if it is “extracurricular.”

EXAMPLE: In 1983, I was managing a work group for a large construction organization. It was a 10-year project, and senior management had discussed conducting an open house for the workforce. Management, however, had always nixed the idea, fearing the difficulty of coordinating an event that would encompass seven thousand workers and their families.

My work group heard about the idea, however, and asked to take on this assignment. There was enormous interest in conducting this event within the workforce, so with considerable support from others in the workforce, my group planned and successfully coordinated an open house that ultimately attracted over 10,000 people.

The challenge for my group was enormous...but achievable. The challenge created a high level of motivation while planning the event, and the sense of accomplishment after the event sustained motivation even longer.

I don’t suggest by this example that every work group take on such a formidable task, but simply think about the implications of taking on a new challenge periodically.

(When ordering, after your credit card is approved, you will get a receipt for your purchase. On the receipt, there is a link. Click on the link to the book to begin the downloading process.)
http://store.teambuildinginc.com/items/support-materials/team-motivation~ideas-to-energize-any-team/team-motivation-book-downloadable-copy-402d-detail.htm

"Motivating Moments" Book by Mary Rau-Foster

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:10:00 +0000

Thought-provoking
Inspirational
Motivating
Do you deal with frustrations in the workplace or at home?
Do you need to replace your negative thinking with positive ideas and thoughts?
Do you need some prompters to help you?
Do you have only a few minutes a day to read helpful tips?
Are personal motivation and employee motivation important to you?
Would you also like to help children with catastrophic illnesses?

If your answer to any of the above questions is "yes" ... then you will enjoy the new book, "Motivating Moments" by Mary Rau-Foster.

This 211 page book with illustrations is a guaranteed morale booster, thought provoking, and inspirational. Hundreds of hours of comfort and motivation will come from this $19.95 (but priceless) investment.

We are pleased to be able to do our part in eradicating catastrophic illnesses in children. We are donating ten percent of the profit from each book to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® in Memphis, Tennessee. See www.stjude.org.

This book is filled with thought provoking stories and commentaries about dealing effectively with life's professional and personal challenges. It can change your mind and your life.

The secret to a happy life is getting along with others. Getting along with others requires understanding them. Understanding others requires knowing and understanding yourself. To know yourself requires that you take time to retreat and meet and perhaps change your thoughts.
Praise...

"Motivating Moments will be the highlight of your day. What you read in just a minute or two can affect your outlook for the entire day. As an organization consultant, I help my clients actualize goals and dreams and create balance in their lives. This book will be a perfect gift for all of my clients."
- Laura Hayes, Strategic Organization Solutions, www.SOSfor.com

Order this book for yourself or others. We promise prompt service and offer 100% money back guarantee.

Share this free ebook of daily inspiration and motivation with your friends.

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Imagine the energy you would feel if you could just get a turbo boost every single morning. Well, you can. In fact, that's what A Daily Dose of Happiness is all about. And we've picked the top 60 editions, the ones that have motivated and inspired the most, to create Inspiration & Motivation To Go.

Now you can find the best daily motivation and daily inspiration passages all in one tidy package. And you know the best part?

It's FREE, absolutely free.

In fact, I even throw in a free subscription to A Daily Dose of Happiness, so you won't miss another daily motivation, ever. Of course, if you feel TOO pumped up and TOO motivated, you can always unsubscribe at any time.

So, just what magic secrets does this ebook cover?
attitude
values
relaxation
guilt
learning
appreciation
goals
fear
affirmations
and much, much more

OK, so those are not quite "magic secrets", but they are timeless wisdom that can help you improve your life right now. Make happiness, build success, live well. Start now.

All I ask in return for this free ebook is that you help me spread the joy and inspiration. Let a few of your friends know about it, using the form below, and it will automatically direct you to the free download page. Turn on the motivation and get ready to be inspired.

Thank you for helping me spread the happiness.
http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/daily-motivation-inspiration.php

Kupinang engkau dengan Hamdalah

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:26:00 +0000

Resume dari buku Kupinang engkau dengan Hamdalah karya M Fauzil Adhim.

Kupinang Engkau Dengan Hamdalah
“Di antara tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah, ialah diciptakannya pasangan-pasanganmu dari jenismu sendiri, agar kamu cenderung padanya. Dan Allah menjadikan di antara kalian perasaan tenteram dan kasih sayang. Pada yang demikian ada tanda-tanda kekuasaan Allah bagi kaum yang berfikir.” (QS: Ar-Rum-21)Ketika tiba masa usia aqil baligh, maka perasaan ingin memperhatikan dan diperhatikan lawan jenis begitu bergejolak. Banyak perasaan aneh dan bayang-bayang suatu sosok berseliweran tak karuan. Kadang bayang-bayang itu menjauh tapi kadang terasa amat dekat. Kadang seorang pemuda bisa bersikap acuh pada bayang-bayang itu tapi kadang terjebak dan menjadi lumpuh. Perasaan sepi tiba-tiba menyergap ke seluruh ruang hati. Hati terasa sedih dan hidup terasa hampa. Seakan apa yang dilakukannya jadi sia-sia. Hidup tidak bergairah. Ada setitik harapan tapi berjuta titik kekhawatiran justru mendominasi.

