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POEMS (POETRY) AND PROSE BOOKS | Books Review Club | S.Sulianah

8/11/2021

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Letters of a Thousand SpeechesLetters of a Thousand Speeches by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I wrote every lines and words yet when I was reading the whole book, I couldn't stop myself from saying "Fxxx You!", "Did you just used me?", "Why didn't I see this before?" and I actually shed tears at the end.

Personally, I feel like this is my favorite comparing with my first published book. I guessed this is because the contents are not filtered. I wrote everything that I feel like not worrying about people guessing who it is about. Sometimes when emotion cannot be expressed to the person you have feelings for, or you feel hurt, write. And maybe you can write a song about it, or like me, I ended up writing poems and books." - S.Sulianah

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Masterpiece in Your Heart: A Series of PoetryMasterpiece in Your Heart: A Series of Poetry by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-wrote this book and add in more poems for this edition. This is more of a love stories of how I fall for individuals throughout my life. Their presence and my experiences with them inspired me to write these poems. I can say that these poems are mainly censored and not that straightforward. You might be wondering who I wrote about. If you want something more uncensored, do check out my new prose and poetry book.

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Love Looks Pretty on YouLove Looks Pretty on You by Lang Leav
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Dirty Pretty ThingsDirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for my next book's research and I learnt a lot from understanding the different interpretation of poetry. The sound of the words in Dirty Pretty Things are gentle and pleasing.

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Milk and HoneyMilk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I hv heard this book is a bit of fifty shades but I didn't expect what level of fifty shades it has after I read it. Got this book for my writings research and I could say that the writer is brave. Salute!

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Masterpiece in Your HeartMasterpiece in Your Heart by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first published book on poetry. It took me time to decide whether to publish this book as it is the engraves of my feelings and thoughts which I never share with anyone.

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SELF-IMPROVEMENT AND MOTIVATIONAL BOOKS | Book Club Reviews | S.Sulianah

8/10/2021

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Be Brave: Uncensored Motivational QuotesBe Brave: Uncensored Motivational Quotes by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I wrote this book so I am gonna say this is one of my best or I can say my favorite book so far because the quotes relate to my experiences dealing with challenges in my life that I would like to share with readers. Am looking forward that you will look at it in a positive light and motivates you when needed.

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Surrounded by Psychopaths: How to Protect Yourself from Being Manipulated and Exploited in Business (and in Life)Surrounded by Psychopaths: How to Protect Yourself from Being Manipulated and Exploited in Business by Thomas Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was actually worried to buy this book initially because firstly I don't think I have encountered with any psychopaths in my life and I feel like the word psychopaths is too strong to categorised people and well it does not interest me at all. Surprisingly, after reading the characters with the examples he gave in the book, I realized that actually encountered with this kind of person few months back but luckily we did not keep in contact anymore. Even her profession fits the one he highlighted on the potential of psychopaths' occupation.

And yes, he uses the same concept as he had highlighted in Surrounded by Idiots. At first I thought that it will be the same kind of story but then gradually, he explained it more towards the psychopaths' behavior. Much more in-depth and feels heavier compared to Surrounded by Idiots. That is his niche which is fine for me.

I have heard about these behavior and actually could pinpoint to a person whom I know, not close to me but I knew how he works. He takes advantage of women, uses their hard-earned money which these women buy their own house, get married to them and automatically this guy's name will be in the house (apparently by law even though sounds unfair), then they divorce and claimed partial of the money from the house sale for himself before moving on to another one. I didn't know this is a psychopath character though but well now I know.

By the way, the overall information shared by Author is moving and you will want to know what is next.

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Surrounded by IdiotsSurrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have no idea why the reviews here about this book is not good when it is the opposite. I bought this book when I came across it in Kinokuniya so I got it with Surrounded by Psychopaths. I studied Psychology and Consumer Insights and has been learning about humans' behavior and psychology for years and applying it in my career in organisations and my own companies. The author clearly highlighted he uses the DISC concept so I don't understand why there are still reviews saying that he do not link to any research and he wrote based on his experiences only. Hello! We want experiences written from Authors' personal experiences applying those research in the books they wrote. If we want fully on research we can read scholar articles in journals.

He makes it simple to understand by using colors which is if you really read with an open mindset and accepting changes and ideas, it is in fact easier to remember. I couldn't remember the originals system but this I can even apply it when I analyze handwritings of my clients. Apart from that, I could also categorized my ex-colleagues behavior and characters easily by using these 4 colors. The examples he gave that linked to these colors are also helpful to relate because we need examples to understand the concept and remember how it works.


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The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive InnovatorsThe Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators by Jeffrey H. Dyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great refresher and in-depth understanding of the Disruptive Strategy course which I took at HBX Harvard. Additional examples and practical real-life applications.

