The 5 books in the life of Miss Mocca

They say books are the windows of the world. To escape from my real life I choose novel or fiction to peek and enter the realm of fantasy and innocently indulge in a make-believe characters and stories. There are pages, words, plots, that stay longer on my mind cos it’s so damn superb mind blowing. Not that it changed my life 180 degrees, but it gave me new perspective, new hope, justification or sometimes tickled my writer’s instinct.

No need to read between the lines, here are my list of 5 memorable books in alphabetical order:


1. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
I read this last year on my trip to Bangkok and Hanoi. When I told my dad I’m going to have that trip he was kinda against it. Furthermore, daddy commented that traveling was such a waste of money and time. Then come this book. It was like my validation for taking this trip on the first place. We are entitled to getaway, seeing new things, new world, learning new stuffs, get out of our comfort zone. If it makes us happy, do it!




2. Harry Potter book 1 by JK Rowling
“Alohomara!” “Wingardium laviosa!” “Reparo!” I gasped on every pages of Harry Potter’s first series. Who is this JK Rowling? How did she come up with all the names, the spells, quiddicth cup and so forth. I didn’t know imagination could go that wild. I never thought witches and wizardy world is spellboundly amusing. Ah! Wish we had sorting hat and Dumbledore on this muggle world.




3. Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata
“Saat itu aku menyadari bahwa kami sesungguhnya adalah perkumpulan persaudaraan cahaya dan api... Kami adalah lapisan-lapisan pelangi terindah yang pernah diciptakan Tuhan.” I have never felt so much in love with Bahasa Indonesia when I red this moving childhood tale of Andrea Hirata. He describes things, people, situation with a bit of exaggeration but it’s still sound poetic to me. After all, he’s a melayu man, they tend to do that. Remember pantun?


4. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
This is the first novel I successfully read for the first time! I remember how my sister so caught up reading novel and I couldn’t understand why. It’s just story about romantic, menye-menye things that I was too young to dig it. Then one day, she brought Mr. Grisham home. I knew this one was different just by the look of the cover (it the same as the movie poster). And I was right! For the first time I learn chasing “scene” on books turn out to be much much more interesting in words than in visual (have you seen the movie? Despite Denzel’s performance, it was just “eh!”)


5. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
“Aku tidak ingin meninggalkan dunia ini dalam cengkeraman rasa takut. Aku ingin mengetahui semua yang terjadi, menerimanya, merasakan kedamaian, baru pergi.”
A beautiful beautiful story of life. The fact that it’s a true story making it so even more heart-warming. How come someone so ill could maintain his optimism? Not blaming god, not becoming a grumpy old person. As far I remember, this must be the first book that made me shed a tear. And yes, I read the Indonesia version.

The Book that I lovingly cherish... by Mr. Frapu

To inspire and be inspired ... book never goes wrong!
Whenever the mind needs some thoughtful recharge, book would be the ideal “Energizer”. Whenever I read a good book, it feels like receiving a long letter from an old friend. Whenever the constant rush and due date task intimidates my view point of life... books are the relief that magically counteracts.

I salute the titles below ‘cos they give me a true enlightment.


1. Being Happy - Andrew Matthews
This book is amazing, it about understands yourself, being able to laugh at yourself, becoming more prosperous and being able to forgive yourself. It also discusses understanding nature’s laws so we can better deal with our own natures. What I like in the book as well as the information is the comics in the book, they are entertaining and very humorous.




2. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
What makes this true story special is Morrie Scwartz - one-of-a-kind professor- manages to teach us all about living robustly and fully even on his deathbed. It does not have to be a teacher, dean or professor, a mentor in life can be anybody… a friend, a co-worker, a stranger, perhaps. Treasure and cherish your mentor in life.





3. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. It is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two.
Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coelho introduces Santiago, an Andalusia shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream. Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. The cumulative effect is like hearing a wonderful bedtime story from an inspirational psychiatrist!

4. Letters to Sam - Daniel Gottlieb
When his grandson was born, Daniel Gottlieb began to write a series of heartfelt letters that he hoped Sam would read later in life. He planned to cover all the important topics—dealing with your parents, handling bullies, falling in love, coping with death—and what motivated him was the fear that he might not live long enough to see Sam reach adulthood. You see, Daniel Gottlieb is a quadriplegic—the result of a near-fatal automobile accident that occurred two decades ago—and he knows enough not to take anything for granted.
Then, when Sam was only 14 months old, he was diagnosed with Pervasive Develop-mental Disability, a form of autism, and suddenly everything changed. Now the grandfather and grandson were bound by something more: a disability—and Daniel Gottlieb’s special understanding of what that means became invaluable. This lovingly written, emotionally gripping book offers unique—and universal—insights into what it means to be human. Upon reading his personal letter to Sam.. I wish I could have a “Pop” like Daniel. His paralysis taught him to sit still, keep his ears and heart open and listen…


5. Warrior of Light - Paulo Coelho
A manual of “how-to-cope” modern life with tales and parables that have a specific spiritual source-Lao Tzu, Gandhi, Jesus and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, among others. Some of these passages are original, Coelho provides general spiritual inspiration, but he also offers guidance in more mundane matters, explaining the specific motivations behind childish, immature behavior, cowardly moments, feelings of spiritual emptiness and the reluctance to change.