It’s Fanda Classiclit 1st Blogoversary!

October 10^th 2011… a blog has born :), and I can’t believe that Fanda Classiclit is turning ONE today! If you go through my archives, you are going to find several of my posts dated far before; I actually created this blog last year, then posted my reviews from my first blog using the original dates. Why I created this blog in the first place? I have answered this during interview for August Classics Clubber of The Month, I will quote it here:

“Around 2008 I have just been introduced to blogging world, and then I thought, why not blogging about books, since reading is always my biggest passion? So I created my first book blog on November 2008. I have read so many books, and I think it will be good to write what I think about the book, as well as their main plot, so I won’t ever forget them after years. My second purpose is to share my thoughts to the world. I blogged then in Bahasa Indonesia (my first language); so that other Indonesian bloggers who do not quite like reading, can have information about new good books. I started my Fanda Classiclit blog only last year, because I felt that my interest has been narrowing to certain focuses.”

In these twelve months many things had happened, and it’s all because of you, my dearest followers and classics clubbers, because you all have burnt my spirit to keep reading and blogging. One year ago I have never dreamt that I would join the coolest classics reading community in the blogosphere—that is The Classics Club :)—make a commitment to read 100+ classics in 5 years, socialize with classics clubbers around the world, create a Character Thursday weekly meme, and host events for classics readings! If someone foretold these a year ago, I would have said: wow…certainly not me! But then, here I am, doing exactly all of them. And being a non-English speaker doubled my amazement to myself (sorry guys, I don’t mean to be snob). But that’s the fact, and now….in the celebration of Fanda Classiclit 1^st blogoversary, I would like to reward all of you and invite you to share my excitement…

1^st Blogoversary Giveaway

The winner is: Astrid.. Congratz!

I am giving away any books from authors in my ‘Authors’ category at the right sidebar.

The book must be $10 or less, and will be shipped from Amazon (for US participant) or The Book Depository (as long as TBD ship to your country) for international participant.

The giveaway is opened for everyone, whether you are a follower or not (but if you do like my blog and want to get my updates, please feel free to follow me through GFC or subscribe by email). I won’t force anyone to follow me here, because I prefer to get followers who really like reading my posts.

All you must do to be entered in the giveaway is:

Considering of my personality, my reading taste, books I have read or books I have listed for The Classics Club Project so far, recommend one (or more) book(s) you think I’d love and enjoy, and why. It can be books beyond my CCP list, or if it is within the list, recommend me which book I should read first.

• Answer in the comment box, and let me know the book you'd choose if you win (I'm just curious! You can change the title later)
• Don’t forget to mention how I can contact you if you win (email/twitter/FB/blog).
• The giveaway will be closed on 24 October 2012.
• The winner would be picked randomly using random dot org.
• If the winner failed to answer back with the shipping details within 48 hours after my email, I will choose another winner.

P.S. This is not mandatory and not counted in the giveaway, but I would be pleased if you’d put little effort to tell me about Fanda Classiclit blog. What you like most of it? What you dislike? And what suggestion(s) can you give me to improve it? Many thanks if you’d like to do this! :)

What We Are Going To Have During Let’s Read Plays Event

This is an update for next month yearlong event: Let’s Read Plays. As you might have known, I have opened opportunities for you to host something in your blog (meme, giveaway, quiz, etc) or write a guest post for the event (if you’re interested, just fill in this form). Listra of Half-Filled Attic blog has been very enthusiastic to host a monthly meme during the event. She has announced the meme, which include the schedule and theme for each prompts, which I found very interesting.

Apart from that, I will also combine my Character Thursdays with Let’s Read Plays. It means that you can post about any characters from plays you’re reading for the event every Thursday. One of Listra’s meme will be about character too, but you can share as many as Character Thursdays in every week during the event. I plan to create a page to update all Character Thursday posts for this event, and at the end of the event, there will be a giveaway too.

I just can’t wait for November to come and kicking off our Let’s Read Plays, as I could already imagine how fun this would be! How about you? :) You can join us here.

Jacques Bernis in Courrier du Sud

Bernis was the main character in this philosophical—and I believe quite autobiographical—novel of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Courrier Sud (Southern Mail). Bernis was a pilot for the airmail service from Paris to Dakkar. In the early 20^th century aircraft was a new technology, thus working as a pilot meant you faced a great danger everytime you fly. Bernis’ risk was doubled as his route forced him to fly over Sahara desert which was difficult to navigate with such simple equipment they had at that time.

However, although people underestimate his career (and called him as ‘ghost’, as they could not imagine how a human being could fly), Bernis could feel happy only when he was alone in his cockpit, flying the atmosphere and threw his gaze to the horizon. Bernis loved the sense of freedom, where everything was moving when he passed them. He also loved the change of the atmosphere and the weather along the flight. I can imagine how it feels, to think that we could leave one place and kept on moving to another, never be in the same place, like the flow of water which never stays at the same place.

Bernis was a kind of man who can never feel happy in this life. Unlike ordinary people who need to have a home (a real house and routine life), Bernis’ home was beyond the society; his true home was in the air, when he was surrounded by wind and clouds, sun and moon, sky and earth. When Bernis lived ordinary life, he was distressed and bored because everything was so routine and unchanged. I feel pity on him, he must be the most lonesome guy in the universe, never belonged to anywhere or anyone…well..except, perhaps, God.

Bernis was not a man who insisted his will. When he loved a woman (his childhood friend), but the woman chose to be with another man, Bernis did not get angry of her, he just let her go—bitterly though. **spoiler** However, when the woman got troubled and wanted to leave her present life, Bernis was happy to take her with him. But when at the end the woman could not live Berni’s way of life, Bernis let her go, for a second time. And I felt sorry even more for poor Bernis…**spoiler ends**

This is Exupery, but I always take Bernis as
Exupery himself, anyway...

