I like reading, but I personally feel something has been lacking lately on my reading habit.
Recently, I have been reading self-help/motivational book, and my current two favorites are Ryder Carroll’s “The Bullet Journal Method” and James Clear’s “Atomic Habit”.
You might notice those two books actually connected in some ways. “The Bullet Journal Method” gives me deeper understanding on the technical side of bullet journaling, and “Atomic Habit” puts me on track on building the habit of journaling (Ryder actually put habit-building on the bullet journal book, but “Atomic Habit” elevates the habit building level to a new heights.)
Now. The problem.
I keep forgetting some topics and discussions on the books. There are so many good notes throughout the books, but it’s really easy for me to forget about it — and I ended up re-reading the previous chapters and unable to proceed to the next ones because I keep re-reading it again and again ad infinitum.
Just recently, I learned to highlight some words on the books and put sticky notes. You might protested that you have been doing that for ages and it’s really normal and “everyone is doing it” and so on, but not me, okay 🥲 I grow up in an environment where books are considered sacred, considering how expensive they could be. Now that I have adult money, I can buy stupid stuffs and books — so yeah, the act of scribbling on books is really really new to me.
Aaaaaand yet I still forget.
It’s frustrating, really. There are some stuffs that I really want to remember and apply, but I only managed to remember it like… 80% of it? For example, to build a good habit, we should make it into three things. Make it close, make it attractive, and goddangit I forgot the third one.
… OK, I just peeked at the book and apparently I got it all wrong. Make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, make it satisfying. I can’t confirm or deny I typed this with the book opened in front of me.
I’m asking you folks, especially the book lovers. How do you approach reading, and how do you collect the information and retain it? I would love any insights or tips.
I first learned about Sherlock Holmes — yes, we will talk about Agatha Christie later. THIS IS IMPORTANT — when I was an elementary student. When I was still a kid, we had — and I guess we still have — this children magazine named “BOBO”. Originated from the Netherlands, “BOBO” magazine had such a long affection and connection to Indonesian children as it became part of our childhood. I remember I read Sherlock Holmes’ ‘The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire’, translated to Indonesian, in the magazine.
From there, I entered a wonderful world of detectives genre on literature.
As my admiration to Sherlock Holmes grew and as I learned more about the fictional detectives, I, too, learned about Agatha Christie and her famous Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
Unfortunately, it was an unsavoury experience as I found everything by Agatha Christie as “dull” and “rambling.” I was used with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fast-paced short-stories style, I couldn’t stand to read a whole novel of one single case.
I didn’t even bother to read Agatha Christie’s works until a couple of years ago (?) I saw ‘And Then There Were None’ on Netflix.
No. I didn’t watch it. I only saw the thumbnail on the Netflix app.
I watched it only for the first 10 minutes then I got too scared (I’m serious.) Yet the curiosity started. What is this about this lady, Agatha Christie, that she could build such legacy with her detectives? Surely a proud Belgian man and a chatty elderly lady should do something extremely right that made the world fall in love with them?
Last week, we went to a bookstore in KL East after we had dinner in Cafe Chef Wan. The bookstore’s name is ‘BookXcess’ (read: Book Excess.) This bookstore is the parent group of Big Bad Wolf Book Expo, a really famous book expo in Southeast Asia (mainly in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia) for super cheap price. I kid you not, the price can be third or even quarter of the actual price.
Then I saw this Agatha Christie box set. Five novels: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Evil Under the Sun, The ABC Murders, The Five Little Pigs, and Murder on the Orient Express.
I took it without second thought. That, and because the price is not super exorbitant so my wallet can still breathe after my multiple stints with Neil Gaiman’s graphics novels and Kinokuniya Bookstore.
I decided to open my journey with a murder of a gentleman in a, supposedly, closed room: “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”
And I had to remind myself again and again, “this is 1926. You do NOT yell, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE DICTAPHONE IS REALLY BIG? SONY HAS ONE THAT’S SMALL ENOUGH FOR YOUR POCKET” because for God sake, we have this thing called history of technology.”
Reading detective novel is fun. You found yourself trying to guess from the very first page. This man looks suspicious! Oh, this lady looks like she knows nothing— but who knows? You tried to outsmart the author. You wished you could scoff and remarked, “HAH! I KNEW IT!” in such triumphant manner. You, a reader, able to guess whodunnit! That’s surely an achievement worth to brag about!
Then came ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ and when Hercule Poirot uttered the name of the killer, I found myself in Error 404 Not Found for five seconds.
“Wait.
What.
What.”
Then a complete 5 minutes of, “are you kidding me, are you serious— WHAT,” and aggressively turned the pages again and again, from chapter one to the last chapter, tried to connect the dots, “did I miss anything?”-panic, and ended up with a quiet realization followed with a final, “… Now I know why.”
I admire Agatha Christie’s way of portraying her characters, especially the women. I love how she breathed such variations on the women — they can be a schoolgirl dabbled in occultism or a naive temptress. I love how Agatha Christie able to give different perspectives and personalities on one single character — somebody that we thought using other people for their own expenses yet craved, and manipulated, by another (‘Evil Under the Sun’.)
Now, I keep turning the pages, craving for more.
Thank you for the magnificent works, Agatha Christie. My deepest apology, as it took me 36 years to recognize you.