Perasaan semakin tak menentu ketika harapan itu mulai mengarah kepada lawan jenis. Semua yang dilakukannya jadi serba salah. Sampai kapan hal ini berlangsung? Jawabnya ada pada pemuda itu sendiri. Kapan ia akan menghentikan semua ini. Sekarang, hari ini, esok, atau tahun-tahun besok. Semakin panjang upaya penyelesaian dilakukan yang jelas perasaan sakit dan tertekan semakin tak terperikan. Sebaliknya semakin cepat /pendek waktu penyelesaian diupayakan, kebahagiaan & kegairahan hidup segera dirasakan. Hidup menjadi lebih berarti & segala usahanya terasa lebih bermakna.

Penyelesaian apa yang dimaksud? Menikah! Ya menikah adalah alat solusi untuk menghentikan berbagai kehampaan yang terus mendera. Lantas kapan? Bilakah ia bisa dilaksanakan? Segera! Segera di sini jelas berbeda dengan tergesa-gesa. Untuk membedakan antara segera dengan tergesa-gesa, bisa dilihat dari dua cara :

Pertama, tanda-tanda hati. Orang yang mempunyai niat tulus, kata Imam Ja’far, adalah dia yang hatinya tenang, sebab hati yang tenang terbebas dari pemikiran mengenai hal-hal yang dilarang, berasal dari upaya membuat niat murni untuk Allah dalam segala perkara. Kalau menyegerakan menikah karena niat yang jernih, Insya Allah hati akan merasakan sakinah, yaitu ketenangan jiwa saat menghadapi masalah-masalah yang harus diselesaikan. Kita merasa yakin, meskipun harapan & kekhawatiran meliputi dada. Lain lagi dengan tergesa-gesa. Ketergesaan ditandai oleh perasaan tidak aman & hati yang diliputi kecemasan yang memburu.

Kedua, tanda-tanda perumpamaan. Ibarat orang bikin bubur kacang hijau, ada beberapa bahan yang diperlukan. Bahan paling pokok adalah gula & kacang hijau. Jika gula & kacang hijau dimasukkan air kemudian direbus, maka akan didapati kacang hijau tidak mengembang. Ini namanya tergesa-gesa. Kalau gula baru dimasukkan setelah kacang hijaunya mekar ini namanya menyegerakan. Tapi kalau lupa, tidak segera memasukkan gula setelah kacang hijaunya mekar cukup lama orang akan kehilangan banyak zat gizi yang penting.

Dari Abu Hurairah r.a, Rasulullah bersabda : “Tiga orang yang selalu diberi pertolongan Allah adalah seorang mujahid yang selalu memperjuangkan agama Allah, seorang penulis yang selalu memberi penawar & seorang yang menikah untuk menjaga kehormatannya” (HR Thabrani)

Banyak jalan yang dapat menghantarkan orang kepada peminangan & pernikahan. Banyak sebab yang mendekatkan dua orang yang saling jauh menjadi suami istri yang penuh barakah & diridhai Allah. Ketika niat sudah mantap & tekad sudah bulat, persiapkan hati untuk melangkah ke peminangan. Dianjurkan, memulai lamaran dengan hamdalah & pujian lainnya kepada Allah SWT. Serta Shalawat kepada Rasul-Nya. Abu Hurairah r.a. menceritakan bahwa Rasulullah SAW pernah bersabda : “Setiap perkataan yang tidak dimulai dengan bacaan hamdalah, maka hal itu sedikit barakahnya (terputus keberkahannya)” HR Abu Daud, Ibnu Majah & Imam Ahmad.

Setelah peminangan disampaikan, biarlah pihak wanita & wanita yang bersangkutan untuk mempertimbangkan. Sebagian memberikan jawaban segera, sebelum kaki bergeser dari tempat berpijaknya, sebab menikah mendekatkan kepada keselamatan akhirat, sedang calon yang datang sudah diketahui akhlaqnya, sebagian memerlukan waktu yang cukup lama untuk bisa memberi kepastian apakah pinangan diterima atau ditolak, karena pernikahan bukan untuk sehari dua hari.

Apapun, serahkan kepada keluarga wanita untuk memutuskan. Mereka yang lebih tahu keputusan apa yang terbaik bagi anaknya. Anda harus husnudzan pada mereka. Bukankah ketika meminang wanita berarti anda mempercayai wanita yang diharapkan oleh anda beserta keluarganya.

Keputusan apapun yang mereka berikan, sepanjang didasarkan atas musyawarah yang lurus, akan baik dan Insya Allah memberi akibat yang baik bagi anda. Tidak kecewa orang yang istikharah & tidak merugi orang yang musyawarah. Maka apapun hasil musyawarah, sepanjang dilakukan dengan baik, akan membuahkan kebaikan. Sebuah keputusan tidak bisa disebut buruk atau negatif, jika memang didasarkan kepada musyawarah yang memenuhi syarat, hanya karena tidak memberi kesempatan kepada anda untuk menjadi anggota keluarga mereka. Jika niat anda memang untuk silaturrahim, bukankah masih tersedia banyak peluang untuk menyambung?

