1008 Pages of Awesomeness

I finally finished Words of Radiance in the middle of the night late last week.

It seems fitting that most great and interesting books compel us to read well past a 'normal persons' bedtime and since most of my free time is only in the evenings these days it goes without saying that this will inevitably happen.

I really can't say anything bad about this second book.  It was just as good as the first, if not even better.  There was never a dull moment and it just kept pushing forward at a ridiculous frenzy.  It really felt like the world was going to end or beloved characters were going to die because there was just NO possible way they could survive a Highstorm.  It was drama and even the beginning of a love story all tied up in one neatly packaged gemstone.  I will say it will be helpful to read the Stormlight Wiki and even the notes in the back of each book to keep things straight and fill in some gaps.  I sense a division coming between the Knights Radiant who wield true Shardblades and those fight with Honorblades.

I don't know how Sanderson is going to keep this story moving forward so smoothly.  I mean ten books is a tall order, even if you can write exceptionally well there is bound to be one so-so book.  I hope to eat those words once this series is finished, but till then, well played Mr. Sanderson, well played.

If you're keen on starting this series the first book is called The Way of Kings and you can keep tabs on what he's up to via his website.

 

What I'm Reading: All Joy and No Fun, The Paradox of Modern Parenting

I heard an interview on Fresh Air a few weeks back by the author for this book, Jennifer Senior, who is a journalist and mom herself.

It was truly fascinating, depressing, and very insightful.

It's not a book about how to be a better parent or helpful tips and tricks on how to survive the "terrible twos" or angst-ridden teenagers.  It's more a book making sense of thousands of studies done on children and how they effect their parents.

I've never been one to find research books entertaining or enlightening but the way the material is presented along with witty and sometimes sad stories from real life families, it makes for one engaging read.  I'm about half-way thru this book and I find myself wanting to cry and laugh at the same time because, as a parent now, I can totally relate to every single thing that's been discussed so far.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants to a well thought out book on how drastically children reshape their parents lives.

What I'm Reading: Elantris

I love to read and last year I managed to plow thru about 46 books of a 100 book goal. Though I'll admit several of those were of the Regency Romance genre.

100 books is a bit ambitious so I've scaled back to a slightly more practical goal of 50.

If you're interested you can follow me along over at GoodReads

Currently I'm reading: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy)

It's one of his very first books and so far it's very typical Sanderson material.  I've read a few other books of his and I sincerely enjoy his writing style, world building and magic systems for their cleverness and originality.

I'm curious to see how this book will end since it's a stand alone novel and not a series (though it could've been).

I'm reading this one on my Nexus 7.

Some people may have a strong aversion to tablets/e-readers but as I've run out of space for physical books and don't fancy storing boxes of them in my basement an e-reader is a nice solution for my situation.  Of course if I truly love the book I do usually end up buying a physical copy.

Do any of you have any reading goals this year?