Blog Post 2 - Kelden Andrews

I have read a decent amount of books but they fall into 3 main categories and I'll select one from each
of these to demonstrate the breadth of that category.

Category 1: Classics
When I was younger I used to hate the idea of reading anything classical and opted for much newer books even failing to read more modern classics like Harry Potter and the slightly older Lord of the Rings. The book I'll be reading to represent this category is Ernest Hemingway's The Old man and the Sea which starts off a little slow but its quick and clean writing style progresses the plot quickly to the interesting part the actual catch and subsequent battle with the fish, this is easily one of my favorite books after this reading and I thoroughly enjoyed its rather brazen theme. It's also short enough that a re-read only takes a day or two which is quite nice.
The next book I plan to read in the Category is Dante's Divine Comedy

Category 2: Mountain tales
It's actually pretty embarrassing that I read so many books about a hobby I have still failed to partake in. I especially like the descriptions and first person style of many of these books which never fails to inspire wanderlust even when the situations portrayed are quite grim, as most of the books written are about the disasters inherent in the sport and not the everyday smooth climb. My choice for this Category Graham Bowley's No Way Down which tells the story of the 2008 K2  accident which resulted in the death of 11 climbers and 2 Pakistani porters. Bowley himself wasn't on the climb but his many interviews with each of the people involved results in a cogent and well developed narrative when the climbers themselves had no idea what was happening. Other books in this category are Freedom of the Hills and my next book in this category is Into Thin Air.

Category 3: Sci-fi/Fantasy
I have always and probably will always read fantasy books because fantasy worlds can be quite entertaining. They are also usually simple and relatively easy to appreciate without alot of the nuance that real world stories sometimes have. My all time favorite fantasy story which I re-read in the last 12 months is Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind and its sequel Wise Man's Fear. These two books tell the story of Kvothe and his rise to infamy and subsequent self inflicted retreat to the simple life. The main story is Kvothe telling his story to a writer known as Chronicler who wants to write down and publish his story. Little is known about where Kvothe ends up but the author is very good at giving clues and foreshadowing; the most obvious is when Chronicler first meets Kvothe he ends up telling him all the names he's earned out of the public eye, the most telling Kvothe the Kingslayer. The books are split into the days over which Kvothe tells Chronicler his story. Kvothe informs Chronicler at the beginning of the first book his story will take 3 days and each of the books is one of the days, the first covering Kvothe becoming an Orphan and his childhood ending with his time at a magical school known as the University, the second deals with Kvothe's reflection on his past and his leaving the university, at the end of the second he returns which is where the third will begin. The third has been being written for a few years now and I along with many others are waiting for it with bated breath. I enjoy this story because of how well developed without going overboard the world seems the main character is a legendary hero (or villain) telling a world a story it never knew while he hides right under their noses. I feel this has gone on long enough but suffice it to say Rothfuss is a masterful writer and I highly suggest you read The Name of the Wind. The next book I intend to read in this Category is an older title called The Paradise War.