The Name Of The Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

This is quite possibly the best fantasy novel I have bought in years.
ISBN: 0756405890
format: Paperback
pages: 736
publisher: DAW
pub. date: 2008-04-01
started reading: 2009-01-16
finished reading: 2009-01-24

This novel spoke volumes to me.

From the moment I read the inside cover I was captivated. It is the story of a hero of epic proportions, told by himself.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the
town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my
sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than
most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to
speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written
songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

I think it is the 'You may have heard of me' that does it for me. It is a statement at once both cocky and egotistical, and yet when you hear it said in your head, you get right away that the character is not egotistical, but is simply stating a fact. Similar to how Superman might say 'I'm pretty strong' or how Michael Jordan might say 'I can play basketball'.

The story flashes back and forth between the present and the main character's retelling of his life. The flow is expertly done and at no point did I, as the reader, feel lost or confused with the changing time frames.

The development of the character though is what sets this book apart. It tells the story of a hero as a person. Not quite a full on anti-hero, but you get a glimpse of a character who is at once great, and at the same time internally conflicted, prone to doubt and despair, who is not always honourable - though he'd like to be, and so on. In short, a character who is like you and me. A good person who does not always do the 'right' thing because, like us, he is learning as he goes through life... as much from his failures as from his successes.

The story is about take a hero of legend and unravelling the person within... and perhaps the greatest joy of the book is discovering that when you take the hero and strip away all the idolized imagry and add in all the untold bits... that though you are left with a man... there is a heroic element there still.

It's also a romance novel. Oh, and one of the best epic fantasy novels of the last few years. And... hmm.. actually, Patrick says it better himself

So what *is* the structure then? Fuck if I know. That's part of what's taking me
so long to figure out. As far as I can tell, my story is part autobiography,
part hero's journey, part epic fantasy, part travelogue, part faerie tale, part
coming of age story, part romance, part mystery, part
metafictional-nested-story-frame-tale-something-or -other. - Patrick Rothfuss

Ya... exactly that Patrick.

On a personal level, many of the internal struggles that the character goes through mirror thoughts of my own. Like the main character, I have held many names in life, and paid in different ways for each one.

Whether or not you like 'fantasy' this is a book that I think anyone could pick up and enjoy.

One word of caution though... this is the first in a trilogy and Rothfuss is an extremely talented writer who believes in quantity and quality. Meaning... you may end up like me and waiting a while for him to complete the series. But I promise you, it will be worth the wait.

Blink - Malcolm Gladwell

The second of Gladwell's books, and the second one I've read as I work my way back through them in reverse order.

ISBN: 978-0316010665

format: Paperback

pages: 320

publisher: Little, Brown and Company
pub. date: 2006-12-04

started reading: 2009-01-10

finished reading: 2009-01-15

Blink was, to me, in many ways a more enjoyable read than Outliers.

I still maintain my skeptisim for the book and it's presentation of observations as scientific fact. And yes, I'm aware of the scientific principle and how what I just said is the worst sort of contradiction (experimentation and observation being key to the scientific process). However, once again, the book presents a lopsided view in an attempt to prove its thesis.

That said, the principles in this book were much easier for me to buy into in some areas. Especially in the small micro-mannerisms and ways that we pick up on things without being aware of it.

One of the things I like best about Gladwell's books is that he manages to find connections between disparate fields of study.

The idea of Blink is that we make snap judgements based on a lot of factors that we may not be aware of consciously, but that do exist. The more we are aware of them, and of the biases we hold, the more we can actually train ourselves to understand and respect our own 'gut' feeling.

As someone who relys on his gut to make a lot of decisions in life this book was a great fun look at how my own internal processes might work and I did feel that I took something away from it. Additionally, Gladwell does often quote his sources so that interested readers (like me) can go and look up the studies that he quote... and find other discussions around them, both to support them and to counter them.

One of the best take aways for me though personally was the idea of 'less is more' when making decisions. How we are overwhelmed with information in this day in age and sometimes all that additionally analysis and data gets in the way of the right solution. This is something I can personally relate to in my ability to overthink problems in my life at times, and in how I am most effective when I trust my judgement to zero in on the key two or three factors and make decisions based on that.

Gladwell's own joy in discovering the hidden connections and commonalities between fields is evident in the writing and is ultimately what leads to the success of this book however.

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

I had heard a lot of hype about Malcolm Gladwell's books and decided to try his latest.

ISBN: 978-0316017923
format: Hardcover
pages: 320
publisher: Little, Brown and Company

pub. date: 2008-11-18
started reading: 2009-01-02
finished reading: 2008-01-08

Let me start by saying that I bought this book expecting something in the line of Freakonomics. That is, in my view, a book of clever and entertaining insights that attempt to use various studies and observations to prove a point. Interesting and thought provoking, and good conversation material, but classifiable as entertainment and not real science.

Perhaps it is my background as a mathematician, but the is a small part of me that always remains bothered by the appraoch these books take and where they try to pass off what they do as 'fact'. You know the saying, 'a little bit of information is dangerous'? These books are good examples of that where they give you one side of the arguement and arm a legion of 'experts' in your city with what they now know as the way the world works. Crude and silly generalisations abound in Outliers and it does worry me that many people will take what he says as gospel without first challenging it in their own minds and looking for the exceptions to his... well... exceptions!

That said, the books are very engaging and well written. Gladwell has a knack for telling interesting anecdotes that build on each other and support his thesis.

The main thesis of Outliers would appear to be that no one owes their success only to themselves, but rather it takes a unique combination of events - right place, right time, right person - to make success happen. Using figures from Bill Gates to Wayne Gretzkey, Gladwell shows how those same people in different places and times might never have risen to the spots they did.

While this seems intuitive to me, I acknowledge that our society today tends to equate success to the individual and their talent and Gladwell's call to pay attention to the fact that those people had a lot of 'luck' along the way helps to bring people down off the pedestals we place them on, and in so doing, reminds us all that our own success lies in looking for those opportunities that are around us.

So perhaps if Gladwell has any words of wisdom, it is that any of us can be successful, if we can recognize the hidden and unique factors building to our own success.

Personal Demon - Kelly Armstrong

Toronto based author Kelly Armstrong's latest in her Women of the Underworld series follows Expisco half-demon Hope Adams.

ISBN: 978-0553806618
format: Paperback
pages: 384
publisher: Spectra
pub. date: 2008-03-25
started reading: 2008-12-30
finished reading: 2008-12-31

It could be that I'm a bit of a sucker for the whole supernatural plot line, or that Kelly Armstrong is maturing as a writer, or the fact that I just watched the first season of True Blood recently, but I found this to be one of the best books in the series thus far.

The book is told mostly from the perspective of Hope but there are some chapters from the viewpoint of Lucas Cortez, the reluctant heir to the largest supernatural corporation in the world.

Hope has appeared in previous books in this series, and though most of the books can be read independantly and still be enjoyed, a lot of her relationship scenes with the werewolf Karl benefit from the reader knowing the backstory. I particularily liked the characted of Karl, in part I think because I have a soft spot for the archtype of a thief with a heart of gold. Their awkward discussions and embarrassment with each other following their former failed relationship were well written.

I found that this book to will be a success with some of the women I know who like a little titilation in their reading. While no romance novel, there are enough steamy scenes to keep most of my female friends thoroughly engrossed. That said, the world Armstrong creates where humans live in ignorance of the thousands of shamans, witches, wereolves, vampires and demons that walk among them is compelling and well created.

Armstrong's characters fell very real in the dilema's that they face and how they evolve.

While not a deep read, this is a great book if you want to pick up something casual and walk away feeling entertained.