The Great Hunt

by Robert Jordan

Fic Jordan, Robert

The Great Hunt is the second book in the massive Wheel of Time series by Robrt Jordan to be finished by Brandon Sanderson. As I said in my review of the first book, The Eye of the World, I hope to read all of the books by the time the last one comes out in early 2012. My goal is to keep my reviews spoiler free, so there will be little to no synopsis of the book as each build off the previous one.

As I was getting into this book, I realized that I may not be a fan of origin stories. I found The Great Hunt to be far more enjoyable as I wasn't having to wade through hundreds of pages of set-up. The book takes more or less right were the last one left off, and the stakes are raised even higher for Rand and his compadres.

Jordan brings in many new and interesting characters and the extra bits of world building add a lot of depth to the story and keep things fresh for the almost 600 pages of additional story. The story does feel additional as I feft most of story was again more set-up or just annoying postering. It took me longer to read than I would have liked because I started to grow bored with seemingly meaningless events taking place. These events are usually punctuated by limitations enforced on the character to keep events progressing or them thinking of the answer to quickly and is a little maddening to the intellectual reader. Overall I am enjoying the world and characters but a little irritated by Jordan's pacing. I am going to take a break and read some books on my reading list of shame which will hopefully get me nice and refreshed for the Dragon Reborn.

The Wheel Weaves As The Wheel Wills

The Wheel of Time Part 1: The Eye of the World

by Robert Jordan

Fic Jordan, Robert

In the first part of this year, I read four Epic Fantasy novels and I failed at an attempt to read a science fiction book. Why do I tell you this? Well, I consider myself a genre fan, and I would say historically I lean more towards science fiction and horror and not fantasy. Though in the case of science fiction, it may be more movies than books, but when reading a back of the cover or inner flap of a book, the ones that sound more interesting are science fiction and horror books. For some reason I find the synopsis of fantasy books either silly or stupid. I don't know why and other than some one recommending a book to you, shelf browsing is the other way I find something to read and working at a book store and a library I have a lot of opportunity to browse shelves. This is not to say that I haven't read fantasy before. I have read some juvenile and young adult fantasy series, Tolkien, and a few authors like Stephen King and Orson Scott Card that have dabbled into fantasy amongst their other books and series. Not until recently have I had someone to personnaly recommend fantasy books to me. The first book I read was Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind, which I will review later when the second one comes out next year. Then I read the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, who will go on to finish up the Wheel of Time books, sprodacially in the first part of the year. Having enjoyed all four of those, I thought I may be becoming a fantasy fan especially of high fantasy. So what should I read next? Well Robert Jordan was described as a modern day Tolkien and was compared to the like of Stephen King in readability, and after reading Brandon Sanderson I knew atleast the last three will be great when I get to them.

And this isn't a small series. At the end of it all, it will spand over 11,000 pages. One last thing before I get into the first book is that I plan to catch up as the last book is released which is planned for early 2012. So I will be writing reviews for each book of the series in the order they were written.

With all origin stories or first parts, you have to take the time to be introduced to characters and build the world so that the action can have both weight and consequence. The Eye of the World is no different. I cannot recall how many books Robert Jordan had planned for the Wheel of Time series but reading through the first book it is evident that it was more than one. With any fantasy book it is hard to sum up what the book is about mainly because it is just a part of a series. The main protagonist is Rand al'Thor, raised as a sheepherder in a small town, along with his friends Mat and Perrin (taking the Merry and Pippin roles) who are being sought after by forces of the Dark One. Much like Tarantino will take, or steal depending on point of few, from other films; Jordan borrows a lot from Tolkien and Arthurian legend as have many other writers. Some of the fun I had while reading this book was trying to match characters and events from the Wheel of Time with that of the Lord of the Rings and seeing how Jordan may have turned or twisted that character to create something new out of an old trope (Gandalf is a woman). Because don't get me wrong, the characters of the Wheel of Time are very much their own inspite of who they are substituting for.

The writing technique most evident here is Jordan's play with the idea of myths and legends and how they can effect a world and its people. And while that makes the world rich and deep that cannot be said for Jordan's characters. Jordan's characters are all likeable but most are attributed to a few personality attributes and he more or less sticks with those. This can get wearisome as this book moves a little slow in terms of actually getting some where that has meaning. If the idea of spending hundred of pages going from one place to another while every event that happens is gone over with a fine-tooth comb sounds unappealing then this book isn't for you and probably epic fantasy as a genre either.

