Well hello

It feels oddly surreal writing on this blog after so long.

A lot has changed in the almost 6 years it’s been since I committed to a published post here. We’re ever closer to the daunting age of 30 and I still feel like im drowning on dry land half the time.

I feel oddly motivated to have this blog back and to really put in the effort of documenting my thoughts and feelings – I know, shock fucking horror, she’s back again.

Over the last few months I’ve tried to take more of a break from being perpetually online. I stopped streaming and spending hours on twitch, I avoided mindlessly hanging in discord without purpose, and I’ve stopped staring at my phone like its the closest thing to a lifeline I have.

I found myself in a mental rutt. I started noticing patterns in how I felt I was using my time doing things that just took from what little reserves I had and not feeling proud or content at the days end.

I was also feeling a lot of resentment to how my worth as a person was almost dictated solely on transactional means.

In short, I was tired.

But alas, let us not spend this entire time complaining.

As I said, a lot has changed. I changed jobs. I got myself a pretty cool boyfriend. I started streaming, and then I stopped a few times in between. I made friends and I lost friends. I started and proceeded to watch the entirety of Greys Anatomy 5 times. I watched Arcane, picked up playing Valorant and TFT, AND lined Riots pocket because I have no backbone for not buying in-game cosmetics.

But saying that, a lot has stayed the same. I still start hobbies, hyperfixate on them for a time, then refuse to touch them for an undetermined amount of time. I still have debt, albeit less of it. I still stand by buying books, finding new books to add to my TBR, and reading books are 3 separate hobbies (all of which im very good at).

In order to acc get this post over the line and get it published (I’ve been writing this for the last 4 months on and off), I’ll wrap this up now.

I will be posting older book reviews I’ve written after jazzing them up a bit. I will TRY, hard hard emphasises on the try, to add posts here more often.

I will also hopefully be adding a post on a reading challenge I picked up recently and things I’ve read so far in the year – what are the faves, what are the ones we had higher hopes for, and what books are we super excited for.

TTYL

Love, Eliza x

P.S. have a picture of some type of flower

Book Review: Pachinko – Min Jin Lee

I know I mentioned in my post New Reads, that I was going to complete a book review for The Vegetarian by Han Kang, but my grandma recommended a book for me to read when we popped over for dinner the other week. I was sceptical at first – Her bookshelves are filled with numerous classics and biographies, whilst mine is filled with thrillers, sci-fi and the occasional romance book. So to say our tastes vary is a slight understatement. But I went into reading this with an open mind and damn, did this book surpass my expectations and has easily wedged its way to one of my favourites. I’ll try not to include spoilers.

Synopsis

Pachinko follows a Korean family from father Hoonie in the late 19th century, to his great grandchildren, throughout the 20th century. The story covers life before both wars, life in Asia during, and the post war events in great detail.

Thoughts 

I’ve read a lot of reviews on Goodreads about this book and I find the majority of what was disliked (if any) are things I actually enjoyed. I loved the fact that you followed a family from the onset to the end. We could see how certain circumstances, maybe death or the birth of another, affected character development. We tracked how each character grew and could see their individual struggles.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is that depending on where you are born deciphers what strand of history you learn; being born and raised in the UK, we learnt more about the European aspects of the wars, with only a 2 minutes discussion about other continents involved. I know if you take history as further education, you may cover this but it’s not something everyone is exposed to unless you study this in your own time. For me it was eye opening, learning about events that happened within the same timeline of something I have studied on countless occasions just reminds you how big the world actually is.

I know there was a 50/50 split regarding the time jumps after chapters to cover the story across the period selected, but I can understand why this was done. We know, from personal experiences, that grief in the immediate space after something has happened is difficult for many. But it’s about the lasting consequences as well; how has someone’s personality changed 5 years, maybe 10 years after an event; how has it changed them.

