Thank the light for the WoT

Nope, that not new fan-dangled internet jargon. If you don't speak it, feel free to skip down to the next ***.

I just finished The Gathering Storm. Wow! This is some of the action we should have had in some of those tedious middle books.

I think Brandon Sanderson did an excellent job. I didn't care for the Mat parts in this books as much as I did for some of his other chapters, but then, I can say the same things about Perrin for a couple of books. Perrin was one of my favorite characters until Faile got kidnapped. I couldn't take the moping and lack of leadership. I am not sure that I agree with some of the complaints regarding Sanderson's ability to write Mat. Maybe it was just the time to show Mat as a human, flawed, character, much like Perrin was in Winter's Heart.

I was super scared when Rand seized the 'True' Power'. SUPER SPOILER::: I am glad he cleared his head, heart, and the overcast skies in the end:::.

And Egwene! That girl has got it! This is one of those times that people like to say, 'wow, that lady has some balls' and I like to point out that she has some ovaries. And guts, and backbone, and brains, heart and soul. I think her scenes in this book are among some of the best of the whole series.

That whole 'three shall be one' at the end? Min, Elayne and Avienda????

Now, I have to wait, what, another year?!? Burn Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan!!! Burn them!

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I told Triple S today that I was grateful for these books. They can really distract me from my worries and anxieties. And a character like Egwene can inspire me to persevere, to stand tall, to try.

Over the years that this series has unfolded (years in real time, since I think it has only been about two years in WoT-time), I have enjoyed each of the main characters in this book. At one point I loved Faile, but I don't trust her much sometimes. I am waiting to see how this one unfolds. On the other hand, Min has always been a strong favorite, from her first introduction right up to the end of this last book. At first it was the tomboy in her. She has since then proven to be caring and loyal. Now she is determined to study old texts in order to help figure out what to do at the last battle.

This, in some round about way, brings me to the pregnancy-related news of this post. If how this relates tot he pregnancy is not entirely clear by the end of this post, it should become clear in the next few posts.

We just had the 18 week anatomy scan. Everything looks fine, the quad screen reduced the risk for Down's to about 1 in 500, and we are expecting yet another girl.

I told Triple S that his dudes are duds. I guess he is now Triple XXX.

So, we have always struggled with girl names. We have a boy's name, have always had a boy's name, and would only ever have a problem if we needed two boy names.

It was difficult to develop a short list when we were expecting our first daughter. I can't see any of the names on that short list coming back to us.

I think the cuffs may get rolled up.

And I may be running some names by ya'll. I know it is frivolous, but it gives me both hope and distraction. Especially now that I have to wait yet again for another volume of the WoT.

In them mean time, I am waiting for the library's copy of book two of the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. If you like WoT and Mistborn, check this one out too.