"We understand how dangerous a mask can be. We all become what we pretend to be." - Bast 
 The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is one of the best books I've ever read, hands down. I discovered him through an aunt. That's also, admittedly, who I stole my copy from. It now has my name in it, if anyone's wondering. 
 The world is introduced with the setting of a small town's inn, the Waystone. A few men are gathered around a table eating, as a young redheaded innkeeper hovers nearby, fairly invisible. 
 This is the only part of the book that could ever even be considered boring. 
 This novel is like no other I've ever read, and I've read quite a few. The story switches back and forth between the present - written in third person - and the past, which is written in the first person point-of-view of Kvothe. It's a story of a hero telling his story from the very beginning. 
 Words cannot express how this book made me feel. In short, it made me feel all kinds of things. There was not a single character that I can think of that I didn't love. I loved Kvothe. I loved Sim and Wilem and Bast. I loved to hate Ambrose. I held the same curiosity about Auri that Kvothe did. I even loved Denna, which is hard. I've never gotten along easily with female characters. Denna was magical. 
 I'm not sure what some of the other readers on here are talking about when they label Kvothe a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu. The same often complain on books about the main protagonist being an idiot. When they're faced with a genius, they complain. They simply cannot be pleased, and I urge anyone who stumbles upon their negative comments to ignore them. 
 For those who don't know, Kvothe is a genius. He has a strong ability to memorize information, and he picks things up quickly. Curiosity manifests itself in him as an unquenchable thirst, which inevitably leads to more knowledge gained. He has a fair amount of slips, makes an ass out of himself many times, and suffers pain. His character makes it through pain and grows stronger because of it. Kvothe's archtype matches what he does, and his personality stays the same throughout the entire novel. There's nothing in his life that goes perfectly, nor does he suffer only pain and problems. It's a well-rounded story with a realistic, believable character. 
 In short, this is an action-packed, spoken memoir of a young man who has loved, lost and dealt with a fair bit of magic. I recommend it to anyone who liked Harry Potter for the magical school idea, and even those who don't really care for fantasy. While many qualities of this are fantasy, it's still understandable; you don't need to know an archaic language to get what's going on and still enjoy the book. 
 I look forward to beginning book two and a long love affair with this series!