Life Update

Yo, my last post was in February... 

We are well into August... 

Let me just crack my knuckles and get to writing this entry. 

Hey, all! 

How have you been?  It's been a while and, honestly, I didn't know I'd be writing today. But here I am, behind my laptop once again, back to this familiar website that I seemingly abandoned out of thin air. 

So, where have I been? Nowhere in particular, actually. Since March 14 2020 I've been at home while the world figured out how to react to The Virus. It's an exhausting phenomenon that keeps reminding us not only that we are mortal, but also that the world is nowhere near as organized as it seems to be. 

But enough about that. I'm here today to write a little life update because quite a bit has been going on! 

1. I finished my masters degree!
I did it! After 7 years of studies, I have finished my masters degree in chemistry, with a specialization in astrochemistry and a minor in communications! I wrote a whole 2 theses, one about how meteorites may have brought a certain configuration of molecules to earth, and one that was fully new research about the chemistry that happens around new stars! I have taken so many classes, did so many projects, and have written so many papers in the past year and a half that now that I'm on summer break, I'm kind of at a loss on what to do. What do you mean there are no assignments due next week? That I can do what I want because responsibilities for uni are no longer relevant? That sounds fake?! But it's true! I, for now, am done with my education. 

Woah

2. I'm gonna start a job next week!
And here comes my fear of growing up in full swing! I found a job in scientific communication! I have to move back to the Netherlands for it, in the super cute town of Leiden. It'll be nice to go back to a country I'm familiar with, where I have friends I can see on a regular basis. The job will entail me (and a team) simplifying complex scientific information, such that anyone can understand it! This blog actually helped me build my resume and, for that, I am so thankful that this site is still up! 

3. I have barely been reading
Between university work, calling my friends in the evenings, playing games with my brother and dabbling in video games, I have barely had the time (or energy) to read. Actually, I just finished Vengeful, by VE Schwab, which Goodreads just casually reminded me I started in April! I've read 8 books so far this year, so I'm 17 behind my goodreads goal schedule... It's a thing, I know. 

4. Playing games
I see here that I had a draft for a Why the Hype post about Fire Emblem: 3 Houses. Goodness that was a while ago already! Since playing that (3 times, highly recommended), I have also finished Skyward Sword, I Am Setsuna, A Short Hike, Sky: Children of Light, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Final Fantasy 14 and 15, and probably others that I'm blanking on right now. I also have D&D sessions 3 times a week on average, online with my friends!

5. Learning to draw
I have been teaching myself to draw for a few months now! I post what I drew on @justanothernerdling on instagram. I'm quite proud of my progress so far! 

6. CRAFTS
I have fallen back into my childhood habit of crafting as much as I can! I started making resin dice, drawing, picked up cross stitching and paint by numbers once again, origami... If it's in the stationary aisle, I probably have tried it! 

So there it is! Where I've disappeared to. I hope that the regular schedule a working life brings will incite me towards blogging consistently again. I do miss the easy breezy writing style, the interaction and the blogging life in general. 

Take it easy,

The Graceling Realm - Fangirl Rambles

 Hey, all! 

It's been a while! I hope everyone is doing well, that you are healthy and safe, and that you have found wonderful new stories to indulge in! 

I have recently binge-read the Graceling Realm series for the release of Winterkeep, book 4 of the series, that came out in January, 9 years after Bitterblue! I have a lot of thoughts and feels about this series. It's been a favorite for a while, and I really wanted to dive back into this story before starting Winterkeep. 

For those of you who are curious, Graceling is a series of 4 books that give stories in different settings. The first three center around the same villain, Leck, at three different points of his involvement in the Realms. Each book can be read as a standalone and have different focuses. 

Graceling focuses on people with special abilities called Graces, who have two different eye colors. It occurs during Leck's Downfall. 

Fire focuses on a different country where colorful animals are known as monsters. This occurs during Leck's childhood. 

Bitterblue is very close to Graceling, but focuses on the politics of the country, and the consequences of Leck's past tyranny. 

Winterkeep looks at international relations and the healing of some of those affected by Leck. 