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BIOGRAPHY BOOKS | Books Review Club | S.Sulianah

8/9/2021

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Scrappy Little NobodyScrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I fall in love with Anna Kendrick when she started singing live during the shower scene in Pitch Perfect. From then onwards, I watched her movies and listened to her performances in youtube etc. Her voice, wits during interviews and her personality attracted my attention. Like I said, I will not read biography type of books or written by celebrities. But hers and Sara's are the exceptions.

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Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in SongSounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song by Sara Bareilles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unique and in-depth. I love her songs and personality that is why this book appealed to me. Normally I will not read biography. But this is an exception.

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The Truths We Hold: An American JourneyThe Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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BecomingBecoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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What HappenedWhat Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Night in Oymyakon | Solo Traveler Tips | S.Sulianah

8/8/2021

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You must be wondering what you can do in Oymyakon at night. When I was there, it was in Feb and winter. Which means it was freezing cold. Oymyakon is like a place where there are not many people and surrounded by trees and jungle. I did not see the overview of the place from a drone point of view but I assumed it is especially when we driving towards the district, the roads we took were surrounded by trees. 

At night in winter means anytime the darkness creeps in meaning that it could be at 4pm or 5pm or 3pm. So, once it is dark if you are not sure about the place, don't go out of the house. I walked in and out of the home-stay house only to go to the toilet and the house beside me where my group mates are. Do not wander around the neighborhood at night. I am writing on a perspective of a woman who traveled alone. And this applies to men too. One of my group mates from Italy walked a short distance with his head light and he said it was really dark. If you want to walk and explore the area, do it in daytime and remember the route you are taking. Inform your group mates or the tour guide that you are going out. 

Like I mentioned in my previous post, it is advisable that you engaged a certified registered local travel agent to bring you to Oymyakon instead of driving by yourself. This is not like a road trip in California or Canada. It is a tough and harsh environment where there are mountains covered with snow, and ice roads. 

The following video was taken on the first day on our way to Oymyakon from Yakutsk. It was about 5pm if I remember correctly at -58 Degree Celcius. 

Toilet in Oymyakon

You can also bring your own headlight the small one will do. I did not bring any because I never thought of it. So, I borrowed from my Italian group mate. You need this to go into the toilet if you want to avoid using your mobile phone's torchlight. The last time I was there, the toilet has no light. It was crazy and actually I kind of like it and was used to it after that. At first I avoided going to the toilet but after using it the second or third time, I used it like nothing is bothering me. If you are thinking about ghosts, yeah you will not think about it after that. This experience is so different from the city life where we are so used to everything and anything are mostly available, that is why you should try it out. I heard they had upgraded the toilet now but well, too bad you cannot experience the version we tried. 
To re-post this blog, video and its contents on your website, social media, news, blogs, YouTube etc, please remember to quote the Author's name, S.Sulianah, and link to her website www.ctsulianah.com. Thank you!

For more solo travel tips, visit my website at www.ctsulianah.com

Follow me on social media:
Instagram @ctsulianah23
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Podcasts @WLWPodcast @GrapholisticPodcast

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WLW BOOKS | Books Review Club | S.Sulianah

8/7/2021

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Not GuiltyNot Guilty by Brit Ryder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the 3 books I bought recently from Bold Strokes Books. Ohmygod! I enjoyed reading it. Is so sexy. Like very sexy and there are lots of intimate scenes that I did not expect. I mean like the reason I bought this book is because I want to read a full WLW story without any straight relationships in it. But still I did not expect those scenes. hahahaha ... I love the main character which I feel like I could associate with her in terms of her focus on her career but then when she falls in love she thought that it is not necessary until she realized how different this relationship is compared to her others. Anyway, I couldn't read this book in public while waiting for bus or in the bus. hahahaha like I said too sexy and I don't want people to peek (or they don't even care but I was self-conscious hahaha). One of the beautifully written books. By the way, I can finish this book in 2 or 3 days but I had to slow down my pace.

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The Secret PoetThe Secret Poet by Georgia Beers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is literally what life is when we fall in love from a WLW perspective. Wondering whether it was merely friendship or more than that. The long stare, "Everyone is looking at her, but she is looking at you" kind of vibe. You will definitely relate to this story. I read this book in 2 days like in less than 5 hours because of how the Author makes me feel. I could imagine the scenarios and was addicted to know what is next. This is like a full-on WLW story, no straight relationships. And thanks to that comment in Tiktok on a video suggesting to look into Bold Strokes Books. I bought this book cos I write poems on my experiences with women and that is why I feel like I could relate to this book. So beautifully written.

