Category Archives: Books

For whom do you write?

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Sometimes I think of things I’d like to write about, then think “Nah, nobody wants to hear it.”  And then it occurs to me that what I write is for me.  Odd, then, that I only write on a blog where someone else CAN see it.  Not that they do, but they CAN.

That being said, I wanted to post something about Robin Hobb’s wonderful books, Dragon Haven in particular.   A good book is a book that’s interesting and keeps your attention.  An awesome book is one that involves you so completely, you detach from reality for a bit and are emotionally tied to the characters and events contained between its pages.

(Spoilers ahead.)

I was captivated by the events unfolding in the Rain Wilds.  I longed to find the legendary city of Kelsingra, and was very excited when Heeby and Rapscal led the rag-tag party to the edge.  And ultimately disappointed when the last page turned on the doorstep of that mythical place.  Seeing Heeby come flying in to save the day – awesome.  And Sintara (that bitch!) flying? No way!

I’d like to speculate on what may be in that city of legend, it’s nice to think about!  But I haven’t a clue.  I’ve read speculation that Fitz and Tintaglia (characters from earlier books) may have visited there.  Mayhap.  And mayhap I should read those books again and form my own opinion!

But right now I’m focused on “The Passage” in hardcover while I just finished “The Road” in audio format.

Audiobooks

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I listen to audiobooks all the time… in my car.  Sometimes I wish my commute were longer so that I’d have more time to listen! (No, not really.)  Since I’ve discovered NetLibrary, I’ve been obssessed with finding an MP3 player that supports bookmarking.  Surprisingly, neither the iPod nor the Zune support this feature. And it must also support protected WMA files.

After searching around, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Sansa Clip is the player that would work best for me, confirmed by this article on anythingbutipod.com.

Now, to find an adapter for my car…

Wheel of Time

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I’m a big Wheel of Time fan.  I love the whole saidin/saidar thing, the taint, the Dragon come again.  Although I usually have no qualms about attacking a huge tome of SF/fantasy, this one might be the exception.  Look, if it takes 300,000 words to tell a story, so be it!  But it seemed to me the late Robert Jordan (pen name of James Oliver Rigney)  took a long time to tell this story.  I sometimes re-read series in anticipation of the next book being released, but not in this case!  It’s just friggin HUGE.

Look at this table, borrowed from The Wheel of Time Wikipedia.

# Title Pgs. Chs. Words 1st Edition Notes
New Spring 332 26 121,815 January 2004
1. The Eye of the World 832 53 305,902 15 January 1990
2. The Great Hunt 736 50 267,078 15 November 1990
3. The Dragon Reborn 704 56 251,392 15 October 1991
4. The Shadow Rising 1008 58 393,823 15 September 1992 No Prologue
5. The Fires of Heaven 992 56 354,109 15 October 1993
6. Lord of Chaos 1024 55 389,264 15 October 1994 First with an Epilogue
7. A Crown of Swords 896 41 295,028 15 May 1996
8. The Path of Daggers 704 31 226,687 20 October 1998
9. Winter’s Heart 800 35 238,789 7 November 2000
10. Crossroads of Twilight 864 30 271,632 7 January 2003 Also has an Epilogue
11. Knife of Dreams 793 37 315,163 11 October 2005 Also has an Epilogue
12.1 The Gathering Storm (est. 300,000+ words[5]) 3 November 2009 To be completed by Brandon Sanderson
12.2 Shifting Winds (est. 300,000+ words[5]) Due fall 2010 To be completed by Brandon Sanderson
12.3 Tarmon Gai’don (est. 250,000+ words[5]) Due fall 2011 To be completed by Brandon Sanderson
Current Totals: 9685 528 3,430,682

So I read Brandon Sanderson’s blog; he’s going to continue the tradition of books-by-the-pound, but he says it’s necessary to complete the story.  I for one believe it!

I’m going to look at Netlibrary.org and see if I can find the audiobook for my commute.  That might be a good way to catch up!

My Side of the Mountain

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One of my favorite books as a kid was My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.  In addition to loving the story, it has references to where I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.

My wife wrote to the author of the book, and was delighted to hear back from Ms. George.  Below is the original email and the response (edited for privacy).

I just came across your website with your email link and so I just wanted to send you a quick note to tell how much I loved reading “My Side of the Mountain” when I was 8 or 9.  It just so happens that my husband is from … which has a … library.  After meeting my husband and our discussion of our mutual enjoyment of this book when we were both young, he told me about certain references to his town of … and of this library (his first girlfriend actually lived across the street from it).  Now we’ve introduced your books to our oldest daughter, who is 10.  She loves My Side of the Mountain as well.  She just got back from being a week in …, and was surprised when I mentioned the library being downtown.  Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for writing such a timeless classic that we can share with our kids and hopefully their kids, etc…

And Ms. George’s response:

Dear …,
The … Library at …! How splendid your daughter visited it. Did she see the collection of letters they have from kids and the Geological  Survey map they have posted of where Sam’s tree is supposed to have been? So many people come and ask about him that they posted it.
I’m glad to know your husband is from ….
Jean Craighead George

My daughter actually never got a chance to visit the library, but we will make a point of it next time we are there!