Anda telah meminangnya dengan hamdalah, anda telah dimampukan datang oleh Allah Yang Maha Besar. Dia-lah Yang Maha Lebih Besar. Semuanya kecil. Ada pelajaran yang sangat berharga dari Bilal bin Rabbah tentang meminang. Ketika ia bersama Abu Ruwaihah menghadap kabilah Khaulan, Bilal mengemukakan : “Jika pinangan kami anda terima, kami ucapkan Alhamdulillah. Dan kalau anda menolak, maka kami ucapkan Allahu Akbar.” Maka, kalau pinangan yang anda sampaikan ditolak, agungkan Allah, semoga anda tetap berbaik sangka kepada Allah & juga kepada keluarganya. Sebab bisa jadi, penolakan merupakan jalan pensucian jiwa dari kedzaliman diri sendiri, bisa jadi penolakan merupakan proses untuk mencapai kematangan, kemantapan & kejernihan niat. Sementara ada banyak hal yang dapat mengotori niat. Bisa jadi Allah hendak mengangkat derajat anda, kecuali anda justru malah merendahkan diri sendiri. Tapi hati perlu diperiksa, jangan-jangan perasaan itu muncul karena ujub.

Kekecewaan, mungkin saja timbul. Barangkali ada perasaan yang perih, barangkali juga ada yang merasa kehilangan rasa percaya diri saat itu. Ini merupakan reaksi psikis yang wajar, kecewa adalah perasaan yang manusiawi, tetapi ia harus diperlakukan dengan cara yang tepat agar ia tidak menggelincirkan ke jurang kenistaan yang sangat gelap. Kecewa memang pahit. Orang sering tidak tahan menanggung rasa kecewa, mereka berusaha membuang jauh-jauh sumber kekecewaan. Sekilas nampak tidak ada masalah, tetapi setiap saat berada dalam kondisi rawan. Perasaan itu mudah bangkit lagi dengan rasa sakit yang lebih perih. Dan yang demikian tidak dikehendaki Islam. Islam menghendaki kekecewaan itu menghilang perlahan-lahan secara wajar. Sehingga kita bisa mengambil jarak dari sumber kekecewaan dengan tidak kehilangan obyektivitas & kejernihan hati, kita menjadi lebih tegar, meskipun proses yang dibutuhkan untuk menghapus kekecewaan lebih lama.

Kalau anda merasa kecewa, periksalah niat anda. Dibalik yang dianggap baik, mungkin ada niat yang tidak lurus. Periksalah motif-motif yang melintas dalam batin. Selama peminangan hingga saat menunggu jawaban. Kemudian biarkan hati memproses secara wajar sampai menemukan kembali ketenangan secara mantap.

Tetapi kalau jawaban yang diberikan oleh keluarga wanita sesuai harapan, berbahagialah sejenak. Bersyukurlah. Insya Allah kesendirian yang dialami dengan menanggung rasa sepi sebentar lagi akan menghapus kepenatan selama di luar rumah. Insya Allah sebentar lagi.

Tunggulah beberapa saat. Setelah tiba masanya, halal bagi anda untuk melakukan apa saja yang menjadi hak anda bersamanya. Akan tiba masanya anda merasakan kehangatan cintanya. Kehangatan cinta wanita yang telah mempercayakan kesetiaannya kepada anda. Setelah tiba masanya, halal bagi anda untuk menemukan pangkuannya ketika anda risau.

Selama menunggu, ada kesempatan untuk menata hati. Melalui pernikahan Allah memberikan banyak keindahan & kemuliaan. Wanita boleh menawarkan Islam memberikan penghormatan yang suci kepada niat & ikhtiar untuk menikah. Nikah adalah masalah kehormatan agama, bukan sekedar legalisasi penyaluran kebutuhan biologis dengan lawan jenis. Islam memperbolehkan kaum wanita untuk menawarkan dirinya kepada laki-laki yang berbudi luhur, yang ia yakini kehormatan agamanya, dan kejujuran amanahnya menjadi suaminya. Dan Khadijah r.a atas teladan bagi wanita yang bermaksud untuk menawarkan diri.

Sikap menawarkan diri menunjukkan ketinggian akhlaq & kesungguhan untuk mensucikan diri. Sikap ini lebih dekat kepada ridha Allah & untuk mendapatkan pahala-Nya, Allah pasti mencatatnya sebagai kemuliaan & mujahadah yang suci. Tidak peduli tawarannya diterima atau ditolak, terutama kalau ia tidak mempunyai wali. Insya Allah, jika sikap menawarkan diri dilakukan dengan ketinggian sopan santun, tidak akan menimbulkan akibat kecuali yang maslahat. Seorang laki-laki yang memiliki pengetahuan yang mendalam pasti akan meninggikan penghormatan seperti ini, kecuali laki-laki yang rendah & tidak memiliki kehormatan, kecuali sekedar apa yang disangkanya sebagai kebaikan.