I always wonder, was Bernis happy with the life he had chosen? I think yes, if only he never loved Geneviève, and if he has courage to stand on his own life, no matter how strange or different it was from the world, and if he cherished what he had or what he loved. I sometimes felt different from ordinary people (although not as extreme as Bernis), but I have learned to be happy with who I am, what I have and what I love in this life.

That is my Character Thursday of this week, an analysis of book character of my choice, who is yours?... Just put your post URL in the linky below. Do you like to join us in discussing characters from books you read? See the details of Character Thursday first.

Why Reading Classics: Classics Club October Meme

I think The Classics Club’s prompt for October meme is the basic thinking we ought to reflect when we decide to dedicate our times and efforts to read classics. But before coming to why I read classics, maybe we ought to describe ‘what is classics’ first. I believe the exact description of “classics” itself will vary among us, but I think it’s basically the same. These are what for me classics represent,

"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." ~Italo Calvino

“A true classic, as I should like to hear it defined, is an author who has enriched the human mind, increased its treasure, and caused it to advance a step; who has discovered some moral and not equivocal truth, or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known and discovered; who has expressed his thought, observation, or invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; who has spoken to all in his own peculiar style, a style which is found to be also that of the whole world, a style new without neologism, new and old, easily contemporary with all time.” ~Charles Sainte Beuve

For me personally,

Classics are books that hit at the heart of its readers; that their influence continue to resonate long after the book was published or the author passed away. Classics are books that continue to be read for generations, because what is in it is universal, even though times have changed. Classics also contain things that teach values worthy of being role models.

Now we come to this month’s prompt:

Why are you reading the classics?

Looking at ‘what is classics’ stands for me, I read classics because they speak about valuable things in life: humanity, love, friendship… ; because they show us the reality in human life: passion, kindness, hatred, poverty… I read classics because I can learn something from the past that I can use as a compass or barometer for the future; because the authors wrote it in their era but their works resonate until now. Or, I read classics merely because they were beautifully written, and I love them… :)

So, why are you reading classics, then?....

My Choices for Let’s Read Plays Reading Event

If you haven’t been informed yet, Let’s Read Plays is a yearlong event for reading classics plays that I will host together with Dessy, starting November 2012. For a whole year we will read play(s) based on different themes every month (you can find the theme list/schedule here.) Based on the schedule, I have made a plan for myself. These are plays I will read for the event:

Nov ’12 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Julius Caesar - with Melisa, Listra, Maria, Helvry
                                                  Antony and Cleopatra - with Listra, Dessy

Dec ’12 – Shakespeare Comedy: The Merchant of Venice - with Dessy

Jan ’13 – Freebie: King Lear 

Feb ’13 – Shakespeare History: Richard III - with Dessy, Melisa

Mar ’13 – Greek: Medea (Euripides)

Apr ’13 – Shakespeare Comedy: The Taming of The Shrew - with Dessy

May ’13 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Romeo and Juliet

Jun ’13 – Oscar Wilde: An Ideal Husband - with Dessy

Jul ’13 – Other Author: The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov) - with Joon Ann

Aug ’13 – Shakespeare Comedy: Twelfth Night

Sep ’13 – Freebie: Saint Joan - Geoge Bernard Shaw

Oct ’13 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Hamlet - with Melisa

I might as well re-read A Midsummer Night’s Dream sometime during the event, or perhaps one of Wilde’s plays if I need to laugh a bit after a distressing reading… :)

What about you? Do you like to read plays? Why don’t you join us in Let’s Read Plays, and have fun in the yearlong event?

Weekend Quote 8: Gone With The Wind

Since I’m still reading Gone With The Wind, I hope I’m not boring you with another post about this book :)… I found this piece of quote from Part four. The Civil War has been over, yet the worst would still come. In this Part four I begin to see what Mitchell wanted to speak through her book. It was about the changing era that was following the war. In the middle of the uncertainty of the future, Mitchell showed us through her characters and their dialogues, that one must be brave to move along. One must not regret over the ideal life he once had, and dreams for living the same ideal in the future. One must work hard—although it is far from his ideal—to survive and to face the future.

This particular quote showed that spirit,

“It’s a poor person and a poor nation that sits down and cries because life isn’t precisely what they expected it to be.”

I think it helps us too right here, right now. The world is changing rapidly, and we know that the ideal life has long gone, so we must go on living, never dream about the past, but do our best for the future.

This Weekend Quote is hosted by Half-Filled Attic. Feel free to join. You can:

• Give the context of the quote
• Give your opinion whether you agree or disagree with it
• Share your experience related to the quote
• Share similar quotes you remember
• Or anything else. Just have fun with the quote.

Gone With The Wind Read Along: GIVEAWAY!

It’s already the last week of September. How did you all get going with Gone With The Wind? You can check the Update Posts page to see how others have progressed. Meanwhile, I want to remind you that every update posts you entered in the Update Posts page will be regarded as entries for my giveaway.

This giveaway is eligible for everyone who joins Gone With The Wind Read Along. The winner would be picked from Update Posts entries that you have entered during the read along. I have picked five authors from early 20^th century (just as Margaret Mitchell), whose books are offered for the prize:

Agatha Christie

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway

Virginia Woolf

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

• One winner can choose 1 (one) title from one of those authors from Amazon (for US residents) or from The Book Depository (for non US residents) at max. $10.
• Leave a comment mentioning how to contact you if you win (email/blog/twitter), and the book you’d like to have (you can change it later if you win; I’m just curious).
• I will pick and announce the winner on November 8^th 2012, so make sure you have added your update posts in the linky before that. Note: review post did not counted, as Bzee will host another giveaway for review posts at the end of this read along.
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will pick a new winner.

Good luck!