In this ramble I will be talking about SPOILERS . I'm writing this as a space to organize my thoughts about this series because oh goodness there are quite a few.

1. WHY IS THIS SO UNDERRATED?

Graceling came out in that golden era of YA where books like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Percy Jackson and City of Bones were quickly gaining popularity. And while Graceling has many of the same qualities - amazing leads, a rather political background, a solid magic system, wonderful characters and probably one of the best villains I have had the pleasure to read about - this book never gained the hype all of these other well-known series did. I guess in a way it does feel a tad more mature than some of the other titles.

2. INTERESTING ROMANCE USE 

Romance is always on the sidelines, yet is used in a really smart way. For instance in Graceling, the way Kasta is basically against love, but absolutely crashes into her feelings for Po, is quite different than the usual insa-love, slow-burn romance we find in many contemporary YA books. And even through her cascade of feelings, she keeps true to herself and her wish to never marry or bear children. Each of the 4 books handles romance in a different way, and I enjoyed seeing Cashore experiment with this. I loved reading a demisexual Kasta, a hopelessly in love Giddon, a fluffy relationship with Bitterblue and a more grown-up (likely bisexual) Fire. On the sides there were all kinds of pairings that I realize... people are upset at. 

 

3. RANDOM RAMBLE ABOUT READING ETHICS: A HOT TAKE    

People have told me I shouldn't read this because only the side couples aren't in a heteronormative relationship. I feel like that's such a sad comment to get. What I don't understand is that some people currently get mad on 2 accounts: if an author tries to write about something that they are not (POC, lgbt+ etc), but also if there is a lack of diversity within a book. I'm unsure where to draw a middle line between these opinions. I mean sure someone of color will be better suited to write characters of color, for instance, I get that. But then why be upset at (stereotypically) white, heteronormative authors for not including such aspects to their characters, all while saying they shouldn't? I feel like these arguments go full circle, and, in that sense, no book will ever be 'acceptable' to people who use these arguments.

4. BACK TO THE SERIES: THE WORLDBUILDING

Another thing I really like about the Graceling realm series is that it reads like a puzzle. Every book shows a new country, with new traditions and cultures and languages. The first 3 books fill up a gruesome yet spectacular villain, one of the type I wish I could read more often. Every book has a mystery to unfold, and this is done in an impressingly smooth way.

5. LECK

I've said this on instagram, and to my friends and family, I think I have a new favorite villain in Leck. And it's not in that suggestive way, for instance the way people love Sebastian from The Mortal Instruments, or the Darkling from the Grishaverse. Leck is despicable. With the Grace to alter people's mindset, he is able to convince people he is actively experimenting on and vivesecting that everything is alright. He does this both on animals and people, stemming from a macabre curiosity about how things work. He also uses this power to make people across the world believe that he is a kind, benevolent king, to keep up a facade behind which he hides his experiments. He's so twisted and dark, and his motive is his own curiosity. He's the main villain in Bitterblue despite having been dead for years. It's such an interesting character arc. I just wish he was more present in Winterkeep

6. CHARACTER GROWTH

I cannot get over character growth in this series. Kasta and Po are just my favorites because of how brave they are. Fire becomes Leck's obsession for years. Bitterblue's arc, however, is my favorite. She goes from a 10 year old child who is terrified to open her mind, as the daughter of Leck, to a young queen trying to undo her father's terrors, only seldomly opening her mind to those she trusts the most, to a strong queen, mind-linked to a fox, confident and positive. I love how side characters each get their happy endings, one by one. All I hoped for was for Giddon to have a happy ending, so by the end of Winterkeep when he found Bitterblue, the one he loves, after weeks of thinking she was dead, you can bet I was also crying. 

7. BOOK ORDER

Graceling and Bitterblue stand out much more than Fire and Winterkeep for me. I am not sure exactly what it is, but something about books 1 and 3 have a sense of grandeure and familitarity all at once. Those two books are practically perfect in my eyes, books I'd save from a fire if I had to. 

That's it for my rambling! I hope it's not too nonsensical, but, to be fair, I am writing this for myself. I have many thoughts on this series and having them all in one place can only be a good thing for me to come back to. 

Stay bookish!

Caro