Today's Indika FM Interview Highlight

"I just want to say one thing first; you're one crazy dude."

--Ivy Batuta

FINALLY! A Bookstore Gets It Right!

Gramedia Depok places BaM! on the Humor section. Although as durin succinctly put, "People who need modern psychology will miss it a lot."

(Thanks to metty.)


UPDATE: THE OTHERS STILL HAVE NO CLUE

Gramedia Bintaro puts BaM! among teenage novels and pocketbooks. While Ambas Mall's Office 2000 categorizes BaM! under "Religion." Thou shalt buyeth this book!

(Thanks to cici and mbot.)


OUT OF THE (COMMENT) BOX

You know what, you should be glad that your book shows up in so many different categories. You'll get broad and diversed readers. Aaand.. you'll also get critiques from Phsycologist and Teenagers (although you might need to use your truth serum this time).

Freudian Psychologist: "Well, reading BaM, you can definitely make a conclusion that the author didn't have a happy childhood. You can see that he has a deep hatred for the Peuyeum seller who wouldnt sell the rocking-horses at a cheap price to his mom, thus causing his mom NOT to buy the rocking horses he wanted badly.."

Teenager:"Plis dong ah, BaM gitu lho. Siapa sih yg gak suka. Cover nya dong... Covernya. Keren bgt gitu lho.. Oren Bo. Matching sama kuku gw.."
--meta.

Another BaM! Review

This one's by Iya. Like I said in the book, it's always nice to know what people think about the book without having to resort to truth serum.


THIS JUST IN...

...BaM! has been sold out at Cilandak's Kharisma (not Gramedia).

(Thanks to serenity for the info, and thanks to everyone who makes it happen.)

Get BaM! with 20% OFF the Market Price

Available during Pesta Buku Gramedia Pustaka Utama (GPU) at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jl. Palmerah Selatan 17.

Only valid till September 26th, 2004.


UPDATE: AT LEAST...

...somebody is interested in the 20% discount.

BIG Hearty Thanks...

...to Adhit, meta, cepi, reney, risna and snydez for spreading the BaM! virus.

BaM! on Indika FM

ONE STEP AT A TIME...

Indika FM Jakarta (91.60 FM) schedules a phone interview⁽¹⁾ about BaM! this Friday (September 17th) at 9.15 AM. Still tentative⁽²⁾, but hey, it's a start. Indika FM has this joint program called "Insight with Gramedia," a 30-minute session to review and talk about a certain book that may appeal to their listeners. BaM! fits quite nicely to the picture.

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(1): Which means, I could prolly attend it while doing the number two without the listeners noticing. Unless I can't keep it down.
(2): Latin for "don't hold your breath."


UPDATE: INTERVIEW POSTPONED

Since Indika FM's going to celebrate its anniversary this Friday, some of the regular programs are rescheduled. This includes Insight with Gramedia, which would be held the next Friday (September 24th).

MODERN PSYCHOLOGY NOWADAYS...

An edited session of my online conversation with another dear friend.

Alex: Bought your book, bro.
Me: Cool! Where?
Alex: Gramedia Bogor. It was sold out.
Me: Sold out as in "THESE THINGS ARE HOT!" or "there weren't that many on display in the first place."
Alex: Whaddya mean "on display"? They practically hid the books on "Modern Psychology - Self Help" category.
Me: Nice to know the bookstore is as anxious as me.
Alex: There's another thing.
Me: What?
Alex: There's this BIG book which is 1.5 thicker than yours, titled, "Guide on Using Yahoo and Hotmail."
Me: Modern Psychology indeed.

AND THE ENERGIZER BUNNY WOULD BE... PURPLE?

Danu, a dear friend, tried to search for BaM! at Blok M's Gramedia. He asked an employee for help. Mistaking the back cover as the front one, he said that the cover was green.

After some time, they finally found the book. And the employee complained, "What did you mean, the [front] cover's GREEN? It's definitely PINK!"


THAT EXPLAINS IT!

Here's what a guy (whom I suspect is a male Surabayan, but I could be wrong) wrote to me:

"It's not a mindless thing. I believe your book is on that category because we [Surabayans] also consider politic as a laughing matter."
--Reno

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF BaM!

For those who haven't read it, "BaM!" is a humor book that pokes fun at ourselves. One in particular is the habit of doing things mindlessly.

And last night, pip just SMSed me, informing this news flash: "...your book was put on the political section! Right between "Geliat Irak Pasca Saddam" and "Political Marketing: Strategi Memenangkan Pemilu."

Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call an irony.