Imam Bukhari menceritakan cerita dari Anas r.a ada seorang wanita yang datang menawarkan diri kepada Rasulullah SAW dan berkata : “Ya Rasulullah! Apakah baginda membutuhkan daku?” Putri Anas yang hadir & mendengarkan perkataan wanita itu mencela sang wanita yang tidak punya harga diri & rasa malu, “Alangkah sedikitnya rasa malunya, sungguh memalukan, sungguh memalukan.” Anas berkata kepada putrinya : “Dia lebih baik darimu, Dia senang kepada Rasulullah SAW lalu dia menawarkan dirinya untuk beliau!” (HR Bukhari).

Karya : M.faudzil ‘adhim
Info Lengkapnya

Khadijah - The True Love Story of Muhammad SAW

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:49:00 +0000

No. ISBN -
Penulis Abdul Mun'im Muhammad
Penerbit Penerbit Pena
Tanggal terbit Desember - 2006
Jumlah Halaman 374
Berat Buku -
Jenis Cover Hard Cover
Dimensi(L x P) 157x240mm
Kategori Islam
Bonus -
Text Bahasa Indonesia
Masukkan ke daftar keinginan Masukkan ke Daftar Keinginan
Rekomendasikan buku ini

SINOPSIS BUKU
Tak dapat dimungkiri, Khadijah, istri Rasulullah merupakan sosok yang fenomenal. Integritas, kesucian diri, keimanan, dan komitmennya untuk terus menyokong lalu berkorban demi dakwah memang luar biasa. Sisi-sisi kehidupan Khadijah dikupas oleh Abdul Mun'im Muhammad melalui kisah-kisah perjalanannya mendampingi Rasulullah. Sejak awal pertemuan, detik-detik kegelisahan Khadijah ketika tak kunjung hamil, semangat juangnya dalam membela Nabi, hingga masa akhir kehidupannya. Inilah kisah Khadijah, cinta sejati Rasulullah.

RESENSI TERKINI
Oleh : afyt, 22 Juni 2007 - 11:55:22
Rating
Bagus sekali… Akhirnya, ada juga buku yang khusus menceritakan tentang Khadijah RA, sang Ummul Mukminin. Semua keteladanan Beliau (mulai dari menjaga kesucian diri, keimanannya, komitmennya dan tentunya masih banyak lagi) diungkapkan penulis secara gamblang dan detail. Sehingga pembaca semakin tahu sosok istri Rasulullah SAW ini, dari masa sebelum menjadi istri Rasul sampai akhir hayatnya.

Sudah seharusnya setiap wanita meneladani yang telah Beliau lakukan dan mengaplikasikannya dalam kehidupan kita sekarang ini. Sebagai istri yang turut menyokong ekonomi keluarga, mengikhlaskan hartanya di jalan dakwah. Selain itu, yang terpenting Beliau tetap tidak meninggalkan kodratnya sebagai seorang istri dan ibu.

Beliau tidak serta merta sombong dengan semua harta yang dimilikinya, dan tidak pula mengurangi hormat Beliau pada sang suami, walaupun Beliau lebih kaya. Hal yang sangat sulit kita dapati dalam kehidupan kita saat ini. Beliau ikhlas menafkahkan harta yang dimilikinya untuk membantu orang-orang di sekitarnya.

Khadijah juga dapat memposisikan diri sebagai istri dengan baik, walaupun sang suami lebih muda. Hal inilah yang semakin membuat Rasulullah semakin mencintainya, bahkan setelah Khadijah wafat pun Rasulullah tetap menyebut namanya yang membuat Aisyah cemburu. Dari Khadijah inilah, Rasulullah mempunyai keturunan, hal yang tidak diperoleh dari istri-istri yang lain.

Selain, kedermawanan dan pekertinya yang patut dijadikan teladan, loyalitas Khadijah terhadap dakwah yang dilakukan oleh Rasulullah SAW pun tidak dapat diragukan lagi. Beliau yang pertama kali beriman setelah Rasulullah memperoleh wahyu. Beliau dapat menenangkan hati Rasulullah yang gelisah setelah menerima wahyu Allah SWT dengan perantara malaikat Jibril. Dan beliau pula yang selalu mendampingi Rasulullah di masa-masa sulit ketika untuk pertama kalinya Islam disebarkan.

Dari buku ini, kita memperoleh banyak sekali keteladanan hidup dari sang Ummul Mukminin, cinta sejati Rasulullah SAW, Khadijah RA yang semoga saja bisa menjadi tuntunan bagi kaum wanita.

Disampaikan oleh penulis dengan lugas dan jelas serta gaya cerita yang hampir mirip novel, semakin membuat pembaca tertarik untuk segera menyelesaikan membaca buku ini. Walaupun buku ini menurut saya termasuk sirah, akan tetapi penyampaian buku ini jauh dari kesan monoton.

Buku ini sangat cocok untuk koleksi pribadi, dapat pula dijadikan kado untuk sahabat, terutama bagi wanita agar dapat menambah wawasan sekaligus bahan acuan dalam kehidupan kita sehari-hari.

Edensor

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Edensor
Judul : Edensor
(Buku Ketiga dari Tetralogi Laskar Pelangi)
Penulis : Andrea Hirata
Penerbit : PT. Bentang Pustaka
Cetakan : I, Mei 2007
Tebal : 290 hlm ; 20.5 cm

“Bermimpilah, karena Tuhan akan memeluk mimpi-mimpi itu.”

