Reading Order

So I've been re-reading the Dragonrider of Pern books which brings forth an age old debate: in what order should a person read books.

For the most part its the age old chronological order versus publication order. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, let's use a movie example. Star Wars. If you were watching all the Star Wars movies would you watch them in order of episode (1,2,3,4,5,6) or release (4,5,6,1,2,3). Personally I'm a fan of the flashback order (4,5,1,2,3,6), so that you get sucked in with 4 and 5 and then when Darth Vader says he's Luke's father you can see how that came to be, as if its a flashback, before ending the series.

Some books can easily be read in both orders, since the published order is chronological, but that's not always true.

I'm a huge fan of chronological order, but I feel I'm in the minority. I have friends who swear that published order is the only way to read books. It's something I feel I have argued about and worried about a lot in recent years. Whenever I'm going to start a series, I have to look it up and figure out which book is first.

However, when I was younger I didn't worry about these things. I read the Star Wars in a completely random order, starting with The Young Jedi Knights, moving to The Thrawn Trilogy, and then whatever book my bookstore had in random. The same was true for the Dragonriders of Pern books. I read "The Smallest Dragonboy" in my seventh grade textbook, I then went to the library and got the only Dragonriders of Pern book there was: Moreta. Then I read the Harper Hall Trilogy. It was all very random. And yet none of this randomness bothered me. Strange how the times have changed.

So what about you? Are you a believer in chronological order, publication order, or random order?

Pern

One time at Dragon*Con I waited in two author signing lines simultaneously. How I managed that is a story for another time. The important thing to this post is the two lines I was waiting in: Anne McCaffrey and Tamora Pierce. Anne McCaffrey's line was full of men and women ranging in ages across the spectrum. Tamora Pierce's line was full of weepy teenage girls. (I'm not exaggerating).

While I was standing in the Tamora Pierce line the girls kept saying how her books had changed their lives and how the characters were a part of them and how much they loved her. They expected me to be saying similar things, but the truth of the matter was that I was waiting in that line for my little sister. Sure, I have read all the Tortall books, but I read them as a college student who was trying to keep tabs on my high school sister's reading habits.

At some point, I had to explain to them my simultaneous waiting. They didn't know who Anne McCafffrey was. When they asked who she was I answered, "Anne McCaffrey is to me what Tamora Pierce is to you."

What did I mean by that? Well, I started reading The Dragonriders of Pern in my crazy seventh grade year when I started Harry Potter and Wheel of Time. "The Smallest Dragonboy" was a short story in my seventh grade text book and it mesmerized me. The idea of dragons as lifelong partners, the idea of Impression, and the fact that no matter what happened you would always have a dragon who loves you...it was breathtaking and enthralling. I wanted a dragon of my own, I wanted to be Keevan, and I had to read more.

So I began to check out books from the library, and I fell in love with this world. Girls like reading Tamora Pierce books because they enjoy strong women who work to change society and do what they want--like becoming female knights--but still have strong relationships and lives. I adored Anne McCaffrey books for the same reason. Lessa and Menolly were two fictional women I could look to, women who were in a men's world and forced that world to change to accept them and let them be who they wanted to be (whether that be Dragonrider or Harper). And yet they didn't isolate themselves from others by doing it, they formed strong relationships of love and friendship--and with dragons, as the case may be.

When I was in middle school, I read Star Wars, Harry Potter, Wheel of Time, and the Dragonriders of Pern (as well as a few smaller books). Each served a purpose. Star Wars got me through the fifth, sixth, and early seventh grade, when I wasn't ready for PG-13 material, but had out read PG. Harry Potter connected me to my generation. The Wheel of Time introduced me to how epic stories could be. But lets face it, most of the cool stuff in Star Wars is done by guys. Harry Potter only had three books out, and the Wheel of Time for all its epicness takes place over the course of 2 and a half years. The Dragonriders of Pern were different. They should me how girls could be strong teenagers and grow into strong women with children of their own and later even grandchildren. In Pern I was connected to a world, to generations, to a people.

And I think most importantly it showed me everyone deserves a dragon, someone who will love them no matter what, someone who despite everything bad that happens will be there for you.

However, my heart is still set on a non-metaphorical dragon that I can ride through the skies. If only fire lizards were real and we really could genetically engineer them into dragons. :)

Sorry!

Sorry about not posting last week! It was Spring Break. As a grad student, spring break doesn't really mean anything. For the most part we sit in the office and do work. However, since I worked through most of last Christmas all my Christmas doctor appointments (like the dentist and eye doctor) got pushed to spring break, so I had to go home for a little while. I expected to do work while I was there, but for some reason I find its impossible to do work in my parents house, even when I'm alone.

Anyway, posts will resume as normal this week!

An Open Letter to Brandon Sanderson

Dear Brandon Sanderson,

I love your books, and I hate you for it.

It's ironic I suppose that in the Alcatraz books you clearly state that authors are evil, and I didn't believe it. But now I understand. You are evil.

You write books that are completely amazing, books that suck me in from page one, books that I can't put down--and that is the crux of the matter! I have things I need to do! I should be doing research. I should be doing homework. I should be doing a hundred other things, but instead, I'm re-reading the Mistborn Trilogy.

