In a fog. And a book.

I am not doing really well on the nightly posting. I had a terrible dentistry experience which left me in a fog of pain killers and anger for most of the last week. When that wasn't the case I was trying to take advantage of the precious moments where I wasn't either in excruciating pain or drugged up or nauseous. So updating has been on the back burner, so to speak.

I have instead been reading. I read a really cute book called The Name of the Wind, it's the first novel by Patrick Rothfuss. It's a fun fantasy with magic, music, magic music, suspense, meanies, demons, giant armored spiders, romance and all the basics required for an entertaining read. There is a magic academy, there is revenge, camaraderie, missed opportunities and gleaned insight. There is a wild-haired tunnel-dwelling girl who reminded me of a teen-aged Nute from Aliens. Much of it was predictable but still didn't bother me. I only rolled my eyes a few times. But you know, that's the nature of this type of story really. With very few exceptions, fantasy novels tend to be fairly predictable in their "day to day" details. The stories may vary wildly, but there is always going to be that element of "this boy is the chosen one, and things happen to him that almost never happen to anyone else".

They are forever breaking world records, getting the impossible girl, finding the incredibly well-hidden treasure and slaying the unslayable dragon with only a tiny plastic sword and some impossibly clever wit.

That said, I am not a big fan of fantasy. I loved the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books as a very small child (my parents read them to us in installments as bedtime stories). I enjoyed the first couple Harry Potter books just cause they were so cute and I loved that they got ten year olds reading, but I got bored after the third. I really enjoyed the Bartemeaus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. I can't think of any other fantasy books I would suggest to friends off the top of my head. I have been an avid reader since I was four years old and went to get my first library card (all by myself!) at the Fairfax Public Library. When I was eight and nine I was regularly up all night because I couldn't put down a good book. I tell you this so that you understand that I have read a lot of books in my life, and therefore only having a scant handful of a certain genre means something. It's not my bag, man.

So yeah, if you like fantasy, I think you'll love The Name of the Wind. If you don't like fantasy, you still might enjoy it, as I did. Check it out.