- Arai

Semua orang pasti memiliki mimpi. Namun hanya sedikit orang yang berani menjadikan mimpinya sebagai tujuan hidupnya dan berusaha dengan segala upaya untuk mewujudkan mimpinya. Tak sedikit orang hanya menjadikan mimpi sebagai angan-angan yang seolah tak mungkin terjangkau, sehingga ia menyerah pada mimpinya, melupakannya, dan tenggelam dalam rutinitas hidup yang menjeratnya.

Ikal dan Arai adalah pemimpi yang berani. Walau terlahir dalam keluarga sederhana di Belitong, mereka memiliki mimpi setinggi langit. Mimpi yang diperolehnya dari Pak Balia, guru SMA-nya.

“Murid-muridku, berkelanalah, jelajahi Eropa, jamah Afrika, termukan mozaik nasibmu di pelosok-pelosok dunia. Tuntut ilmu sampai ke Sorbonne di Prancis, saksikan karya-karya besar Antoni Gaudi si Spanyol.” (hal 34)

Kalimat Pak Balia itu begitu menyentuh, menggelisahkan hati dan pikiran mereka dan menyimpannya sebagai mimpi yang harus mereka raih. Walau untuk menjelajahi Eropa bagaikan punguk merindukan bulan, mereka tak menyerah dengan keterbatasan mereka dan terus berusaha untuk mewujudkannya. Mimpi itulah yang menjadi benang merah dari seluruh kisah kehidupan Ikal yang kemudian ditulisnya dalam bentuk novel hingga lahirlah apa yang disebut sebagai Tetralogi Laskar Pelangi. (Laskar Pelangi, Sang Pemimpi, Edensor, Maryamah Karpov).

Setelah sukses di dua novel terdahulunya, kini terbitlah novel ketiganya “Edensor”. Jika dalam Laskar Pelangi dan Sang Pemimpi Ikal bertutur mengenai mimpinya dan usahanya untuk meraih mimpi-mimpi besarnya. Di buku ketiganya ini, apa yang menjadi impian mereka benar-benar terwujud. Dalam Edensor mereka benar-benar telah berada dalam tanah yang telah dijanjikan oleh mimpi-mimpi mereka.

Masih dalam gaya bertutur dan penyajian yang sama seperti di buku keduanya, dimana Andrea merangkai kisah-kisahnya dalam penggalan-penggalan mozaik kehidupan. Demikian pula dalam Edensor. Kisah-kisahnya pendek-pendek saja (5-10 hal) sehingga di buku setebal 288 halaman ini memuat 44 mozaik/bab yang ditulis dengan lancar dan memikat Tak heran banyak pembaca mengaku membaca buku ini dalam sekali duduk.

Di sepuluh mozaik pertama, novel ini kembali mengisahkan kisah-kisah Ikal semasa masih di P. Belitong, bekerja di Bogor, hingga keberangkatannya menuju Sorbonne-Prancis. Di bagian ini ada beberapa kisah yang menarik antara lain kisah kelahiran si Ikal, bagaimana perjuangan Ibunya agar bisa melahirkan tepat pada tanggal kelahiran PBB (24 Oktober) agar kelak Ikal bisa menjadi juru pendamai. Lalu ada pula kisah bagaimana nama Ikal yang sebelumnya pernah diberi nama Aqil Barraq Badruddin harus diganti karena dirasa memberatkan. Namanya diganti menjadi Wadudh, dan akhirnya diganti lagi menjadi Andrea Hirata. Nama yang tak lazim bagi seorang anak melayu di Belitong.

Di mozaik-mozaik berikutnya barulah novel ini menceritakan mengenai pengalaman Ikal dan Arai di tanah impiannya – Sorbonne - Prancis. Hal ini menarik karena mengungkap bagaimana mereka harus menjalani kehidupan di sebuah dunia yang benar-benar baru. Ketika baru saja Ikal dan Arai menginjakkan kaki di Belgia, mereka terlunta-lunta di jalan dan didera cuaca dingin yang menggila yang hampir saja merengut nyawa mereka. Geger budayapun dialami oleh mereka, Ikal menemukan berbagai paradoks antara apa yang dilihatnya di Eropa dengan keadaan di tanah kelahirannya.

Dan yang paling menarik dari novel ini terdapat di mozaik 31 hingga selesai. Di bagian ini dikisahkan pertaruhan Ikal dan kawan-kawannya untuk mengelilingi Eropa pada saat liburan musim panas. Masing-masing membentuk kelompoknya sendiri-sendiri. Ikal berpasangan dengan Arai. Yang menang adalah mereka yang dapat menempuh paling banyak kota dan negara. Yang kalah harus mengurus laundry peserta lain selama tiga bulan, dan yang paling memalukan, harus menuntun sepeda secara mundur dari museum legendaris Le Leouvre ke gerbang L’Arc de Triomphe dimana di sepedanya digantungi pakaian-pakaian rombeng.

