Thank you, Mas Tama.

Remember, remember… 13 of April. Saya akan selalu mengingat tanggal ini, hari ketika CEO yang telah 11 tahun memimpin Trans TV, Wishutama, memutuskan untuk resign.

Saya bukanlah pegawai yang dekat dengannya. Saya amat jarang berbicara dengan beliau, paling-paling bertegur sapa ketika bertemu di lift, atau lobby, atau di lantai 8, atau jika kebetulan Mas Tama mampir ke lantai 7. Mas Tama dikenal sebagai boss yang cukup keras dan tegas, tapi di balik itu, setiap pegawainya tahu kalau dia memimpin dengan hati.
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Crazy Little Thing Called Book

If you ask me who is the guy that loves book very much, the answer will be Richard Oh. Four years back he owned a tasteful QB Bookstore, which sadly now it’s closed. My husband and I went to his place several times, and he always welcomed us on his working room, which in my opinion is more of like unorganized library. You can find books everywhere and no place to sit in. I imagine Richard was like Scrooge McDuck, swimming on his pool of coins, but instead of coins, it’s pool of books. Now, he opens The Reading Room in Kemang, Jakarta. This place is super cozy with calming choice of color concept, the music, the coffee and Wi-Fi. It also has a screening room with 20 seats on it (filmmakers are going to love this place!), where films can be screened for limited audience. What makes it more special, instead of wall; you’ll find pile of books separate each area of The Reading Room. Most of the books are imported literature. Don’t be surprise if one day you visit The Reading Room and spot your favorite writer working seriously on his computer in a corner. This place is heaven for writer who needs to condition his writing atmosphere. And the good news is; it’s open as early as 9 AM. On the weekend it even opens until 2 AM, while on weekdays it opens until 12 PM. If QB Bookstore was basically a bookstore with a small café on it, The Reading Room is more of a café with tons of books on it. There are more than 5000 books in The Reading Room. Richard’s personal collection is in the 2nd floor, closed in glass cupboards and can only be read there. The book on the cupboard cannot be bought, however if you want, you can buy books outside the cupboard with IDR 50,000-125,000. Visit The Reading Room in Jalan Kemang Timur No. 57A-B, Jakarta.

Membaca Jakarta Lewat Kacamata Ratih Kumala


Oleh: Ayu Welirang (Kompasiana)

Siapa di sini yang nggak tahu sama Ratih Kumala? Wah, kalau nggak tahu sih ya kelewatan. Ratih Kumala ini sudah beberapa kali menulis untuk kolom cerpen koran dan cerita bersambung, di Kompas dan Republika. Keren bukan? Susah sekali untuk menembuskan tulisan kita ke dua surat kabar ternama itu, karena yang dipilih hanyalah tulisan-tulisan tertentu, dengan nilai sastra tinggi dan kajian budaya yang cukup kental.

Pertama kali yang saya lihat dari buku adalah sampul. Setelah sampul, kemudian sinopsis di bagian paling belakang buku. Setelah itu, barulah saya melihat nama pengarang. Kalau ternyata pengarangnya cukup ternama, saya sudah pasti akan membacanya. Dan ketika melihat sebuah buku dengan gambar yang etnik sekali, saya langsung tertarik. Sinopsisnya pun menarik! Dan yang lebih menyenangkan adalah, penulisnya itu Ratih Kumala.

Saya membelinya. Buku itu adalah buku yang paling keren di antara deretan buku-buku di Bogor Trade Mall. Saya ada di sana karena sudah berjanji pada keponakan, untuk mengajak dia makan di salah satu restoran fast food. Saya berangkat ke BTM bersama keponakan dan si oom-nya keponakan. Hehe. Sebelum makan, saya melihat-lihat toko buku di BTM dan langsung tertarik pada buku itu.
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quote

“The author must keep his mouth shut when his work starts to speak.”
Friederich Nietzsche

Meet the Writer, Tariq Ali


I’m lucky enough to get an opportunity to meet this smart funny man, Tariq Ali. My husband, Eka Kurniawan, and I met him at the hotel in Kemang, Jakarta, to give him some books. And you know what, he gave us his book too! Its tittle is Fear of Mirrors. Lucky (^,^)v Then we got a chance to have a chat. I’m not saying it was a light chat, since we talked mostly about politics! Yes, can you believe it? But Mr. Ali was a very positive person whose able to bring the conversation into a nice chat. From Pramoedya Ananta Toer to Cuba, the chat got me carried away. For a man who admit don’t know much about Indonesia (than other Asia countries), he sure knew many about Indonesian history. One funny thing happen, when he saw a news paper named Koran Jakarta. He thought it was about religion. Then I explained that ‘koran’ in Indonesian means ‘news papper’, not ‘Al-Quran’. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to meet again in a future, sometime. I don’t know any other serious writer whose fun like him.

In Memoriam: Steve Jobs


Thank you for all the piece of art you have created for us, Mr. Jobs. You will always be remembered.

Profil

Saya seorang penulis (novel, cerita pendek, skenario, esai). Saya bekerja sebagai script editor di sebuah stasiun televisi. Sila buka laman Tentang Saya untuk berkenalan lebih lanjut.

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