Fantasy novels, really?

I've never been interested in reading fantasy.  I developed a love for sci fi over a decade ago when I discovered Arthur C. Clarke and Orson Scott Card.  I've read a lot of Isaac Asimov over the last 2 years.  I especially like sci fi that takes place off-planet--in a space ship, on a distance planet, etc.  But fantasy--keep that junk away from me.  When I discuss books with people, I have to remind them that sci fi and fantasy are different genres and that "I don't do fantasy." In the past, I have started to read several fantasy novels and always gave up quickly.  I realized that I just didn't have the attention span to learn all of the new rules introduced in each book: new cultures, new magic systems, new worlds with new (and often very weird and unintuitive) customs, conventions, histories, species, races, etc).  No thanks.

But....

Last June, I was desperate for new reading material.  A friend lent me Brandon Sanderson's Elantris.  I was skeptical (it was fantasy, after all), but I decided to give it a try.  At times, I was frustrated by occasional poor stylistic decisions, the sudden drops in action, and changes in character points of view.  However, this was a compelling read.  I was done in 6 days; I didn't want to put it down.  I really enjoyed it.

So maybe I had neglected a perfectly good genre of fiction.  Maybe there was a sophistication that I hadn't expected.  My only option was to read some more.

Based on another recommendation, I bought Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind in October.  Holy cow.  Brilliantly constructed, wonderfully tight prose, compelling story.  This novel showed amazing and deliberate care in its creation.  I was impressed and quickly (i.e. immediately) went on to the next book in the series, The Wise Man's Fear.  I had just started this book when I decided to see how many of these books to expect--and was devastated to discover that book 2 had only recently been published and that I would have to wait until at least May for the next installment.  I was so (temporarily) disgusted that I nearly stopped reading.  Okay, probably not, but there's a reason why I don't start reading a series until the series in completed: I'm not good at waiting.  Harry Potter, Twilight, Mistborn (but I'll get to that): I read them after the entire series had been published.  My assessment of The Wise Man's Fear: pretty darn good.  This book was much slower, and honestly, showed less care with the construction.  Large sections of the text dragged; it felt like little cutting/trimming had been done.  The phrasing was not as controlled and deliberate.  But it was still quite good; I'm attached to the characters and really want to know what happens next in the story.  I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume.

Okay, so I'd found THREE whole fantasy books that I liked.  More research was needed, so I returned to Brandon Sanderson. 

I started the Mistborn trilogy, and read Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages.  Mistborn: amazing.  Careful, well-planned, well-conceived brilliance.  The Well of Ascension: great.  Well-planned still, good follow through on details set up in the first book.  A great, quick read.  The Hero of Ages: a nice conclusion that left me wanting more.  This book was frustrating at times because it did not show the caliber of writing that the first two exhibited, but it wrapped things up nicely, and I was pleased with the trilogy as a whole.  Then I discovered The Alloy of Law, a Mistborn novel that takes place hundreds of years after the original trilogy.  While I appreciated not have to learn a new magic system (Pushing and Pulling was complicated enough, thank you very much), I was not impressed by this book.  Perhaps the setting (in a way, kind of industrial revolution-y) put me off, or maybe the characters weren't as likeable.  But I never really got attached to anyone; I think the characters needed a little more depth.  But I gave Sanderson another try with his novella, The Emperor's Soul.  I really enjoyed this.  I'm not typically a fan of novellas; it seems that just when they're getting started, they've suddenly ended, and I'm rarely satisfied with brevity.  This was an exception.  Though the magic system of soul stamps was complicated and really needed a bit more explanation, this was a complete work: it left me satisfied. 

I'd borrowed Sanderson's Warbreaker from a friend, but when I mentioned to one of my composition classes that I was going to start reading it, one of my students urged me to read Brent Weeks' Lightbringer books first.  Near Christmas, I gave the first, The Black Prism, a try.  It was an interesting combination of clumsy, cluncky, and sometimes awkward prose, a fairly complex but intriguing magic system, and a really great story line.  It was perplexing to be so intrigued by the story but so annoyed by the diction. I immediately moved on to The Blinding Knife when I finished the first installment.  The character development is really quite good, and the story is compelling.  Better yet, the prose has a much more polished feel.  It was clearly given more care in the editing stages.  This book dragged in places, but the slow points were always brief.  I really believe that book 2 was better than book 1; I think Weeks is hitting his stride and has the potential to create a really great book 3.

However, this leaves me with Warbreaker, which is not living up to expectations.  I'm about 200 pages in, and I'm less impressed than I expected.  As with all Sanderson I've read, this is compelling.  I will have no trouble finishing this book in a couple more days.  But after read The Alloy of Law, which left a bad taste in my mouth, I'm wondering if Sanderson is the John Grisham or Danielle Steel of fantasy.  Has he figured out the "fantasy formula" and is now just cranking the books out?  Is he cashing in on his Wheel of Time fame by publishing second-rate novels?  I don't know.  I'm still too new to this genre to have an educated opinion. 