That's right. Re-reading. I've read these books before and yet even knowing what's going to happen, even knowing the characters and plots, I cannot put the books down. I reread The Final Empire in one day. I reread The Well of Ascension the next day. And now I'm rereading The Hero of Ages when I should be studying plasma physics and working on my control laws.

And it's not just Mistborn. Last August I said to myself "I need to reread something I've read before so I won't be distracted from my research on Kalman Filters. How about Elantris? It's been a while since I read that but I remember it clearly so it won't distract me."

Wrong. I read chapter one, and then chapter two, and suddenly I couldn't put it down. I had to keep reading. I had to stay in this world, even though I had read it before!

I know you seem like such a nice guy. At every signing I've been to, you were approachable and joking with us fans. But I know the truth, the truth you yourself revealed in the Alcatraz books. You are an evil, evil, evil man. You want to suck me away from my research. You want me to not finish my thesis. You want me to not graduate. I see it now. I understand.

You are evil.

And the worst part is that you're like an evil overlord, and I'm like a willing minion. You're the Lord Ruler, and I'm a Steel Inquisitor. Despite your evil ways, I follow. Despite the fact I know your books are destroying me, I read them. Because they're amazing. WHY? Why must you write such amazing books?

Oh, Brandon Sanderson, why do you torment me so? And not just with your amazing books, but with the anticipation of even more amazing books. I wait in eager anticipation for Alloy of the Law. I'm dying to read A Memory of Light. And I have no idea what your Rithmatist book is about but I can't wait to get my hands on it.

You're my favorite author, but I don't want to fail. So right now I'm just going to have to hate you. I'm going to have to lock away all my Brandon Sanderson books. And the only key will be my degree. Because its the only way I'll survive. It's the only way I'll actually keep my focus on my work.

Thanks a lot,
Mandy P.

Late Post

I know, I know. I'm a slacker. But today's post will either be really late or posted tomorrow.

My life is in full on crazy mode. I really need to do research and can't focus a lot of time on blogging. But I will blog at some point. I just have to remind myself to write blogs while I watch TV for an hour each night.

So I will post. Just either late or tomorrow.

No Post Today

I have a test in my Plasma Physics class tomorrow, so I'm spending all day today studying things like the plasma criterion and solar physics. While this is definitely more exciting than studying for my statistics class, its still studying. I hate studying.

Since the test is at 2:00 pm tomorrow, I'm not sure whether I'll have a post tomorrow either. If I do, it'll be after the test.

So hope you guys have a good weekend and I'll post again regular-like next week.

A Book Review: The Wise Man's Fear

Title: The Wise Man's Fear
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Fantasy (epic)
Length: like 1,000 pages*

Quality Rating: 9
Content Rating: R

Read First: The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss' books are somehow indescribable. I've had several conversations with friends that went something like this:

Person 1: The Name of the Wind is awesome. I can't wait until Book 2.
Person 2: I know! Right! SOOO awesome.
Person 3: What's so awesome about it?
Person 1: Uh.....I...Uh.....I don't know.
Person 2: Kvothe is just so like relate-able....
Person 1: Because you've experienced your whole family being massacred? You're an arcanist? You play an instrument?
Person 2: Um. No. He's just like-able ok.
Person 3: So its the plot? The plot is great? Right?
Person 2: Totally.
Person 1: Actually, it was kind of predictable.
Person 3: So you're telling me this is a predictable plot with a like-able character?
Person 1: No. It's like really really really really awesome.
Person 3: Why???
Person 2: Just go read it and you'll see.

The awesomeness that is The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear is really kind of indescribable. In fact Brandon Sanderson catches the feeling of being unable to describe why these books are awesome in his review of The Wise Man's Fear:

"Why do I recommend it?

Because it's awesome.

Why is it awesome?

This often stops me. Why IS Pat's writing awesome?"

Brandon Sanderson goes on to explain reasons that make these books amazing and you should really read the whole post. But in short these books are amazing because they are beautiful, and I couldn't agree more.

Yes, the story is predictable. Yes, Kvothe is somewhat a reckless, hot headed, messed up kid. But I find myself sucked in because the writing is just amazing.

How can amazing writing rejuvenate a story I feel like I've heard before? Well, that's fairly simple.

It's like an artist doing a cover of another song.

I've heard Elton John's Your Song. It's nice. I like it. But when I heard Ewan McGregor sing it in Moulin Rouge, I felt like I was hearing it for the first time. It felt like a new song.

And that's sort of what Patrick Rothfuss does. He takes a couple of old plots and melts them together into a beautiful cover that is so much better than the original.

Patrick Rothfuss is an artist, and his books are beautiful works of art.

As for the content rating, I went back and forth on this one between PG-13 and R. There is sex, but its not descriptive. I could have easily rationalized it down to a PG-13. I'm sure there are a lot of jokes and innuendos I just didn't get in the book at all, so since I didn't get them, I think younger readers won't be scarred by them. What put me over the edge to R though is the violence--the violence Kvothe himself commits. If it was a movie, this violence would definitely up it into R. So just keep that in mind. It's a beautifully written book and everything (whether its sex, violence, or Kvothe taking a nap) is done tastefully, but its there and this book has its dark moments. Kvothe is getting older, and this book reflects that.

*So I don't have this book sitting in front of me while writing this review, so I'll update this number later. But 1,000 isn't an exaggeration. I seem to remember the book ending somewhere near page 980.