Loosing appetite on books

Yesterday I finally reached the end of Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Woo

(mind you most of the novels we have at home bought by my husband who has his own rules when it comes to choosing books. Tuesdays with Morrie by I-don’t-know-who, the narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe, and a short list of books that I read only the first few pages)

I read Junot’s due to my curiosity on the book that is said as a winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Well, it’s quite entertaining… however my last book before Junot’s was a John Grisham’s (The Appeal) and it was way more interesting. Before Grisham’s, I struggle to finish the Paulo Coelho’s Valkyries (a real odd one)

During the process, I noticed two things. It took me more and more time to finish reading a book compared to my teen age. Is it a sign of aging or simply I lost interest. The second thing, I tend to feel it was a waste of time. A book with hundred pages took a while to read, and reading made me abandon my homeworks and worse yet, the kids. No more bedtime story because mommy was busy with her book. While it was somewhat (but not always) entertaining, I did not get any other benefit from this activity, no new knowledge whatsoever – or if there was, it is categorized as unimportant.

Or perhaps, things are quite different in older age, that’s all I can say.

Totto Chan – the little girl at the window

The book has made me speechless

Beberapa tahun lalu selagi masih mahasiswa aku baca buku ini, well gotta admit it wasn’t the same impression that I got – it was just another good book.

Membaca buku itu lagi – setelah menjadi seorang ibu – ternyata memberi efek yang sangat berbeda. Sempat mengharu biru dan yang pasti dapat pencerahan yang luar biasa. At the end, I know I have to change some of my attitudes toward my kids.

Beberapa hal yang extra ordinary di buku itu

… anak-anak dengan keingin-tahuan yang excessive sering melakukan hal-hal yang membuat orang dewasa tercengang dan akhirnya marah, tanpa sadar bahwa pilihan untuk menahan amarah dan mendengarkan si anak akan memberi dampak yang sangat berbeda – jauh lebih positif terhadap si anak.

… cap yang kita berikan kepada anak – baik cap negatif (nakal, bodoh, etc) atau cap positif (anak baik, pintar, hebat, dst) adalah doa kita untuk anak itu. Pengaruhnya besar sekali dan akan mengikuti langkah si anak sampai besar – kalau sulit untuk percaya, coba deh renungkan waktu kecil ada gag cap yang mengikuti langkah kita masing2 dan apa pengaruhnya terhadap pola pikir dan semangat hidup kita sampai sekarang.

well, buku itu memberi banyak pelajaran tanpa menggurui. A must read book for parents and teachers, mudah2an kita bisa mendidik anak-anak kita dan menjadikan mereka generasi yang lebih baik… amin.