#memory of light

(Edit: tagging @telomeke since you tagged me for the game later, thank you for always going out of your way to make sure everyone feels involved!!)

hardcover or paperback (I don't really have a preference)// bookstore or library // bookmark or receipt (neither I either turn the book upside down while open, turn the page corners down or rememberthe page number)// standalone or series (depends on my mood and how much I like it) // nonfiction or fiction// thriller or fantasy // under 300 pages or over 300 pages (once again, depends on my mood. I've read an 800 hundred page book in one day before, but I can also enjoy taking my time with a 150 pager)// children's or ya // friends to lovers or enemies to lovers // read in bed or read on the couch (I've read while sitting on top of a table once because my bed got boring. Do not underestimate me.)// read at night or read in the morning (who cares! Read all day) // keep pristine or markup // cracked spine or dog ear

Currently Reading-

Memory of Light by Ruth Vanita, as a part of my project to try to interact with more indian queer media. It's an indian wlw novel set in the British Raj period in the early 1800's. It tells of a romance between the poet Nafis and the courtesan Chapla from Nafis' point of view, jumping back and forth in time. I'm not going to lie, I'm struggling with this book and I'm extremely sad about it. It has a very elegant premise and some of it is really very beautiful, but it's a little difficult to read. You're introduced to several characters right off the bat, and you're only introduced to more as the book progresses, meaning that even halfway through the book I only have a vague idea of who about half the characters are. Additionally, the book gives little to no warning about jumps in the setting time-wise. Reading the book feels a little bit like stumbling around in the darkness, constantly blindsided by new information. The writing is also...not to my taste, bordering on purple prose at times. However, I'm only halfway through, and the book does seem to be improving as it progresses, so I'm somewhat hopeful. The relationship between the two is quite adorable, and I'm rather intrigued to see where it'll go past it's baby stages. I am also enjoying the setting and the way their community is built up, it's possibly the most entertaining part of the book so far.

Thank you Robert Jordan for creating a one of a kind world that I've fallen deeply in love with once again and thank you Brandon Sanderson for finishing the journey is such a momentous way.

The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Fantasy ~ Adventure ~ Romance ~ Humanity

Where better to begin something new than a beloved ending?

I first picked up the Wheel of Time at around twelve years old, and finished it fourteen years later. Coincidentally, this is the same number of years as there are books in the series. Now, it would be nice to say that I read one book a year, and progressed through the epic in a reasonable fashion, but I can tell you with some manner of manic glee  that is not how I read this series at all.

Now, I will assume, as doing so is a monumental undertaking, that you have not yet read or completed the entire series. As such, I will not be revealing any important plot or character information.

I read the first four books at least four times each, and have read books five through nine at least twice each. My first time reading through to Winter’s Heart (no.9), I was heartbroken. It was 2007 and Robert Jordan had passed away. The series was still unfinished and I was so forlorn. I feared the characters I had spent dozens of hours with over my teenage years would never get the happy ending I had envisioned for them.

In 2013, Brandon Sanderson completed the writing of the final volume: A Memory of Light; but I was afraid. I owned them all, they were just sitting on my shelf, begging to be read. I had so many questions, and all would be answered if I could come up with the courage to open up the books (and my heart) and see what befell the world I adored.

They sat, a constant reminder of my own insecurities for four more years. In 2017, I was in my third year of college, and it was the hardest thing I had done before. My parents had moved across the country, and I needed something familiar. I spent hours buried in books as a child and a teenager, so why had I moved so far away from something that I loved so much? I cannot answer that question with anything definite, but in that place of strange changes, I picked up The Wheel of Time again.

I knew the first four books so well by this time, I did not need to read them again to recall the tale. I read from The Fires of Heaven(no. 5) to Crossroads of Twilight(no.10) in no time; I was ready to finish it.

Crossroads of Twilight nearly put a stop to that. It took me months to finish it. There was nothing inherently wrong with it, but it was slow. It is the entire resolution to the end of Winter’s Heart, and it was hard. Still, I was determined to complete the series. Moving on to Knife of Dreams(no. 11), it returned to the fantastic world I was looking for.

I loved it. The tears of joy and sorrow, the triumphs and failures, the true understanding of humanity in all its messiness, the good and the terrible; it is all woven masterfully throughout the series. The final book culminated so fluidly. I never knew how it was going to end; and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was excited to find out what would happen, no longer afraid.

These books have been such a huge part of my literary journey that I had to start with them. There will always be a special place for the characters and their struggles and longings. It is a fantasy, with magic, romance, adventure, good and evil, but ultimately, it is about something we all know:

Hello everyone! We are Rerun Studios and we are currently working on our first game, Memory of Light.

We are a group of media students from Karelia University of Applied Sciences. We have no prior experience with making video games, but we are willing to try and learn things along the way as we work on our very first game project.

Our game will be an atmospheric 2D platformer about a young girl who takes off on an adventure to regain the balance of light and darkness in her world.