Ikal dan Arai melakukan perjalanannya sebagai backpaker. Untuk membiayai perjalanannya mereka harus rela menjadi pengamen seni, yaitu menampilkan seni patung dimana Ikal dan Arai menjadi patung dan berdandan sebagai seekor putri duyung. Perjalanan mereka penuh tantangan, ketika kehabisan uang, mereka harus makan daun-daunan mentah untuk bertahan hidup. Namun Ikal dan Arai tak pernah menyerah, mereka manusia yang hidup dalam mimpinya. Hanya berbekal impian, keberanian dan tekad untuk memenangkan taruhan, mereka akhirnya mereka mampu melakukan perjalanan ke 42 negara di Eropa, Rusia hingga menjejakkan kakinya ke Afrika!

Ketika kembali ke Paris, Ikal kembali menekuni kewajibannya sebagai mahasiswa. Ia tenggelam dalam risetnya. Berita buruk diterimanya karena Prof Turnbull, pembimbingnya akan pensiun dan pulang kampung dan bekerja di Sheffiled Inggris. Khawatir tesisnya terbengkalai, Ikal terpaksa mengikuti exchange program ke Shieffield Hallam University untuk melanjutkan risetnya dibawah bimbingan Prof Turnbull. Kini Ikal semakin dekat dengan Edensor, sebuah desa di Inggris yang selama ini hanya dibacanya di novel karya James Herriot pemberian A ling, gadis Hokian pujaan hatinya.

Novel James Herriot "If Only They Could Talk"
yang dibaca oleh Ikal, yang memuat keindahan desa Edensor

Di novel ketiganya ini Andrea tampaknya masih konsisten dengan gaya bertuturnya di dua novel terdahulunya. Kalimat-kalimatnya kerap menggunakan metafora-metafora yang mengejutkan dan mampu membuai pembacanya untuk masuk dalam kisahnya. Tak hanya kisah serunya berpetualang ke berbagai negara yang akan diperoleh pembacanya, dalam setiap kisahnya Andrea juga senantiasa menyelipkan berbagai perenungan bijak yang membuat pembacanya bergetar dalam haru, miris atau tersentuh semangatnya ketika membaca kisah-kisahnya.

Selain menyentuh pembacanya, novel ini juga menyajikan kelucuan-kelucuan yang menghibur. Walau kadar kelucuannya tak sampai membuat pembacanya tertawa-tawa seperti di novel keduanya, dalam edensor sisi humornya antara lain terdapat dalam pencarian Ikal terhadap pujaan hatinya A Ling. Untuk mencari jejak A Ling, ia mengandalkan kecanggihan Internet. Ia memasukkan nama A Ling di search engine dan menemukan nama itu berada di berbagai negara dan kota di Eropa,. Dengan modal ini maka setiap Ikal mengunjungi negara tertentu dia menyusuri alamat yang diperolehnya dari internet. Kelucuan merebak ketika ternyata nama A Ling yang diperolehnya ternyata seorang wantia tua, nama sebuah tempat, hingga nama merk obat kuat.

Bagi mereka yang suka melakukan perjalanan traveling ala backpacker , novel ini juga memberikan berbagai tips yang menarik seperti negara-negara mana yang menghargai para backpacker, fungsi baju second skin untuk mengatasi dingin, pengalaman bergaul dengan backpacker kanada, tempat-tempat tidur yang aman apakah di aman, di emper toko, di terminal, dll, termasuk cara membaca arah dengan membaca rasi bintang belantik

Dari berbagai kisah yang dimunculkan dalam buku ini, tampaknya Andrea memang sosok yang sarat pengalaman hidup dan pengetahuan, selain mampu menebar semangat dan inspirasi bagi pembacanya untuk berani mewujudkan mimpinya, di novel ketiganya ini kita akan melihat Andrea juga dengan cerdas memadukan sains, fisika, kimia, biologi, ekonomi, sastra, dan tak ketinggalan kritik-kritik sosial terhadap indonesia yang dilihatnya sebagai paradoks dari pengalamannya hidup di luar negeri. Yang tak kalah menarik adalah monolognya dengan ekonom dunia Adam Smith yang menyerang kaum monetaris yang bersekongkol mengumpulkan uang agar begara seperti Indonesia tergadai karena berhutang.

Dari ketiga karya Andrea, saya rasa novel pertamanya tetap lebih dahsyat dibanding Sang Pemimpi dan Edensor. Bukan berarti dua yang terakhir buruk, namun dalam Sang Pemimpi dan Edensor, ekplorasi karakter tokoh dan peristiwa tak sedalam Laskar Pelangi. Mungkin ini akibat gaya betutur Andrea di novel kedua dan ketiganya yang dipenggal-penggal dalam peristiwa-peristiwa yang dialaminya sehingga lebih menyerupai cerpen dengan benang merah yang kuat, yaitu mimpi Ikal dan Arai.

Namun terlepas dari perbandingan antara novel pertama, kedua, dan ketiganya. Dari tiga karya Andrea yang telah diterbitkan , ketiga-tiganya sangat berpotensi dalam memberikan letupan inspirasi bagi pembacanya untuk tidak menyerah dalam mengejar mimpi.

