Ah The Magicians is quite a book.  I have to say its almost exactly how I pictured magicians.  I remember people saying its a mature version of Harry Potter but it exceeded my expectations.  This world is filled with sex, drugs, depression and conflict.  The Magicians paint a realistic picture of college life and life as a magician. 
Quentin is the main character of the book and is quite complex.  He has power but instead of this happy go lucky feeling, he is plagued with depression and drugs.  The one glimmer of hope he has is his childhood books about Fillory.  When he goes to Brakebill Academy, he sinks deeper into depression.  It seems like he is uncertain of life and what the future holds.  He has magic powers but doesnt know what to do with them.  He wonders aimlessly without a purpose to fulfill.  The majority of the characters are fleshed out just like Quentin.  It makes you connect and care about them.  Whether they make good or bad decisions, you have an opinion about it. 
I think the best part of the book is when they find out that Fillory is actually a real place.  When they get there, it turns out to be almost as bad as the real world.  Its a magical land of drugs, sex and violence.  A bear with a drinking problem and giant animals weilding medieval weapons.  Its a crazy place but it fits well with my imagination.  The entire book was a breath of fresh air to me.  All of these sugar coated fantasy stories like Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia are nice but are missing the "real shit" factor.  I love the fact that magic in The Magicians isnt something easy, it takes years to even control it.  Rigerous training and concentration is what is needed to use magic and its something I like to read.

The Hobbit

This book is a great way to get introduced to fantasy.  The thrill of adventure, danger and treasure lure you into a world completely different from our own.  The Hobbit is a very enjoyable book, easy to read and understand, likable characters and an overall good plot and story.  I'm not familiar with the lord of the ring books but from what was discussed in class, it seems like The Hobbit is way easier to read than The Lord of the Rings series.  The Hobbit has enough detail to paint a mental picture but no enough to take you out of the experience.  I dont like books that drag on and on about the same scene or environment.
I dont know if this is true or not but The Hobbit is a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, as least in terms of the movie.  All characters are the same, have the same morals, motives and personality.  Bilbo for example is the same at the end of The Hobbit then he is at the beginning of The Lord of the Ring.  Bilbo grows as a character throughout the book.  In the beginning, Bilbo was the same as all the other hobbits, loved food, drink and peace.  When he goes on this adventure, he is tested and learns about wit and survival.  One of the things I like about this book is the progession from a normal hobbit to a spider killing badass, so to speak.
I believe people gravitate toward fantasies so much is because we place ourselves in the shoes of the main character killing monsters, falling in love and ruling a kingdom.  As kids we all wanted to slay a monster or win an epic battle.  Even now as an adult I find myself dreaming about being a warrior or king fighting against impossible odds and somehow winning the fight.  Such dreams can translate into an illustration.  Fantasy is something to fantasized forever.

the wild sheep chase

This has to be one of the strangest books I have ever read.  Im not really familiar with Japanese horror so it may be that I dont understand the culture but it didnt seem like a horror story.  This book didnt have any of the main themes for a traditional horror novel but as I said before, its probably because I'm not familiar with the culture.  From what we discussed in class, Japanese horror tends to be less about plot and more about the story line.  There tends to be a moral attached than anything or to teach a lesson to those watching, listening or reading.
The main character is a detective but is never named.  I dont know what the intent behind this was, whether it allowed us to imagine ourselves as the detective or if it had no purpose at all.  Although it is a detective story, it seems more like a parody of a detective story.  Weird almost surreal things happen in this book that go beyond the realm of detective and horror.  No character in this book has either no name or a "code name" as I like to call it.  The main character, his ex girlfriend and new girlfriend  have no name at all.  The only characters with names are side characters but their names are The Rat and The Boss, just to name a few.
Im not gonna lie this book can get pretty long winded at times, so much so that I would have to force myself to continue reading.  Fortunately the story was interesting enough for me to finish the book.  The ending didnt happen the way I thought it would but happy with it none the least.
Overall it was different and I like different, but its not something I would read for fun.  Besides the no name characters and surreal like details, I enjoyed The Wild Sheep Chase.