One of the notable things that I disliked about the book, although I can see why it was done, was the ending. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but it gave me Sopranos vibes. That is if a book could cut to black mid scene.

Favourite character

Although I do like most of the characters in the book for various reasons, I’d have to say my favourite is Mosazu. There was just something about him that I really enjoyed. I love the fact he wasn’t blinded by a dream that was unattainable; he was very much a down to earth character and had a big heart. I feel like I resembled him a lot when he was younger – dropping out of school and finding a job that he really enjoyed and was good at.

Least favourite character

This wasn’t a tough choice, but my least favourite was Noa. I won’t say much as I feel his story was a main thread throughout the book and should be explored by everyone with fresh eyes, but some of the thoughts his character would have, some of the things he said and did were quite toxic. I know there is probably a consensus on other characters we are subconsciously drawn to dislike, through plot and description, and Noa probably isn’t one of them but for me every time I’d try to connect with his character and explore his perspective, he would do something that left me feeling more frustrated with him rather than sympathetic.

Would I recommend

I would definitely recommend this book to any one interested in broadening their genre pool and anyone interested history based novels. I really enjoyed this book and have told many people already to give it a try and let me know what they think.

Rating

4/5 stars

And finished! For my first ever book review that wasn’t for educational purposes, and one that I have actually completed, I’m proud of myself. I will try my hand again at some point – It’s in my To-Do schedule drawn up. Thank you for reading 🙂

Assess the view that self interest can only be realised in the context of a virtuous life.

Philosophers who argue that morality is constitutive to self interest are taking a stronger position than most contractarians because they are claiming morality is not simply sufficient for self interest, but it is jointly necessary and sufficient. In other words, the conditions under which I act in my own interest are exactly the same as the conditions under which I am moral.

Plato argues that the telos of a person is to reach a state of eudiamonia; flourishing or fulfilment. He suggests living a virtuous life is the necessary condition for reaching eudiamonia and this means that being a virtuous person is not just instrumental of your self interest but it is constitutive of it. Plato’s virtues include; wisdom of your intellect; courage of spirit or ‘thumos’; and discipline of appetite. Continue reading Assess the view that self interest can only be realised in the context of a virtuous life.

Short story made from boredom – Based off Castle of Otranto

“She pushed her frail and weakened body through clusters of white lily bushels. Red scars left on her dirtied white skin, paled by the florescent moon up in the twilight sky. Her breath quickening, her pace echoing that of her heart; thud, thud, thud. Hollowed branches snapping carelessly beneath her soles. The end was nigh and she could feel it, but she kept running.

Isabella turned, glancing quickly at the tall, leafless trees as the cast eerie and daunting shadows on the path she had taken. A luminous, green glow in the distance signalled the castle; her once safe haven, now merely another hollowed shell in her ‘perfect life’. She knew it was too soon to stop. Manfred was near, she could feel it. Shivers ran down her spine as the wind whispered muffled ‘run’s and ‘save me’s; even the spirits knew she was in danger. The end was nigh and she could feel it, but she kept running.

With a final push, she finally escaped the forest and entered what seemed to be dead land. A screaming silence enveloped her; no whistling winds, no insects, no birds, just the sound of her heart; thud, thud, thud. Thick fog limited her vision. Anything could be out there, but she knew it was seemingly heaven here than with Manfred.

She ran into the fog, disorientated, no idea of direction, she just ran. Crisp grass tickled her beaten soles, she could almost taste the freedom. Mind distracted by this wanting trance, she tripped over airs of nothingness. Hitting the ground, all soul and drive left her body. A single tear formed a crystal in the crevice of her dead eyes. The end was nigh and she could feel it but, but could she keep running.

Isabella tried to stand but it felt as if the spirits once pushing her on, were now holding her down, pinning her to this fate and signalling her coming end.

‘Isabella, my dear, my beauty. Why did you run?’ Isolated in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the man who makes her blood run cold had finally caught her. The end was nigh … the end was here.”