Semua telah kami rasakan, dalam kemenangan manis yang gilang gemilang dan kekalahan getir yang paling memalukan, tapi tak selangkah pun kami tak mundur, tak pernah. Kami jatuh, bangkit, jatuh lagi, dan bangkit lagi. (hal 277)
Klik disini untuk membaca lebih Lengkapnya

Sang Pemimpi

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:17:00 +0000

SINOPSIS BUKU

Sang Pemimpi adalah sebuah lantunan kisah kehidupan yang memesona dan akan membuat Anda percaya akan tenaga cinta, percaya pada kekuatan mimpi dan pengorbanan, lebih dari itu, akan membuat Anda percaya kepada Tuhan. Andrea akan membawa Anda berkelana menerobos sudut-sudut pemikiran di mana Anda akan menemukan pandangan yang berbeda tentang nasib, tantangan intelektualitas, dan kegembiraan yang meluap-luap, sekaligus kesedihan yang mengharu biru.

Tampak komikal pada awalnya, selayaknya kenakalan remaja biasa, tapi kemudian tanpa Anda sadari, kisah dan karakter-karakter dalam buku ini lambat laun menguasai Anda. Karena potret-potret kecil yang menawan akan menghentakkan Anda pada rasa humor yang halus namun memiliki efek filosofis yang meresonansi. Karena arti perjuangan hidup dalam kemiskinan yang membelit dan cita-cita yang gagah berani dalam kisah dua orang tokoh utama buku ini: Arai dan Ikal akan menuntun Anda dengan semacam keanggunan dan daya tarik agar Anda dapat melihat ke dalam diri sendiri dengan penuh pengharapan, agar Anda menolak semua keputusasaan dan ketakberdayaan Anda sendiri.

“Kita tak kan pernah mendahului nasib!” teriak Arai.

“Kita akan sekolah ke Prancis, menjelajahi Eropa sampai ke Afrika! Apa pun yang terjadi!”

***

Andrea Hirata Seman adalah si Ikal yang diceritakan dalam buku ini. Ia berpendidikan S1 dari Universitas Indonesia dan S2 dari Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), Inggris. Ia sempat melakukan riset di Université de Paris, Sorbonne, Prancis dan risetnya itu, yang juga dikisahkan dalam buku ini, mendapat penghargaan khusus dari SHU. Hasil riset tersebut telah ditulis Andrea dalam buku berbahasa Inggris dan telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia. Andrea lahir di Belitong dan sampai saat ini masih bekerja di kantor pusat PT Telkom di Bandung.

Info Lengkapnya Baca Disini

Laskar Pelangi

noreply@blogger.com (mykuto) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Rekomendasi dari beberapa orang atas novel ini, awalnya tidak terlalu bikin penasaran. Masalahnya masih banyak utang buku yang belum sempat aku bayar dengan membacanya :( ... Lagipula waktu lagi mengadakan kunjungan rutin ke toko buku dekat rumah, buku ini belum menampakkan dirinya di deretan buku2 baru. Tapi waktu tahu kalo novel ini dijadikan topik dalam diskusi buku di Perpustakaan Diknas, aku mulai penasaran. Secara khusus aku nyari buku ini pada kunjungan ke toko buku berikutnya. Dan ketemu juga akhirnya... Walaupun novel ini baru terbit september 2005, tapi tidak diletakkan di tumpukan novel baru. Juga tidak diletakkan di tumpukan novel laris...

Beberapa orang yang memberi rekomendasi mengatakan kalo buku ini adalah Toto Chan ala Indonesia. Toto Chan?... belum baca tuh :P Jadi ya nggak punya bayangan, kayak apa isinya dan nggak bisa membandingkan satu sama lain. Yah.. aku memang tidak selalu membaca semua buku yang ngetop di kalangan pencinta buku. Beberapa orang lain menambahkan kalo buku ini sangat bagus untuk memberikan inspirasi dalam memajukan dunia pendidikan, terutama untuk kalangan bawah.

Tentang Sebuah SD Kampung

Ini adalah novel pertama dari Andrea Hirata Seman. Pertama kali dengar nama "Andrea Hirata", aku pikir ini adalah penulis asal Jepang :D, dan novel ini adalah novel terjemahan. Ternyata bukan. Andrea Hirata berasal dari Belitong. Dan novel ini kabarnya adalah memoar masa kecilnya dan semua pelakunya adalah nyata. Laskar Pelangi adalah teman2 masa kecilnya saat bersekolah di sekolah kampung yang miskin di Belitong. Tapi tidak disebutkan secara eksplisit dalam novel ini oleh Andrea Hirata bahwa ini adalah kisah nyata.

Diawali saat SD Muhammadiyah, sekolah kampung di Belitong dengan fasilitas yang sangat terbatas bahkan minus, membuka pendaftaran untuk murid baru kelas satu. Hingga saat2 terakhir pendaftaran hanya 9 orang anak yang mendaftar dan siap masuk kelas di hari pertama. Padahal sekolah reot ini sudah diancam untuk membubarkan diri jika murid barunya kurang dari 10 orang.