I don't know if I'm ready for dragons or other devices/characters that are so stereotypically "fantasy," but I've discovered that I can handle magic--and that I actually like it.  Perhaps there's still hope for my conversion.

Two and a half...years

Life can take some unexpected turns in 2 1/2 years.  I stopped blogging in January 2010, which coincides with the worst news I've ever received: there was something abnormal about the baby I had been carrying for 5 months.  Our lives changed.  Jon and I were told in mid-January at our 20 week ultrasound that our baby had problems and that we needed to see a specialist immediately.  The specialist diagnosed Trisomy 18 a few days later; there was nothing we could do to help her.  Eleanor Dene Shelley was stillborn on February 11, 2010.  It has been now been over 2 1/2 years since our loss, and it still hurts.  It always will.

Each time I thought about blogging, I've thought about why I stopped, and it's brought back a flood of grief.  But, over time, grief and pain diminish, and gradually, joy re-enters.

Our joy is Evelyn.  She was born May 16, 2011.  Evie is a healthy, happy, toddling little girl, who smiles and laughs and lights up our lives.  We are richly blessed to have her.

On the work front, I still teach at Aquinas College and will be adding a new class to my repertoire there--Business Communication.  I'm nervous to teach a new course--though I have taught Business Writing for Cornerstone's PGS program a couple of times this year.  For Aquinas, though, it's brand new for me--I chose the text, I create the lesson plans.  It's a lot of work.  I will be teaching Inquiry and Expression (a freshman writing course) for Aquinas, as well.  This will be my ninth semester teaching this course.  Of course, I can't make it easy for myself: I've changed textbooks and completely revamped the course.  I'll also be teaching Written Rhetoric at Kendall College of Art and Design for the fifth semester.  I have two sections there.  Each section at each school is at or above capacity.  It's great to know that I have some job security this semester (last fall one of my sections was cut at the last minute due to low enrollment), but I'm nervous about having so many students.  There are lot of names to learn and A LOT of papers to grade.  I will also be teaching some writing workshops for Grand Rapids Theological Seminary for the third time, as well as providing some one-on-one tutoring.  It's going to be a very busy semester!  But I'm so glad to be employed!  (I was even offered sections at a couple of other schools, but I already have my hands full!)

I've read a ton of books this summer and hope to write a bit about them later.  My good friend Nicky inspired me to begin a book journal, to keep track of what I've read and what I thought about each book.  I've been keeping track for about two years, and it feels great to add each new entry.  So far, I think I've read 52 books.  It's not much to brag about considering I have two literature degrees and should probably be reading much, much more, but I'm happy with my total thus far.  I generally have one audiobook that I listen to in the car, one or two print books, and a Kindle book going at any given time.  My pace will slow significantly in ten days, when the new semester starts.  But that's okay--less time for reading means more time for working, which means $$.  Yey!

new job for fall?

I received a verbal offer from the new dept chair at Kendall to teach writing for them in the fall. YEA!!!! She was very nice during the interview on Wednesday, and their refurbished building is really, really cool looking. There are 2 morning classes that she offered me, and I accepted. Unfortunately, I won't get the contracts until July. I can only hope that nothing changes in the meantime. And, even if I had the contracts now, I've learned the hard way (a couple of times) that a signed contract for teaching adjunct doesn't mean much--it can be cancelled at any time.

The classes have only 20 students, which is LOVELY. Writing and writing intensive classes should be capped at a low number. Aquinas caps theirs at 18, and I love it. And the pay at Kendall is really great. It ranks up there with GRCC, which is the top paying institution in GR (from what I've found). Although I love Aquinas and they have a fond place in my heart, the pay is pretty lousy, at least for the area.

So, I have some hope for the fall! I certainly need to increase my pool of options for where I can teach. I should be okay (fingers crossed) for fall, but I'm going to have a similar problem next winter (similar to what I'm facing right now). Everyone offers fewer classes of the classes I teach in the winter. I really need to teach 4 (full semester) classes per semester to make ends meet. This semester I have one class at Aquinas and two mini classes (5 weeks each) at Cornerstone. I can't even pay half my bills with that pay. The adjunct life sucks. It really, really sucks.

birthday

I had been "looking forward" to having some pictures taken yesterday at my birthday party. For months I've been putting off looking "good" because I figured "I'll have some decent pics taken on my birthday." Well, hopefully no one will notice that I still don't have any pictures from 2009 posted anywhere because we didn't get many taken yesterday. I (stupidly) forgot my camera at home when we left for the restaurant in the cold, snowy mess that surrounded West Michigan last night. Miserable driving, partly because of conditions and partly because Michigan drivers are morons.

We bought a cake, but it's still sitting the kitchen unopened and uneaten. It was a nice birthday, though. Thanks for those who came out to help celebrate.

Blogs

I wish more people I used to know had a blog. Blogs are am amazing way to feel like one hasn't lost touch with someone even though one may never want to see the other party again. I don't like losing touch with people, although sometimes it's in everyone's best interests or is fairly unavoidable. Blogs are a great link to the past somehow, even though they're generally about the present. I often remember what I liked about the person to begin with. Sometimes, though, I read a post and wonder if we'd get along now--political posts mostly.

