The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This is a first novel by a new author from 2007. I read some great reviews on it, so I decided to give it a try. I almost didn't when I got it from the library and discovered that it was 700 pages, but I'm glad I did. I got the feeling that a lot of time and care went into each page of the book, which is a feeling I don't get too much from these types of epic fantasies.

This is the first of a series, so be prepared that the plot will not be remotely close to wrapping up at the end of your 700 pages of reading. However, it is a well written and engaging first part of this epic story, so I was not annoyed or disappointed. I will definitely be picking up the next book, which I believe just came out.

The book is the story of the legendary Kvothe--hero, scoundrel, larger than life inspiration for tales told far and wide-- as told to a biographer who has found him hiding as an average innkeeper in a tiny hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere. Kvothe has had an extraordinary life. Beginning as a child prodigy born into a family of wandering minstrels, he continues through a troubled period of life on the streets and on to become one of the most infamous students at "The University"--an elite school of science and magic. There are unique and exciting adventures, intriguing secrets hinted at, a vendetta against some supernatural scaries, and, of course, a girl...

I found the book to be overall exciting and well worth reading. The only part that might be slightly off-putting is the love story. Honestly I'm not sure how to feel about this yet. It starts off in the typical annoying way that fantasy romances begin--he falls madly, soul-shatteringly in love with her and only her. She's mysterious and beautiful without "realizing just how beautiful she really is." I laughed out loud, as an alternative to throwing up, when he first describes her as a "wild thing." But there might be more than just annoying cliches to this love story...so I'm saving my final opinion until I read more of the series.

I think there is potential here. The world that Rothfuss creates directly addresses the idea of sexism from time to time, which is interesting. There is a memorable conversation where Kvothe considers his lady-love's circumstances and how her options are so much more limited being a female drifter with a hazy past than he does as a male of similar background. For a moment I got the sense that the story was hinting that if women were treated as equals in this fantasy world, then it could just as well be her telling this story of her fabulous life of adventures, but that somehow, because she's a woman with an entirely different set of worries and difficulties to overcome, she could never have such a legendary life, she could never be the hero of a story. I'll be reading the next book to see if there's anything to this. If there is, it could be really good.

Highly recommended for fantasy fans.

Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel

I thought this book was ok, but nothing to rave about. Garth is a boy who gets accidentally transported to the afterlife by a ghostbuster who is less than meticulous in his work. Garth already had an incurable disease, but he wasn't dead yet, so now he needs to find a way back home. He makes friends with a skeleton horse, which is probably my favorite element in the book. The ghostbuster at fault comes to rescue him and they have a series of adventures trying to get back home and also saving Ghostopolis along the way.

I thought that the fantasy world of this graphic novel lacked depth. It had some really appealing concepts, but they were treated so cursorily that it was hard for me to really like them. The characters were a bit stereotypical and flat. The good thing was that is was a fast read, so I didn't get a chance to get really annoyed by these flaws. The good things about this book were the surprisingly poignant family plot and ending. I was especially surprised at how good these were considering the flat characters.

Overall probably a 3/5 stars.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

I had gotten a bad review from a friend of this book before I started it, calling it the most boring book from the Jane Austen repertoire, or maybe in history, but I found that I liked it as much or more than the more famous Austen novels.

I can imagine that there would be resistance from other people to the character of Fanny Price, as far as general likability goes. She's much less easy to like than an Elizabeth Bennett or one of the Dashwood sisters. But there was an honesty to her character that I thoroughly appreciated. Fanny had much more realistic flaws to me and I certainly saw more of myself in her than in the other heroines. To me Elizabeth Bennett has always been a little too much of a superwoman, a little too perfect to be realistic. Elizabeth Bennett seems confident in every situation she is put into. She rarely stumbles. Discomfort, shyness, physical weakness--these are strongly characteristic of Fanny Price.