Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

I first picked up Name of the Wind on the suggestion of my favorite librarian. She's been giving me suggestions for years, and knows how much I like fantasy. I had bypassed the book several times, I am ashamed to say, because the cover didn't appeal to me. It never grabbed my attention, and so I ignored it. Oh, how wrong I was. I was intrigued just by reading the inside flap (which I'll post in a while, in a blatant attempt to get y'all to read it too). In fact, when I got home I started reading, and I could hardly put it down for 3 days, and when I finished, I wished it hadn't ended. Luckily for me there are two more books, unfortunately though, they aren't published yet. And so the waiting begins. Here's the inner flap:

My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as "quothe." Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I've had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it's spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunder, or The Broken Tree.

"The Flame" is obvious if you've ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple of hundred years ago I would probably have been burned as a demon. I keep it short but it's unruly. When left to its own devices, it sticks up and makes me look as if I have been set afire.

"The Thunder" I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

I've never thought of "The Broken Tree" as very significant. Although in retrospect, I suppose it could be considered at least partially prophetic.

My first mentor called me E'lir because I was clever and I knew it. My first real lover called me Dulator because she liked the sound of it. I have been called Shadicar, Lightfinger, and Six-String. I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

But I was brought up as Kvothe. My father once told me it meant "to know."

I have, of course, been called many other things. Most of them uncouth, although very few were unearned.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

The story is beautifully written, and I highly recommend it.