Monday, March 26, 2012

Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives

This biography book by Marie Clayton is really a very good deal. I got it at a low price. There are lots of pictures (rare, they say, but I wouldn't know as there were not many pictures of Marilyn Monroe I had seen) printed on glossy papers. The book is divided into 7 chapters, each begins with (short) facts about Marilyn Monroe. When I was a child, I heard about her mysterious death and the probable conspiracy around it. In this book, Ms Clayton only states the facts - and not myths - which is a good thing.

Each photo in this book is accompanied by a story about it, so it's really enjoyable to read this book. It's like we see a photo book and someone is telling us about each photo.

One particular photo interests me much: when Marilyn Monroe met our first president, Soekarno. During his reign a famous group band, Koes Bersaudara, was sent to jail for playing The Beatles's songs. Soekarno's regime condemned western culture at that time. There is no date for this picture, but I think Soekarno met Marilyn Monroe in 1956. In 9 years he had changed and hated western culture.


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Donald Duck Classics: Quack Up

This book is one of my attempts to ride more work by Carl Barks.

There are 6 stories here:
1. Luck of The North (1949)
2. The Master's Touch (1979)
3. The Paper Route Panic (1959)
4. Donald the Milkman (1957)
5. Mission: Goldfinger (1966)
5. Nothing New (2007)

Luck of The North and Donald The Milkman are both by Carl Barks, and both I like very much. Donald The Milkman is my favourite among the two, because it's very nice to see Donald trying to be a perfect milkman. I also love The Master's Touch, which I remember reading years ago. It's Donald the photographer and his various lenses, trying to make a good portrait of Maharaja of Bumpakar.

The rests are not so good, which is a pity, because the book looks physically great.

Kisah Hidup Paman Gober

I was glad Gramedia Bookstore put this book on étalage, so this time I didn't miss it. The retail price is quite high (Rp 160.000,-), but still cheaper compared to the 3 I bought from America. I usually buy online, where I can get 10% - 20% discount, but this book was hard to find so I knew that I had to go to a branch of Gramedia. I brought along a friend who had a BCA card to get the 10% discount.

Kisah Hidup Paman Gober is a compilation from The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck volume 1 & 2, plus the Companion. The chapters are in the right order here, plus 2 chapters: A Letter from Home and The Dutchman's Secret. I am rather disappointed, though, why Sultan Djokja and Sultan Solo were translated to Raja Kulon and Raja Wetan. It reduces the humour, imo.

It's The Dutchman's Secret I particularly wanted. It's the only chapter I haven't read.