Beberapa minggu lalu, pernah ada rame-rame di Twitter (ya kapan sih ya ga rame di Twitter, hahaha,) karena tweet seseorang yang menganggap kalo kemiskinan itu terjadi karena kemalasan/kerjanya kurang keras dan — kalo ga salah — buat dia, hidup susah itu terjadi karena sebenernya susah ngabisin duit (??? Gw juga ga paham. Waktu gw baca tweet-nya itu gw bingung sebenernya, hahaha.)
Gw ngerasa ya, ada satu titik di hidup kita yang menganggap hal yang sama. Kalo kemiskinan itu terjadi karena malas/kerja kurang keras. Kalo lu kerja lebih keras, lebih gigih, dan lebih rajin, lu akan jadi orang kaya/terbebas dari kemiskinan. Pola pikir yang, kalo bahasa Jawanya: “tatak”, keras untuk punya keyakinan bahwa SUATU SAAT akan terbebas dari kemiskinan itu ada dan subur di publik.
Apakah itu salah? Ya nggak.
Namanya juga kerja, Insya Allah menghasilkan pendapatan, bisa membiayai kehidupan. Banyak contoh dan cerita yang lama-lama gajinya atau penghasilannya meningkat, lalu mulai bisa hidup lebih nyaman.
Tapi… Untuk langsung menuding orang lain kalo, “LU MISKIN KARENA LU MALAS” itu agak ceroboh.
Perkenalkan; kemiskinan secara sistemik/systemic poverty.
“Families trapped in the cycle of poverty, have either limited or no resources. There are many disadvantages that collectively work in a circular process making it virtually impossible for individuals to break the cycle. This occurs when poor people do not have the resources necessary to get out of poverty, such as financial capital, education, or connections. In other words, impoverished individuals do not have access to economic and social resources as a result of their poverty. This lack may increase their poverty. This could mean that the poor remain poor throughout their lives.” — Cycle of Poverty (Wikipedia)
Ini kita ngomongin kemiskinan dalam sisi ekonomi/material ya; jadi emang ada landasan berupa biaya hidup. Terdengar sangat keji, tapi kalo mau ngomongin dari segi ekonomi, ya emang ada yang namanya kelas dalam ekonomi.
Maksudnya apa itu, “when poor people do not have the resources necessary to get out of poverty”?
Itu contoh mengenai kemiskinan sistematis dan privilege.
Kemarin gw ngeliat artikel dari Bored Panda mengenai seseorang dari kelas menengah mencoba menjelaskan apa itu kemiskinan ke temennya yang koaya roaya. Orang yang berkecukupan/kaya ini bingung, “lu kan tinggal nabung aja? Apa susahnya nabung $5 per bulan?”
Dan soal menabung itu juga udah banyak digaungkan oleh para financial advisors — bahkan dicetak dalam kepala kita sejak kecil.
Masalahnya gini; oke, lu menabung. Tapi, misalnya, mendadak atap rumah bocor? Mendadak lu sakit? Oke, ada dana darurat. Tapi apa dana darurat itu cukup kalo memang masalah datang bertubi-tubi? Misalnya kecelakaan. Udah lah kendaraan rusak, belum lagi biaya kesehatan. Untuk soal kesehatan, kita bisa masuk ke ranah BPJS, tapi itu bakal melenceng jauh jadi gw ga mau ngebahas soal itu dulu.
Sekarang pertanyaan sejuta dolarnya: Apakah salah menjadi orang kaya? Apakah salah lahir dengan segala kelebihan/privilege?
Tidak.
Yang salah adalah ketika kita NGGAK menyadari bahwa kita hidup berkecukupan dan kaya raya ini karena tangan orang lain yang terjulur ke kita, karena akses, karena pendidikan yang kita dapet dari kecil, karena makanan sehat yang kita konsumsi.
“Check your privileges,” kalo kata orang bule. Banyak orang gembar-gembor “iyaa, saya usaha bisnis ini dari bawah lhooo, bukan bisnis ayah sayaaa.” Yeeekaaali, ortu lu ngasih lu modal seratus juta tunai kan? Siapa tau kan?
Don’t dismiss your privileges and see yourself as, “I deserve this because I’m working hard.” Iya, lu mungkin emang bekerja keras, tapi lu ada back-up di belakang lu, dan itu sebuah kemewahan yang mungkin ga dimiliki banyak orang.
Pertanyaannya lagi; apa yang akan lu lakukan ketika lu tau bahwa selama ini hidup lu disokong banyak orang? Gimana caranya lu bisa menyokong orang lain?
This sounds so socialism, and it is. Makanya ya paham sosialisme itu populer, karena itu bentuk masyarakat utopis ketika semua orang saling membantu dan nggak ada kemiskinan sama sekali.
Dan ketika lu tau bahwa yang namanya kemiskinan itu mustahil dihilangkan, atau kalopun mau dihilangkan itu musti ada pengorbanan yang sangat besar dari lu, apakah lu mau menjalankannya?
Thread dongeng sebelum tidur edisi pilihan berganda : Mereka yang Pergi Dari Omelas 🌑🏙🌕
Tentang kota yang sempurna, pengorbanan, dan kita yang hidup enak di atasnya. pic.twitter.com/2NE4byJ8PX