Books read recently (with acronyms to save me from typing out their names and italicizing them): The Name of the Wind (tNotW) (Patrick Rothfuss), The Gathering Storm (tGS) (Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson), The Hunger Games (tHG) (Suzanne Collins), In Defense of Food (iDoF) (Michael Pollan).
Tried to read, but quickly gave up on (we are talking less than 5 pages before opting out):
A Fire upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge)
Likely to read next:
The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan) I am likely to quit this one part way through as I understand it to be a giant guilt-trip about how your diet is destroying the world.
Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins) - this is the sequel to the above book. My expectations are appropriately tamped.
Now, to the reviews.
tNotW: Exceptionally well written. This was recommended to Mel as a novel that would appeal to fantasy lovers and those indifferent to the genre alike. I would have to second the motion. If you are openly antagonistic against Fantasy,then don't bother. If you are anything but, it is a great read from a fresh vantage point that uses something other than the now-rancid stereotypical conventions of Fantasy. An infusion of new life, if you will. If nothing else, something else to have to wait for the next book to be published. It reminds me (not at all by content or style, but by in the refreshing breath of clean air-ness of it) of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. None of his subsequent books felt that way, nor were they as well done as the first. Here is hoping that Patrick can rise above. Much like Rowling, the then-unpublished author spent years agonizing over and perfecting his or her first break-through novel. Hopefully, like Rowling, he will be able to keep up his performance under pressures from publishers, deadlines, and their ilk. Rowling did noticeably improve as she continued her work (if she had gone on as long as Jordan had, she would invariably be winning Pulitzers on a bi-weekly basis), and I hope Rothfuss can do the same. He is a rather vulgar man on his blog, so, unlike Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan, and Brandon Sanderson, I will take no interest in following Rothfuss' blog. Maybe when a fan site is developed it will be worth my while. In the mean time, I am pleased to report that he, like Jordan and myriad others, devised his own rules of profanity, so he can curse and swear and he feels necessary, without alienating sensitive readers, like me. Gratefully, there is not, as yet, any offensive matter with regard to birds and/or bees. I generally dislike it when my winged friends are maligned. Again, I hope this remains true. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to wait between novels in a series. Take-away summary: very well written book, highly enjoyable, and, as evidenced by my rantings, establishes a great expectation for the second act.
tGS: If you read the Wheel of Time series, you should already have read this book. If you do not read the series, don't start here, but most certainly do start (at the very beginning: Eye of the World). If you have abandoned the series for whatever reason, pick it back up. Once you have made it through book 10 (skip it if you cannot make it through. It is much more readable, knowing that 11 is waiting for you than it was when you had a multi-year wait ahead of you after finishing it), books 11 and now 12 are careening towards an end at a break-neck speed. If you appreciated the pace and the doings of Knife of Dreams then you will certainly approve of tGS. Brandon has, I believe, done a nearly-flawless job of picking up the reins following the tragic passing of Jordan. While it is not true that there are no perceptible differences in the style, it is certainly true that those differences in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the book. There were even a few things that I enjoyed more under Sanderson's hand than under Jordan's. Particularly the way he writes females. Sanderson is able to do it in a much less annoying manner. And I should hope so, seeing as everything he has written so far either has a female protagonist, or has a prominent secondary character that is female. Thanks, Brandon. I no longer feel I must slay Egwene and Nynaeve. Elayne did not figure prominently in this book. I might still hate her, but I suspect not. Mel was pretty rusty on what was going on in the books. She went on Wikipedia and Dragonmount and a couple of other places to brush up on Randland. This served her in good stead, though I believe that she did ask some questions that were tantamount to "Who are the Asha'man?" At least it wasn't "What are Aes Sedai?" I recommend this book (series, really) to anyone who likes anything fun. If you like Rowling's work, and are not afraid to read a book intended for adults, pick up (or poke?) The Eye of the World. Take-away summary: read the book. Re-read the series if you can arrange it (at least re-read 11 if your memory is fuzzy or you are a bit short on mylar sheaths).
tHG: This is an adolescent novel that Mel borrowed from her friend. I am not sure how everyone was turned onto it, but Friend 1, Friend 2, Mel, and I all read it on a single check-out from the library (no renewal) as it is enjoyable, an easy read, and in very high demand (currently 371 holds on first returned of 120 copies in the King County library system - pretty impressive stats for an adolescent novel. Maybe Rowling has helped adolescents fall in love with reading. Or maybe she just helped adults realize that their preferred reading level is adolescent fiction. No comment). That about sums up the book. It was kinda fun, it was generally satisfying to read, and it sparked a few discussions between Mel and me (albeit predominantly via email). I can't ask for much more from an adolescent novel. I will try the sequel when Mel borrows it from Friend 1 (same hold backlog issue). I recommend the book to anyone in need of a few hours doing something better than watching TV but more distracting that doing chores. Take-away summary: easy read with a fun ride along the way.
iDoF: I liked most of this book. Probably because most of this book agreed with things that I already thought, or was coming to be convinced of. He has a few postulates with which I either disagree or am uncomfortable. However, in general, it has given me a bit of moral ground for some changes I wanted to make in my diet anyway. The book makes a lot of sense, which is a dangerous thing, but it also, unlike the Malcom Gladwell books I recently read, provided some concrete opinions and suggestions for me to either act on, ignore, or rebut. I like rebuttal. :) I also like action plans. The action plan for now is to get Mel to read it so that I can have a bit stronger lever when I try to change how we buy and consume food in our house. I also have to say that I like that he did not wax radical, self-righteous, or all-knowing at any point, which makes his medicine a little easier to take. I recommend this book to anyone who is trying to be healthy, wants to go on a diet, or wonders why their doctor tells them that they have a bunch of warning signs for diseases despite their best efforts. Take-away summary: good book with solid references and action items that agrees with my sense of how the world of food should be.
That will be all. It was a nice October/November, book-wise. I will let you know the next time I decide to read a few things. It always seems to come in spurts.
