Introduction

I know, this is a boring title. You would think as a reading blog I would have more creativity in my posts and writing. I do think it is important to get the basics and introductions out of the way though, so this is what this post is. My name is Sea, I am 19 years old, and I love books. I live in Bangkok, Thailand, but I study abroad at Durham University, currently completing an English and History degree. I've started this blog as a place to put and organise all my thoughts about the books I read that just would not fit on my other social media.

There is yet to be a thorough, comprehensive plan for this blog. Mostly, I just wanted a place to review books, talk about my personal feelings and join a community of book lovers online. I also love doing close language analysis and connecting the dots to see how it fits within the overall theme. I find it very satisfying to piece together the puzzles of language, and seeing how each metaphor and how the connotations of each word manages to fit in together so neatly.

My reading tastes are quite broad. My favourite genre is adult fantasy, with my favourite books being Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson (or Stormlight Archives #3), Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, and Vicious by V.E. Schwab. Along with this, I also love reading classics, horror, young adult and contemporary literature.

My particular interest lies in the way authors are able to take an outdated theme or trope and be able to twist it into something refreshing. I believe all tropes, no matter how overused, have the ability to be new and exciting when in the hands of the right author. A brilliant example of this is Brandon Sanderson's character Kelsier from the Mistborn trilogy. Sanderson is able to take the archetype of a charismatic, all powerful, charming hero, and humanize him by exposing the more gritty, realistic side of his actions. I will be making a post analysing the use of tropes within Mistborn in the future, so if you are interested please subscribe or come back in the near future!

I am also fascinated by the modern trend of exploring morality in books. On the one hand, there are the increasingly popular morally grey characters. For example, the cast of characters from The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, where we follow a band of thieves, murderers and con artists as the attempt to pull off their impossible plans. On the other, it can be argued that the fantasy genre has a tendency to glorify these immoral actions, and brush over the devastating impact of things like war. This can be traced back to the roots of fantasy, in Old Nordic texts like the classic Beowulf that expose the hypocrisy in the idea of the heroic ideals. Beowulf himself is constantly celebrated, not in spite of but because of his hubris. However, the text ends with an atmosphere of sorrow, as his subjects mourn the loss of their king, displaying one of the consequences said hubris. As stated by Bilbo Baggins himself, "I have always understood that defeat may be glorious. It seems very uncomfortable, not to say distressing. I wish I was well out of it".

Overall, I am planning to treat this blog like a personal reading diary, in which I am able to explore themes I am interested in, analyse books as deeply as I want, and post reviews in order to express my thoughts and feelings about books I read.

Thank you for showing interest in my blog! I hope you subscribe to get email updates every time I update.

Sea Pawanrat