Di kalangan bawah, menyekolahkan anak berarti mengikatkan diri pada beban biaya yang harus ditanggung selama bertahun2. Dan tertutupnya kesempatan untuk mempekerjakan si anak secara penuh waktu demi membantu mengurangi beban hidup yang semakin berat. :(

Jika tak ada Harun, seorang anak berusia 15 tahun dengan keterbelakangan mental, yang disekolahkan oleh ibunya agar tidak cuma mengejar anak ayam di rumah, tentu tidak pernah terjadi kisah ini. Ikal tidak akan pernah bertemu, berteman satu kelas dengan Lintang, Mahar, Syahdan, A Kiong, Kucai, Borek alias Samson, Sahara, Trapani, dan Harun. Tidak akan pernah bertemu Bu Muslimah, guru penuh kasih namun penuh komitmen untuk mencerdaskan anak didiknya. Dan tidak akan pernah ada Laskar Pelangi, yang di musim hujan selalu melakukan ritual melihat pelangi sore hari dengan bertengger di dahan2 pohon filicium yang ada di depan kelas mereka.

Perjalanan Laskar Pelangi

Selanjutnya dikisahkan ragam kejadian yang penuh suka dan duka dari kesepuluh anak anggota Laskar Pelangi. Nantinya di tengah cerita Laskar Pelangi mendapat anggota kesebelas, anggota wanita kedua, Flo.

Berkisah tentang Lintang, anak super genius didikan alam, yang rumahnya berjarak 40 km dari sekolah dan dilaluinya dengan bersepeda setiap hari tanpa mengeluh. Bahkan ketika suatu hari rantai sepedanya putus, dia rela berjalan kaki menuntun sepedanya ke sekolah. Dan merasa bahagia karena masih mendapat kesempatan ikut menyanyikan Padamu Negeri di jam pelajaran terakhir.... *merinding*... (jaman SMP aku sempat kagum dengan teman2 yang setiap harinya mengayuh sepeda dari rumahnya yang berjarak 10 km dari sekolah, demi bisa menuntut ilmu di SMP Negeri yang baru ada di kota kecamatan... tapi ternyata itu belum ada apa2nya).

Berkisah tentang Mahar anak genius berikutnya, tapi yang satu ini genius dalam bakat seni. Berkisah tentang rutinitas membeli kapur tulis di toko yang jauh dari sekolah dan berbau busuk, menggiring ke kisah cinta pertama Ikal kepada A Ling yang berkuku indah. Tentang keberhasilan mereka mengangkat nama SD Muhammadiyah yang selama ini selalu dianggap remeh dalam acara karnaval 17 Agustus dan lomba cerdas-cermat. Tentang cita-cita Ikal. Tentang hilangnya Flo. Tentang petualangan mistis ke Pulau Lanun menemui Tuk Bayan Tula bersama Flo dan Mahar. Dan bagian pertama ini ditutup dengan kesedihan mendalam yang sangat mengharukan saat Laskar Pelangi harus merelakan perginya seorang teman yang kurang beruntung... :(

Bagian pertama itu mengambil rentang waktu dari hari pertama Laskar Pelangi masuk kelas satu Sekolah Dasar Muhammadiyah hingga empat bulan menjelang Ebtanas SMP di gedung sekolah yang sama dengan orang2 yang sama (tambah Flo tentunya).

Pada bagian kedua, kisah ini melompat dua belas tahun kemudian saat Laskar Pelangi telah menjadi sosok2 dewasa yang harus berjuang menggapai peruntungannya dalam kehidupan nyata. Masing2 menjalani suratan hidupnya yang sudah ditetapkan. Ada yang berjalan sesuai cita2nya, ada yang tidak terduga lompatannya, ada juga yang menyerah pada nasib yang sudah tergambar jelas sejak dahulu.

Berjuang dalam Keterbatasan

Suatu rangkaian cerita yang menyenangkan untuk dibaca. Mengenang masa kecil memang selalu indah. Walaupun kadang dibumbui dengan kepahitan2 yang menyedihkan, tapi selalu ada kegembiraan di masa kecil. Karena anak kecil pasti bisa menemukan kegembiraan, menemukan sesuatu untuk dimainkan dengan penuh keriangan betapapun sulitnya keadaan. Asalkan mereka tetap dibiarkan bebas bermain tentunya.
Anak-anak Laskar Pelangi dalam keterbatasan dan kesederhanaan bisa menemukan pencapaian2 puncak dan petualangan2 seru di masa kanak2 hingga remajanya. Kesederhanaan mereka memang membatasi, dan kadang membuat mereka sedih dan minder, tapi mereka tidak tenggelam dalam keluhan dan tangisan. Anak-anak itu tetap berjuang hingga batas terakhir kemampuannya.

Dipandu oleh Bu Mus, seorang ibu guru yang mengabdikan hidupnya untuk mendidik anak2 walaupun tidak memberikan materi yang mencukupi. Wanita lembut penuh kasih tapi juga bisa tegas ketika anak didiknya melenceng dari jalur. Dia memberikan kesempatan anak didiknya untuk berkembang seluas2nya, walau tetap dalam keterbatasan.
Info Lengkap