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bookWORM: Atiqah Hasiholan: Reading for life lessons
Kapanlagi
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Kapanlagi.com
Actress Atiqah Hasiholan says that she prefers to read non-fiction books, which she said she could relate to more easily and that were more applicable to her life off screen.
'I'm not the type to pick random novels and read them. I only read the ones considered really, really good and recommended by many,' Atiqah said.
The 32-year-old actress said she prefers reading books on spiritual matters, such as Sufism. 'But from time to time I also read non-fiction books as part of my research for acting.'
Atiqah said that for her role in the award-winning The Mirror Never Lies, which was directed by Kamila Andini, she spent a lot of time finding books about the nomadic sea people, the Bajo.
'After searching the Internet and bookstores, I finally found an anthropology book about the tribe,' she said.
Atiqah said that her first love was the theater, which she pursued in Jakarta after graduating from Monash University in Australia. After deciding she would break into film, Atiqah made a clip reel featuring a video of her best performances and mailed them to a list of directors that she assembled.
One director, Nia Dinata, responded, giving Atiqah her screen debut as a third wife in a polygamous marriage in the award-winning film Berbagi Suami (Love for Share). 'Nia probably felt sorry for me,' Atiqah said modestly, praising the director as a very supportive person, to people inside and outside the film industry
Since then, Atiqah, who is married to fellow actor Rio Dewanto, has starred in 16 feature films, including Cinta Setaman (2008), Pintu Terlarang (2009), Ruma Maida (2009), Darah Garuda (2010), Arisan! 2 (2011) and Me & You vs The World (2014).
Here are some of the titles on her shelf.
Perempuan Tegar Dari Sibolangit (A Strong Woman from Sibolangit),
by Hilda Unu-Senduk
The book is the biography of Likas Tarigan Jamin Gintings, widow of Jamin Ginting, one of the most important Indonesian independence fighters who led soldiers in North Sumatra during the war. The book tells of the life of Likas and many of the important events that took place between the 1930s and 1970s.
Some of the issues related to women and women's rights are still relevant today.
The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation and Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the
Essential Self,
by Kabir Helminski
Of all the books on Sufism, I love these two the most. I don't know why, but I feel really touched by Helminski's books. The first one was about the spiritual heart and the other one about human relationships. I learned a lot from these books.
'JP/Andreas R. Arditya
