[![image][]][] I'm torn with [Patrick Rothfuss'][![image][]][The Name of the Wind][![image][]][.][![image][]] Part of me thinks that it's the greatest fantasy in years, and another part of me is frustrated by it. The short of it is thus -- a famous Chronicler discovers that the simple innkeeper is really Kvothe, the infamous Hero of his age. In exchange for his secret, the Chronicler says he wants Kvothe's life story. And thus it begins -- the true story of Kvothe in his own words. Rothfuss' writing is top-notch.

The pacing is good and Kvothe is fantastically drawn. Not quite a superman, he does have incredible intellect and quick-thinking. But he's not perfect and his pride and self-centeredness gets him in trouble. The book is so nuanced that I re-read part of the very beginning and noted some foreshadowing I didn't notice before. Interesting things will happen in the later books -- but this one is also filled with interesting things.

The side characters are also good, but we generally only see them through Kvothe's eyes, except for a few characters in the storytelling mode. I'm frustrated because, if the story goes at this pace, this "trilogy" will last forever. I fear another Wheel of Time monstrosity.

I can't grade this book on the next books in the series, especially if they aren't out yet! But this one is great. If you are a fan of modern fantasy, then you will enjoy it.

Hello world! Long time, no blog! A lot happening, though. Lots. Much. But are they things worth writing about? Some of them, but not many.

Matt recently lent me a copy of
*The Four Hour Work Week* by Timothy Ferris and while I think that Ferris is an arrogant jerk, I think the book is quite good. Would I do everything he suggests? No, probably not. But I am currently doing some of the things and it is working.

The whole idea is not to work only four hours a week, but instead to do what you want -- instead of filling your days with working you instead should be doing the things that you want to do. To put it more succinctly, you should work to live, not live to work.

Here are some questions from the book that got an interesting discussion between Gina and I -- If you had $100 million in the bank, what would you do every day? Or what would about your day would get you excited just as you woke up in the morning?

Here are some work tips that I am trying to implement. I'm not as adamant about them as he is, but they are working.

* Avoid meetings whenever possible. Simply say that you don't have the time.
* Avoid any and all interruptions. I have big headphones and they help avoid the "chatters" who walk by my cube.
* Only check email twice a day -- and *never* right away in the morning. He suggests 11am and 4pm. Due to my 7am-4pm schedule, I do it 10am and at 3pm. And not checking it right away in the morning is a *huge* help.
* Work in batches. This is especially helpful and something that I was kinda going anyway. Save common task at one time and just get * them done. It's amazing how fast you get things done when you do this.

All of the above things are related -- they really just come down to two of the rules -- work in batches and avoid interruptions.

Madeline L'Engle, who I consider one of the best children's authors of all-time, passed away on Thursday. NY Times Article is here

I read _A Wrinkle In Time_ in elementary school and loved it. A complex story of high imagination. Later, in my adult life, I purchased all the books in the _Wrinkle_ series. Just a month ago I read _A Swiftly Tilted Planet_ and was captivated by the complex yet simple story.

Her theology was a bit unorthodox for some, but I always enjoyed the fact that she put a lot of her faith in her books. God was always present, Jesus was always mentioned, and it was always Good vs Evil. Not all that can be said about Harry Potter.

I think L'Engle is better than JK Rowling. If the ending of Harry Potter has got you down, I would suggest staring with _A Wrinkle in Time_ and/or _Meet the Austins_.

[![Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town][]][]

I will admit -- I was a little concerned whether I should read this book or not. The fact that man has a mountain for a father and his mother is a washing machine says that Doctorow is taking things to the limit. But I found myself in the library, looking for someone to read, so I decided to give it a shot.

Well, the guy does have strange parents, and the rest of his family isn't normal either. But that didn't distract from the story, mostly because Doctorow and his characters don't try to explain it. It just is. The other plot-line in the story is interesting as well -- the main character, Alan, gets himself involved with a group that wants to put free wireless Internet throughout Toronto. It's this plot-line that Doctorow is at his best. Some may say that he tried to put his personal philosophy in it and made it preachy. Well, I happen to agree with his personal philosophy on this, so I didn't think that it's preachy. This part reminds me of Neal Stephenson at his best, except not as long-winded. And I think it is high compliments.

The most confusing thing in the book is that Alan and his brothers (the children of the mountain and the washing machine) don't really keep their names throughout the book. The same characters call them different names in the same paragraphs. The only thing that helps is that the names always start with the same letters -- Alan's names always start with 'A', Brian's starts with 'B', etc. It is important to the story and the characters, but it sure makes things hard to follow in part.

A fair review of this book has to say that Doctorow released the text of this, and his other books under the Creative Commons. You can download this at his website.

I give this book 4/5 stars. But just because it's short doesn't mean that it's a light and easy read.

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(Hardcover)][]][]

I have been excited to read this book for a very long time, but have never been able to find it at the library (i.e. always checked out). I was in a co-worker's office one day and saw it on his bookshelf. I picked it up and told them I've always wanted to read it. He said, "Well, you can borrow it!" And the book did not disappoint.

What Friedman is saying that, because the flow of information can flow quickly, easily, cheaply, and securely around the world, now "developing" countries like India and China . He also convinced me that "off-shoring" is not a dirty word and that our country could be better off with off-shoring than it has been without it. But then he also states that the US is not ready to take up that challenge.

It was an easy read, but very thought-provoking and challenging in how I look at employment. And I don't think it matters how much you agree with Friedman -- the world is flat, our jobs are changing. China will continue their way to be the next world superpower. If you need convincing [see this post from Bill Florida.][]

The world is flattening, whether we are ready or not.

I give this a rare five out of five stars. Read it now!

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