Writing - Barbara DeMarco-Barrett - Pen on Fire (2004)

This book was probably purchased during a book buying binge; those are usually the times I pick up writing instruction books. In this case, I only remember what I wanted this book to do, which was help me find time to write in between the moments of my life.

I'm pretty sure I got it while I still had a job.

Now, I have nothing but time, but I still can't really get myself out of this not-writing funk.

However, I pulled this tome off my bookshelf in anticipation of November, which everyone should know by now is National Novel Writing Month. At this point, I've lost more than I've won; a fact that makes me feel so guilty I refuse to go to a meetup organized by my fellow Las Vegans. I always tell myself that this time I will not lose, but then I do something to kick my own ass after week one.

You're not here to hear about this shit. You're here for this book review.

Honestly, this book is very average. It talks a lot about how women make themselves feel bad for taking time to do their own thing, which is true I think of more than just women, and how if you want to write, you have to work past that to carve out your own bits of time. It also tries to give you resources to develop ideas, as well as stuff having to do with the craft of writing like voice and shit. All and all, average.

The most disappointing part, I think, is the "Living the Life" section, which has more to do with literary agents than actually living a writer's life. Listen, the information on literary agents is great and all, but that has actually not much to do with your own section title. And, there are tons of books that work on that subject that you'd be better off just listing.

It may also be that the book is kind of dated, but the self-publishing world is so hopping, even traditional publishers have to rethink their acceptance guidelines or be left in the dust. Basically, what worked for one person does not work for all.

7/10

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Fantasy - Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind (2007)

I think Steve got me this book for Christmas. I tend to depend on him to tread those new fantasy waters while I deal with my backlog of unread books that fill my shelves, but I may have eventually picked this up on my own, but for a different reason. We didn't go to PAX this year, but Rothfuss was in the DnD Live Show this year, so I likely would have read it for that reason even without Steve's interference. The truth of the matter is, I had plans to read this after A Dance with Dragons, but then Nadia was kind enough to lend me a bunch of her books, so it got pushed back.

The Name of the Wind is a book one of a debut series, so it is covered in accolades that, for the most part, are well-deserved. The story starts out with some drunken bumpkins coming to an inn, encountering some razor-sharp spider creatures, and declaring them demons. That's just brushing over it briefly. Then a guy known as the Chronicler comes up and discovers that the innocuous innkeeper is a legendary hero by the name of Kvothe. It's a great hook, especially once Chronicler convinces Kvothe to relate to him his story. The majority of the book is just that: the first day of Kvothe telling Chronicler his tale.

I could totally see this in so many different media: DnD adventure, TV miniseries, comic serial. The book form is great for relating it in his own words, but I don't doubt that there is potential for more here.

There is one problem. He gives away some of the shit that happens with this method. Kvothe lists some of his accomplishments and failures before you even get started. Since most of this is about him trying to get to the University, and then stay, the fact that you say on the back that he has gotten "expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in" gives some of the story away, now, doesn't it? But that's a problem I tend to have with book backs. They always give too much away. But that line is embedded in the text as well, so there's really no avoiding it. It's just a nitpick.

Here's another: the world is great, the worries of a poor person spot on, and the main character a giant douche.

Don't get me wrong. Kvothe's story is interesting. But he is the MOST Mary of Sues, and if you don't know what that means, maybe you should look it up. This is wish-fulfillment at its most heinous. Why does he have to be some kind of super-genius? Why does he always convince his elders to do what he wants? There's so little opportunity really for Kvothe to fail. I wonder if it is the intention of the author to make Kvothe relate his story with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia in order to toot his own horn, or if the first-person POV got to Rothfuss when it came to his character.

All in all, it's a great read, especially if you like fantasy. There are some annoying higher fantasy aspects toward the end, and the climax is, for lack of better description, somewhat anticlimactic, but I enjoyed it, despite Kvothe jerking off to himself the entirety of the book.

9.5/10

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