Is is stalking to occasionally check someone's blog that one knew years ago? Is it stalking if one used to date that person? I hope not, because I get a kick out of blogs.

Life....

There's just too much to write! Maybe taking 2 1/2 months to update this wasn't a good idea....

First (and at the forefront of my mind right now) is that fact that I'm underemployed next semester. I have my 2 classes at Aquinas and 5 hours in the writing center. I cannnot pay the bills with 2 adjunct classes. Grand Valley didn't warn me when they hired me for the fall that they offered significantly fewer sections of the class I teach in the winter. I lost both sections. I've applied to other colleges, who have thus far either politely or impolitely declined my services. I won't mention names, but I will mention that it makes me feel like crap. I guess I don't interview as well as I thought I did. So, I'm feeling pretty crappy right now and am desperately wondering what I will do next semester (and next summer, but that's a completely different subject that I won't get into right now).

I'm convinced that I'm going to have to get a "real job." Boy, do I not want a "real job." I've never done 9-5 particularly well. Hmm, I guess I've actually never really done 9-5, except for 2 summers working at a bank. I guess I just figure that since I haven't really done 9-5, I won't LIKE 9-5. However, steady income and steady work would be a trade that I'm willing to make at this point. I can't stand this feeling of not pulling my weight in my family.

Teaching 4 classes this semester has been rough at times, but with all the time I spend at home on the couch, it feels much less...stressful than a "real job." It's the students that create the stress. They're so needy and demanding. I do not remember being 1/10 as needy and whiny in my college experience, but that was 10 years ago, and this generation is quite a bit different.
I'm thinking about going to library school, but cost is the biggest problem right now. I'd need some serious scholarships, as I am completely unwilling to take out another dollar in student loans. I will already be paying on my student loans longer than we'll be paying for our house. I like the idea of working with students one-on-one, and working at the library in college was one of my favorite jobs. There's a lot for me to like about the idea.

And now to the embarrassing part of the post: what I've been reading. I needed something to listen to the car a couple of months ago, and my choices were Little Women, Danielle Steel, and Twilight. I cringed and picked up Twilight. The woman who read the novel bugged me at first, but I eventually got used to her. Even listening to it, I could tell that it's not well-written literature, but I stuck with it. I got to the end and was only slightly ashamed. Then a few weeks later, I found that I was interested in what happened next. This is about the time all of the New Moon hubbub was starting. So, I reluctantly went to Barnes and Noble and picked up a copy (and held my head in shame as I went to the check out counter). I read it in 3 days and a week later went to get Eclipse (I bought the new John Mayer cd at the same time and was wondering if I'd fallen into a time warp. I felt like I must be 16.). I read Eclipse in 2.5 days and went to the store immediately to buy Breaking Dawn in hard cover, which I said I wouldn't do. I was finished with Breaking Dawn in less than 48 hours.

It's not very good writing, but it's very compelling. I'm not a book critic, just a lit. major, so I don't know how to critique modern writing. I'm embarrassed by my near obsession (it was temporary, don't worry!), but I still couldn't stop reading. I've been trying to figure out why, and I've come up with a theory. Each of these books is about impossibly beautiful, impossibly rich, impossibly learned and talented immortals. It's an appealing subject matter. I've done plenty of reading about fairly regular people. My interest was piqued by a much more glamorous group of people. I'll admit, I wouldn't mind being beautiful, rich, learned and talented. Heck, I'll take any of the above. I was fun, mindless reading, and I was entertained for days. Reading books for class takes 3 times longer; it was really nice to read for fun, to read so quickly, and to not have to concentrate on any nuances/symbolism/hidden meanings. And the obsession is over now. I will not drag my husband to see New Moon--at least not at the full price theaters!

I'm presenting at a conference this weekend. It's called Shakespeare Connects, and it will be at Grand Valley's downtown campus. I'm pretty excited for my first real academic presentation. I presented a couple of years ago at a writing center conference in Traverse City (with my boss), but this one feels different. This one is solo, and I'm adapting a chapter from my book for it. I think I'm about finished with most of the prep work: the cutting and altering of the text and the (probably too lame) PowerPoint. I just need to practice, practice, practice. I'm using a couple of speeches from Richard III, so I really have to make sure I brush up on my acting, otherwise it could be painful.

The same day we're going with Ted and Tara to a Tiger's game--nearly the last one of the regular season. Yea! It's my reward for presenting at the conference, or at least that's what I'm telling myself. It's also our anniversary weekend. Our anniversary is this Thursday, but where will I be Thursday night? Not celebrating with my wonderful husband of 4 years. No, I'll be teaching at Grand Valley. At least it's a good class.

I finally finished Neal Stephenson's Crytonomicon. Tedious! It took me months to work through it (I read several other things in the meantime!). Right now, after being done with it for 12 hours, I have to say the payoff wasn't worth the time--1100+ pages and my satisfaction lies solely in the fact that I'm finally done with it. It wasn't terrible and it wasn't poorly written (it was actually really well written), it was just really, really long, and I expect considerable payoff when I've invested that much time and energy.