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Her ConsigliereHer Consigliere by Carsen Taite
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I chose this book when I found out about Bold Strokes Books existence specifically looking for something related to the mob or gangs kind of storyline. Well, I need to mix the types of books I am reading. And this appealed to me and I did not regret choosing it. The storyline was smooth and there are so many coincidences that they keep seeing each other randomly. Urghh.. I couldn't even have that random coincidence in real life. Maybe that is the difference between who is meant for you and who is not hahahaa.. The characters are so sexy and I love those intimate moments they have with each other. I could finish this is in 2 days, less than 3 hours in total because of how addictive the story is until I had to slow myself down. I wish you guys can make this into a short film or something like Queen of South but the WLW version.

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Letters of a Thousand SpeechesLetters of a Thousand Speeches by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I wrote every lines and words yet when I was reading the whole book, I couldn't stop myself from saying "Fxxx You!", "Did you just used me?", "Why didn't I see this before?" and I actually shed tears at the end.

Personally, I feel like this is my favorite comparing with my first published book. I guessed this is because the contents are not filtered. I wrote everything that I feel like not worrying about people guessing who it is about. Sometimes when emotion cannot be expressed to the person you have feelings for, or you feel hurt, write. And maybe you can write a song about it, or like me, I ended up writing poems and books." - S.Sulianah

View all my reviews
Masterpiece in Your HeartMasterpiece in Your Heart by S. Sulianah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first published book on poetry. It took me time to decide whether to publish this book as it is the engraves of my feelings and thoughts which I never share with anyone.

View all my reviews
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excerpts of this book kept appearing in my tumblr feed for years everytime I searched for Taylor Swift and Kaylor. I had ignored it millions of times until the Covid-19 lockdown aka the Circuit Breaker came into effect in my country.

As I had mentioned earlier, I had purchased this masterpiece out of curiosity. Before reading it, I had told myself to cleanse my mind, be fresh from all the theories I have read so as not to be bias towards what others had shared in tumblr. Before that, let me tell you the backstory of tumblr tags on this book. The tumblr bloggers or we called it the theory investigators said that there are a number of lyrics from Taylor's songs and life scenario are found to be similar in the book.

Some even said that this book is about Taylor. Anyway, I had cleansed my mind like how we try to cleanse our hands with sanitizers. It was fine until...at many occurrences, I understood why and what the tumblr bloggers meant. It is like something you cannot put aside and tell yourself "Ah..it is merely a coincidence." I mean you can if you have not invested your time reading the tumblr theories for years. However, it has too many coincidences that I kept laughing or woah-ing so many times everytime words or scenes appeared on these pages.

Well, I can say that my curiosity is worth it. The story-telling is so moving that I had to stop myself from reading too fast at one seating.

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For more analysis on The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, visit another page of mine. I had breakdown what I found. ahahaha
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Things to Bring when Traveling to The Pole of Cold - Oymyakon | Travel Tips | Siberia, Russia | S.Sulianah

8/3/2021

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This is a short video on how Oymyakon district looks like. Maybe you are trying to check the place out before deciding on your trip there. Remember to add Oymyakon in your itinerary when you are travelling to Yakutsk, The Coldest City in the World. Oymyakon has a record temperature of -72.8 Degree Celsius so before you leave to visit the place, please be prepared on what to bring. I would like to suggest that you engage a local travel guide to drive you there. Normally, you will be assigned with a group of other travelers in the same van or SUV. So, you can ask your travel guide once you book your slot. I was assigned with 5 other travelers who are guys, and I was the only woman there. Initially, I was quite worried about safety but at that time I thought there will be a couple who will be joining us so I assumed a woman will be there too. But they changed their travel schedule and therefore I was the only one. Before the trip I was worried but when I met them who were from Italy, Taiwan and a guy from Philippines but stayed in Singapore, I don't have bad feelings or instincts. 

The trip to Oymyakon was about 2 days. We went out from Yakutsk in the morning, and then overnight in one of the towns. And then the next morning we proceed to Oymyakon. There were multiple stops in between. If you are keen to read in detailed, go to this page where I explained how the trip went by.

​In this specific blog, I decided to give some tips if you are traveling solo. Before you leave for Oymyakon, your travel agent will advised you to bring only your things that are needed when in Oymyakon. You have to travel light. Your luggage will be left in Yakutsk motel or hotel in a place where the staff will take care of it. So bring another small bag with you or your backpack to pack your stuffs

​What should you bring to Oymyakon?


  1. Toothbrush, toothpaste - I have no idea whether there is any shower place apart from the toilet. But since that time when I visited was in Winter, I don't shower there. There is a sink in the living area for you to brush your teeth in the morning. Water is not in abundance there so I used it only when necessary.