On a side note: A co-worker bought a copy without realizing that the writer works on the same building. (And who says "office socialization" is not an oxymoron, eh?)


UPDATE: "BaM!" HAS LANDED ON PALEMBANG!

It's official! After Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya, BaM! is now available in Palembang Gramedia bookstores, categorized under "New Release."

(Thanks to Faris Syauki, pip and snydez.)


CAN SOMEBODY HELP?

A relative reported that she overheard a Bandung's radio station discussing "BaM!" yesterday morning (August 31st). However, the radio was on somebody else's car, which then took off before she could recognize the station. Any Bandungers happened to listen about it? Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

Please report any other sightings to this post.
Any comment or feedback about the book? Feel free to mail me at a_scriptwriter at yahoo dot com, or at this post.

Bertanya atau Mati! -- Buku Humor + Inspirasional

Susah Cari BaM? Bisa Beli di Sini!

Walaupun edisi terbatas sudah habis, masih tersedia edisi biasa, tanpa stiker. Jika tertarik, kirim saja email pemesanan ke writerstavern AT gmail DOT com.

(Harga Rp40.000, di luar ongkos kirim.)

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HITTING THE BOOKSHELVES IN THE 2^ND WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 2004


Buku Humor + Inspirasional?
Kenapa tidak? Bertanya atau Mati! (BaM!) adalah buku humor yang menawarkan lebih dari sekedar kelucuan.

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"Baca buku ini seperti bercermin ke diri sendiri. Gue jadi bisa sadar dan intropeksi, tapi bukan berarti bukunya berat. Caranya lucu dan nggak perlu mengerutkan kening."
--Arie Dagienkz

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Sebagai mantan pengejar bus kota profesional, kuli kantoran biasa, dan seorang paman berpengalaman, Isman mengungkapkan sisi lain dari beragam topik kehidupan sehari-hari. Dari cara menghubungkan peuyeum dengan kentongan hingga merancang pernikahan agar tidak terancam bahaya angin puyuh, pengarang ini membuktikan bahwa hidup dapat lebih bermakna -- dengan mempertanyakan hal-hal yang cenderung dianggap remeh, seperti:

• Apa artinya jika anjing Anda mulai menyanyi Nessun Dorma?
• Di manakah hubungan telepati paling mudah terjalin dalam acara pernikahan?
• Kapankah kita perlu menurunkan berat badan demi keselamatan dunia?
• Bagaimana bayi 21 bulan dapat menjadi kandidat presiden yang andal?
• Dan mengapa wanita bugil yang beterbangan di mana-mana dapat memajukan ilmu pengetahuan dengan pesat?

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"...ini gebrakan baru banget buat buku-buku di Indonesia. As far as I know, nobody ever made something like this so far. Lucu, tapi non-fiktif dan tanpa adegan slapstick, itu yang bikin beda."
-—Ndari Utoyo, Mahasiswi

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BaM! mencoba membangkitkan kembali humor tulisan Indonesia yang merangsang Anda untuk bermain dengan otak Anda; humor yang universal, dan dapat menembus batas gender,...

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"Gila! Baca aja sendiri."
—-Eric Natanael, Strategy consultant
"Judulnya bikin penasaran. Sekali baca susah berhenti. Isinya komplit seperti resep masakan. Tapi kok resep masakannya sendiri malah nggak ada?"
—-Titiek Onang, Nenek rumah tangga

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...latar belakang,...

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"Kalau [BaM!] dibaca untuk hiburan, lucu. Tapi kalau dibaca serius, bisa mengajarkan kita untuk memandang sesuatu dari arah yang lain."
—-Arga Aridarma, Pengusaha
"Judging from his way of criticizing the Bowlingual, I was so amazed that [his] work has modest wits, [with] penetrating insight through the every sentence. Even [though] he treats [something] critically, there is a lot of love, humor, and consideration."
—-Nina Higa, Japanese mother of three: twin boys and a female rabbit

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...maupun spesies.

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”Meowr."
—-Popox, Kucing pemerhati humor

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...Asalkan Anda termasuk orang-orang yang dapat menertawakan diri sendiri.

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"[Membaca buku ini] Seperti menyaksikan gerhana matahari. Indah, langka, dan hanya yang mengerti yang bisa menikmati. Pengarang memiliki pemahaman yang lumayan dalam terhadap segala sesuatu di sekitarnya. Dan ini pendapat yang sangat objektif!"
—-Primadonna Angela, Istri Pengarang (yang euhm… objektif)

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Tunggu kehadiran BaM! di toko buku Gramedia terdekat pada minggu kedua September 2004!