Thursday, December 1, 2016

Brent Weeks

Brent Weeks was born and raised in Montana. He wrote on bar napkins and lesson plans before landing his dream job years and thousands of pages later.

Weeks's new book is The Blood Mirror (Lightbringer Series #4).

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Weeks's reply:
I have eclectic reading tastes, and I'm perfectly fine with that. I think Haruki Murakami said that if you read the same things everyone else does, you'll think the same things everyone else does.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance--Nonfiction. This is an examination by neurobiologist Angela Duckworth of what she calls "non-IQ competencies." Why do some people succeed? Why do some find meaning and purpose and happiness in their work? Can people learn to have more "grit"? I love books that examine what makes great people great, not only for my self-edification, but also for character studies in my own novels.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Classic graphic novels from Japan by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. I devoured 1,200 pages of this in about a week. This is the story of a disgraced former samurai out for vengeance--with his very young ward. I mean, picture a bad ass ninja pushing a stroller, sometimes literally. Renowned for the art and action, but to me also fascinating for the cultural and even spiritual currents.

Salt--by Mark Kurlansky. A history of, yep, salt. Far more interesting than it has any right to be. I really enjoy peeks at the economies of the ancient world, and how various cultures and empires went about getting what they need, and what they value.

Next in my queue: The Emperor's Soul, a novella by Brandon Sanderson. Finally some fantasy! I've heard this is perhaps Sanderson's best writing to date. As I've enjoyed everything of his that I've read, that's high praise!
Visit Brent Weeks's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Black Prism (Lightbringer Series #1).

--Marshal Zeringue