  2. Bottled water to clean yourself - We stayed overnight in Oymyakon for 3 days 2 nights and I did not shower because none of us did. If I remember correctly, because it was winter and the place is secluded, so water is not easy to get like in the city. But by coincidence, I accidentally bought 3 to 4 regular bottles of sparkling mineral water instead of the normal mineral water when we were at the supermarket. And I did not want to drink sparkling water during that time because such a coincidence I was having my period. I would like to avoid any gassy drinks. Luckily, I did not discard the water on the way there. So, I used those with my wet wipes in the morning or whenever I need to clean my face, hair and body to clean myself. Please do this because if not you smell. One of the guys never shower or wipe for four days and it was unpleasant. 

  3. Bottled water for drinking - They have water there but bring along bottled water from the supermarket that you will pass-by that could last for your stay there. 

  4. Moisturizing cream and lotion - Bring your necessities like moisturizing cream and lotion for your face and body. You need this as usual like in winter weather because it will make your skin dry.

  5. Lips balm or moisturizing stick - Bring this same reason as the cream. Keep your lips dry because it will be frozen cold. 

  6. Extra plastic bag - You need this to throw your own rubbish. Since they are remotely located with not much convenience like trash bins, so what I did was to compile all my rubbish including my period pads into that plastic bag and only throw at their main bin located in the living room on the last day. 

  7. Camera battery - Yes camera battery will die off in an instant. Yeah that is not a myth. I read this in all blogs and it is real guys. Be prepared with many charged batteries before you reach there. My Yi like go-pro camera died off in less than a minute and became frozen. And then my Sony Nex's battery also did not last that long. So if you are not using it while walking, keep inside your bag. You can also cover it with thick cloth around your camera to help make it last longer. 

  8. Metal surfaces - I read about metal spectacles and all to avoid in blogs. Please take note on that too. My spectacles frames were plastic at that time. But if yours is metal please do something to it or have the ones which is non-metal. It will sting you when it is cold like how my metal/steel camera stand did to mine. You can wrap your camera's tripod with cloth too which one of my group mates did. 

  9. Shoes and socks - Please wear the shoes and socks that the travel agent will bring you to buy on your first day in Yakutsk. I had my North Face high boots which is the high-end version but it was not helpful guys. It is not made for that frozen weather. They have this inventory of shoes made of an animal skin (I cannot remember the name of the animal. You can check my previous post). The shoes are huge and comfortable for the weather. Also use the socks which you can buy at the Yakutsk market for less than USD 5 which is also made from an animal skin. The ones I had of 2 to 3 layers did not work. 

  10. Food - The meals which the owner of the house cooked in Oymyakon were amazing. You cannot find it anywhere in the world. I have been to many places in the world, but the food there has no duplicates. Usually I will only eat Halal food but there are no Halal food there. They don't use pork, so I can close one eye on other types of meat when there isn't any choice though. Oh I like their homemade butter, wait maybe not like. It was love. Me and my group mates from Italy were into that like crazy. We ate a lot. Like a lot of the butter and bread. And the fried rice was also good. hehehehe... I still can remember these two even after years. Apart from that you should also try their frozen raw meat and fish which they will serve for your meal. Ours were on the last dinner we had with the owner of the house. It was actually quite good which I did not expect. Have an open mind when you are travelling to other countries and try different cuisines because that is what will make you feel connected and remember the place after years. If you want to take care of what you eat maybe like if you know yogurt will make you have diarrhea, then don't take yogurt when travelling. I bought a yogurt and made my stomach uncomfortable and I became thin in 2 days. hahaha... 

  11. Clothes - No need to bring a lot of clothes. Bring something for you wear for sleep and maybe 1 extra inside shirt. Frankly, I did not bring any extra inside shirt though. Since it was winter and only wore jackets, who cares what we wear inside. Bring your underwear or disposable ones too. Ladies, you know the drill when unfortunately you will have your monthly red flags during that time you visit Oymyakon. 

  12. Wet wipes and tissue paper - Bring these too. I don't remember seeing any toilet paper in the toilet though. Cos it was freezing cold, if you keep toilet paper open like that it will become frozen. I saw once if I remember correctly, but then nope. 
    ​
  13. Phone and camera charging adapter - You can still charge your electronics there.
    ​
  14. Laptops - I suggest you don't bring your laptops there. Keep it in Yakutsk unless you are worried that it will be stolen. I kept mine including my iPad in my luggage and lock the luggage. The hotel kept it in a place where their office is. And all were good. Make sure u hid it in between your clothes for warmth because Yakutsk weather is also frozen cold. The hotel that time kept like a closed balcony but our luggage was on freezing condition when we collected.  
To re-post this blog, video and its contents on your website, social media, news, blogs, YouTube etc, please remember to quote the Author's name, S.Sulianah, and link to her website www.ctsulianah.com. Thank you!

For more solo travel tips, visit my website at www.ctsulianah.com

Follow me on social media:
Instagram @ctsulianah23
Twitter @suesulianah
Podcasts @WLWPodcast @GrapholisticPodcast

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more travel videos.
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