Assignment 2- Sam Ederington

375 Words, counting spoiler

I normally think of myself as someone who almost exclusively reads fiction, especially science fiction or fantasy. But, looking back on this list, I see a lot of non-fiction books, many of which I really enjoyed. Factfulness is a book that changed how I viewed the world, especially countries in what Rosling claims we should call levels 2 and 3. It made me understand that despite all of the constant negativity, the state of the world and living conditions are constantly improving. Weapons of Math Destruction changed how I saw modern technology, and its threats in job recruitment and police racial profiling.

However, on this list, my favorite book is still Warbreaker followed by the Iliad, which it seems I reread every year. I love the seeming never ending titles and vivid descriptions of the chaotic siege of Troy in the Iliad, and I greatly prefer it to the Odyssey. What surprised me though is that I never got around to reading the Aeneid, which I was planning to read for the entire year. To me, though, Warbreaker not only contains the most innovative magic system I've seen, but also contains my favorite character in all of literature: Lightsong.

List of Books
Factfulness by Hans Rosling
The Iliad by Homer
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O' Neil
Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson: Memories of Ice and House of Chains
Safehold Series by David Weber: How Firm a Foundation, Hell's Foundations Quiver, At the Sign of Triumph and Through Fiery Trials.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Cartoon History of the United States by Larry Gonick
Siege of Stone by Terry Goodkind
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Whistling Vivaldi by Claude Steele


(Spoiler about Warbreaker)
Lightsong, the god of Justice, is to lazy to fulfill his duties as such, and instead spends his time idling about or trying to figure out who he was before he became a god. However, his sarcastic wit and inability to stay serious made him my favorite character, so when he sacrificed himself, I was overwhelmed by the layers of symbolism in that moment. But most importantly to me, was that the only person deserving of his BioChromatic Breath was the god-king himself.