Kapanlagi.com

Television journalist Najwa Shihab is taking on a new role as the country’s duta baca — an ambassador with a mission to improve reading habits and interest among Indonesians.

Aside from carrying out literacy programs on campuses across Indonesia, her role also involves setting up digital and mobile libraries across different regions, mainly targeting millennials. Other tasks involve setting up distribution channels to enable more people to have access to books.

Reading has been part of Najwa’s life since she was a little girl.

“I’m fortunate to have grown up in a family that loves books… It makes me believe that in order to instill a love of reading among children, we have to do it through their families,” said the 39-year-old, best known for her weekly show Mata Najwa (Najwa’s Eyes) on Metro TV.

“I had so many children’s books when I was little, particularly those by [English author] Enid Blyton. I’ve read almost all of her series.”

Her family also subscribed to magazines — Bobo when she was a small kid and Gadis when she became a teenager.

“We never ran out of reading materials at home. I had so many books that I set up a little library at home. I rented the books to my neighbors and friends for Rp 25 per week. I collected the money to buy new books,” she said.

She has maintained her reading habits until now.

“At nighttime I like to read novels because they help me relax and have a deep sleep,” she smiled. “During the daytime, I prefer to read heavier stuff on politics and such.”

Anne of Green Gables

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

This is a classic American coming-of-age story; I read it in high school. I still remember the story very well. I like it because it is a typical from zero to hero story, a tale about an ordinary girl. Told in a series of books, we get to intimately know the character starting from when she was still a young girl, then when she becomes a teenager, goes to university and subsequently becomes a teacher, gets married and becomes a parent. I followed her life through this series.

Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puisi

by Joko Pinurbo

The poetry book Selamat Menunaikan Ibadah Puisi (Wish You Good Poetry Ritual) is very modest, using daily idioms that are simple yet really strike at the core. I like one poem called Mata Waktu (Time’s Eyes) because I somehow feel it is dedicated to me, maybe I’m just overconfident (laughs loudly), but it’s okay. In one poem, he writes: ‘pada matanya aku melihat kerlap-kerlip cahaya lampu kota kecil seperti bisikan hati yang lembut memanggil’ (in her eyes I see the glimmers of a smalltown lamplight like a heart’s gentle whisper calling me). My name Najwa means ‘whisper’ so I somehow feel this poem is for me (laughs again). But it’s okay because how we interpret poetry is very personal […].

Membaca Sirah Nabi Muhammad SAW

by M. Quraish Shihab

Can I recommend a book by my own father? This biography — Membaca Sirah Nabi Muhammad SAW Dalam Sorotan Al-Qur’an dan Hadits-Hadits Shahih (Reading Prophet Muhammad PBH’s Biography Through Al-Qur’an and Valid Hadiths), of Prophet Muhammad is quite thick, 500-pages long. The book is quite different to other biographies of Muhammad because this one contains a lot of details about the prophet’s life that are anecdotal, simple yet preserve so many interesting messages about how he lead his life. He is always smiling and neat, he never points his index finger to a person’s face, but points at a person with his whole hand to make it more polite, things like that. One thing about this book is that it is very rich with references.

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