Reading Nooks

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

do any of you guys have reading spots outside of your house? i'm in jakarta, and i know for a fact the number of coffee shops are mind-boggling. despite all that, i'm finding it hard to locate a nice quiet place to read. would any of you mind giving suggestions? it could be a hole-in-the-wall type of place or even an extremely pretentious fancy-shmancy restaurant. if you guys think it's worth it, i'd like to give it a try.

[Oon]

There's the freedom institute library across Tugu Proklamasi. Nice ambience, many selections of books you can't get anywhere else. And, most importantly, free and fast wi-fi YAY! :D

Sadly, it opens only on weekdays

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

Oon wrote: "opens only on weekdays"

i was excited until i reached the last sentence. lol. have never heard of it though, will have to skip work one of these days to check it out. freedom institute? what are the selections like?

[Oon]

there are many history books, books about democracy and socio-political thingy... the good thing is they have selections of literature from around the world like Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt), Czeslaw Milosz (Poland), Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) and many more from the Western hemisphere

[Sheva]

I read about that place from the newspaper, sounds very cool :) my favorite place to read is my campus' couch for sure, and Bakoel Koffie Cikini. They don't have fluffy couch, but the whole atmosphere is warm. I like the place, and the coffee for sure :)

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

bakoel coffee cikini! that was on my places to try list a couple of years ago. never got around to it and just sort of forgotten about the place. thanks for reminding me, I remember how it looked so comfy from the outside. how is it on the weekends? crowded much?

also, I no longer have a campus. so consider yourself lucky on that couch. lol.

[Lynossa, Resident Connoisseur]

Mister Bean Citos with its couch. It can be way too crowded on weekend especially in the evening but sometimes I go there in the afternoon and it's quite pleasant.

[Sheva]

Not much people coming on Sunday afternoon and night. Most people come on Saturday night. The best time to go there is on Sunday, 3ish in the afternoon. It is so comfy even they don't have fluffy couch :)

The best thing you could get there is the whole nostalgic atmosphere, reminds you of the good old days at Batavia, where everything seems so slow and time ticks -not flies.. My favorite spot is the small table for two near the big window (with the Bakoel Koffie writings), cause you will get best of three worlds: your book, your coffee and the view of people passing by. :)

Okay, now I need this place to hire me as their publicist. :p

[Rachel, First Lady]

HEY, wouldn't that be an amazing place for our group meet up?

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

I agree, that seems like a good place. although, i 'm not sure where the bulk of us here are located. anyway, any other suggestions?

[Karin]

Sheva wrote: "My favorite spot is the small table for two near the big window (with the Bakoel Koffie writings), cause you will get best of three worlds: your book, your coffee and the view of people passing by. :) "

hey! i think i am one of those 'people passing by' while i'm going to campus. my campus is in TIM, so i have to go there every weekdays. meet up in bakoel koffie would be niceeee :)

[Sheva]

Yes, maybe you have passed the coffee shop and saw a little girl with pony tail, read a book with a cup of coffee. That could be me LOL :D

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

well sheva, if one day you're there and some creepy guy is unblinkingly staring at you from the outside, don't panic. that could be me.lol.


unless if it's not, then you should probably call security. :p

[Sheva]

well, if the girl that you staring at is me, I might be unblinkingly staring back at you with is-there-anything-wrong-with-my-face kind of look . LOL :D

[Faye]

Oh God, you're planning on stalking each other! How creepy is that?! Lol

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

Sheva wrote: "well, if the girl that you staring at is me, I might be unblinkingly staring back at you with is-there-anything-wrong-with-my-face kind of look . LOL :D"

and i would counter by silently mouthing "everything.."

i would also flap my arms and run around in circles. but that's just so people wont think I'm some kind of weird creepy stalker guy.

[Sheva]

God, that's creepy LOL. I read somewhere that mostly psychotic men look so normal. Whoops. I hope you're not one of them LOL.

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

i'm not one of which? psychotic, men, or normal? hehe..

[Rachel, First Lady]

I have met Jati, and I can vouch that if not completely normal, he is at least not psychotic, HAHA.

Naaah, Jati is cool *putsonsunglasses*

[Nana]

There is this small cozy cafe near my home called Bookshelf Bookie. It's located in Cinere, Depok.
The place is actually a mix of bookstore, library, and cafe. Rather quiet and not too crowded and free reading books from the library.

here's the link to it's FB:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bookshe...

[Jati, Chief Dragon Herder]

i went to its website and aside from being a little too far from where i'm at (kebon jeruk to cinere. damn.) and the colors which kinda scares me a little bit, that place looks really good. how is the library like? locals? imported? novels? details please..

[Silvana]

Marsh113 wrote: "There is this small cozy cafe near my home called Bookshelf Bookie. It's located in Cinere, Depok.
The place is actually a mix of bookstore, library, and cafe. Rather quiet and not too crowded and..."

where in Cinere exactly? near the mall?

[Nana]

@Jati : haha.. i can feel you since i work in Kebon Jeruk. The library's collection.. well. most are novels, both locals and imported. Oh yeah!! It also has a small theater where you can watch movies with your friends there. I forgot the price.

@Silvana : if you're from Fatmawati or Lebak Bulus, it is located after the mall. A bit after Cinere Square, on the right side of the road. If you're from Parung, it is before the mall, after Jl. Bandung.

[Reza, The Curator]

Reading Lights at Jl Siliwangi Bandung. quite well known, I think. its a second hand bookstore/cafe. great atmosphere.

[owleeya]

Reza wrote: "Reading Lights at Jl Siliwangi Bandung. quite well known, I think. its a second hand bookstore/cafe. great atmosphere."

Do you know which public transportation I should take to go there? :)

[Reza, The Curator]

@Nur Aulia: Well, depends where you coming from, really :D

RL is located near Pertigaan Gandok, if you know your way around. edit: this is also where you'd ask to be dropped at.

But assuming you're in downtown, easiest way is to go uptown to Simpang Dago. Then take the cicaheum/ciroyom (green/orange one) going westward onto Jl Siliwangi.

[Sarah]

Hello, I want to know is there any public library where I can borrow nice imported english books to read in jakarta? Or a place to buy used books? sometimes books are just too expensive and I can't afford to buy them :(
if there's any of you who knows of that kind of place, please do share :)

[Dini]

Sarah wrote: "Hello, I want to know is there any public library where I can borrow nice imported english books to read in jakarta? Or a place to buy used books? sometimes books are just too expensive and I can't..."

Hi Sarah, the Kemdiknas library in South Jakarta, next to Ratu Plaza, has some English books that were given to them from the old British Council library.

[Lala Sampurno]

Dini wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Hello, I want to know is there any public library where I can borrow nice imported english books to read in jakarta? Or a place to buy used books? sometimes books are just too expensi..."

Indeed, at Kemdiknas Library. Though the collection are somewhat old the last time I was there. Ever thought of borrowing from fellows goodreaders? Perhaps they can lend you theirs? My collection is yours to borrow, in case you'd find any you like. I need to update my list of 'own' first, though.

[Reza, The Curator]

There's always the possibility that this group might be able to facilitate book lending or swapping among members as well. Feel free to leave your comments, ideas and suggestions. :)

[Sarah]

@Dini and @Lala oh thankyou so much for the infos! And I'll see later in other threads in this group if there are books that I'm interested to borrow or swap :)