If you are someone that is interested in getting into epic fantasy and wonder where a good place to start is than the Wheel of Time may be something that you would want to read as it is now consider a staple of the genre. If you are already a fan but have been avoiding it because you didn't know how many books til then end it would be or when they would come out then now is a good time to start as the second to last came out this month.

Between, Georgia

by Joshlyn Jackson
Fic Jackson

This is a gorgeous book about families, love, and how love creates families. The characters are beautiful and flawed and I love the touch of mystery that Jackson always puts in her books.

Nonny Frett is in the middle of plenty of difficult situations. She has two families; the Fretts, who "stole" her and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who lost her and can't forget that they've been done wrong. But Nonny has moved away from Between, Georgia to get away from all that. Still, problems seem to find her. While in the middle of a divorce, her husband tries to lull her back to their comfortable but unhealthy marriage and Nonny returns to Between to escape the bad situation.

"Nonny Frett understands the meanings of "rock" and "hard place" better than any other woman ever born. She's got two mothers ...more  Upon her return, Nonny finds that Between, Georgia, population 90, is ever the same. A feud that began the night Nonny was born is escalating, and a random act of violence will set the torch to a thirty-year-old stash of highly flammable secrets.

I was listening to this book on cd in the car and there were lots of times when I took the long way or sat in my car to hear what happened next. It didn't do much for my gas milage but it was great for my stress reduction!

I ADORE THIS BOOK!

Summer is over, the fun is not!

Summer reading is over. School has started. But there are still plenty of things to do at the library.

My Life is an Open Book speaker series kicks off with author Chuck Barris, who will discuss his book Della at the Main Library on Thursday, August 19, 6 p.m. Other speakers in this series include Joe Bonsall, John Carter Cash, John Thorndike, and Toni Murden McClure. For more information click here!

The library will continue to offer free computer classes in computers and the internet, job hunting and resume skills, e-mail basics, social networking, and more. Classes are offered at various times throughout the day and evening for your convenience. Plus, we now offer two classes taught entirely in Spanish.

For teens there are plenty of great books to try and also some fun activities. In September we are doing a write. sketch. watch. series where teens will get a chance to experiment with words, drawing pencils, and watch a movie. See the calendar for more details.

In addition to all this, we have children's special events and reguarly scheduled children's storytimes. It's busy at the library but we think it's all fun!

Cool off at your local library!

The 2010 Summer Reading Program has began with a BIG splash. WCPL would like to remind patrons about some of the wonderful Summer classes coming up for children with the program!

For more information on the upcoming classes and events please visit: http://www.warrenpl.org/Calendar/month.php to view a full calendar of Events and Classes at your library.

For an example of events tomorrow, June 15, at 6p.m. the Bob Kirby Branch of WCPL presents



Reptile Scales and Tales
This class will provide audience members with hands-on opportunity to learn about reptiles, and will include live examples!

Summer Reading Kick Off

Please join Warren County Public Library and dive into Summer Reading with the Kick-off to be help at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School, on June 7, 2009 from 1:30-2:30p.m.

There will be a concert by the The Wulfe Brother with a special guest, the Bowling Green Hot Rods!

The kick-off starts off eight weeks of Summer fun at your library in the form of a reading incentive program. Prizes included free tickets to a special Hot Rods baseball game, and for kids 13 and under, a chance to twin $1,000 as part of the Summer Reading Sweepstakes!

For more questions please contact WCPL at 270-781-4882.

Fact, Fiction, & Forensics Speaker Series

Tess Gerritsen at your Library


Warren County Public Library is proud to present the next speaker in our Fact, Fiction, & Forensics series, Tess Gerritsen, best-selling suspense author. Gerritsen's works have been translated into 33 languages, and more than 20 million copies have been enjoyed worldwide. Some of Gerritsen's best-sellers include Harvest, Life Support, Bloodstream, Gravity, and The Surgeon.


Please visit the library for your FREE tickets to Gerritsen's lecture on Thursday, June 17 at 6PM. For more information please call (270)781-4882


Interesting highlights:

• Gerritsen recieved her M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, but has retired from medicine to focus on her writing. She first began to write while on maternity leave from her practice.


• The TNT Network is developing a series around Gerritsen’s Jane Rizzoli character featuring Angie Harmon as Rizzoli.


• If you are curious about what order her books should be read in here is the list provided from her website: http://www.tessgerritsen.com/faq.html You can also get more information about the author, her novels, and other speaking events as well as view the author's own blog.


• An associate from Barnes & Noble will be on hand with copies of Gerritsen's works if you would like to purchase copies to be signed.