Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So I didn't write a post right away when I finished this book, and when I finally got around to it, I was trying to put together my thoughts when I read the blog post from the last time I read this book. I decided that my previous post would be hard to improve on, so I will refer you to that.

http://www.fictionroom.com/2010/08/winters-heart-by-robert-jordan.html

On to book 10!

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a book club read. If you aren't in a book club, I suggest you join one, and this is a prime example of why. Never in a million years would I have picked this up on my own. If I had picked it up, I would probably have struggled to make it through the first few chapters. What I found by the end of this book was a heart warming, emotional tale of love, death, and growing old. It had characters I could relate to, and was constantly addressing challenges that we all face in life, but in laughable ways. From disagreements with neighbors to deep questions about our commitments to those we love, this book walks us through it all with a narrative that is both entertaining and direct. At the end of the book, I felt like I not only knew the characters better, I knew myself better. This is a 5-star read.

My only issue with "A Man Called Ove" is that some of the social and political stances that Ove takes, and that I think Backman is representing as positive traits, are not ones that I agree with. But that is like disagreeing with a family member over the desirability of chocolate pie over apple pie. I still love the book even though I don't agree with every viewpoint (chocolate pie is the hands-down winner, fyi.)

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has all of the elements I have grown to love about Brandon Sanderson's work. It has a great setting which is built upon throughout the series, interesting characters (Wayne continues to be an all-star) and exciting action. But the thing that makes this book great are the plot twists. Action is great, but unexpected action is fabulous. The only detractor here is that it feels like we are getting a little far-flung, having introduced an entirely new civilization which somehow was not included in the original series. New theology, new history, etc. I loved the book, and trust Sanderson to pull it all together, but right now there are a lot of different strings tugging at different parts of this plot, and I hope it doesn't collapse on him. This is kind of how it felt at the end of the Reckoners series, and that wrap-up was a little messy to me. Simplicity in good entertainment is tricky.