Jim Butcher has a written a series of books called THE DRESDEN FILES that has become one of my all-time favorites.

I originally got hooked on the SCI FI Channel TV series THE DRESDEN FILES starring Paul Blackthorne as Harry Dresden, watching every episode until they (stupidly) canceled it. Then I went on a book hunt to find the source material (original books) and have been adding each title to my collection as soon as I can get my hands on them.

THE DRESDEN FILES is like the best of Glen Cook’s wisecracking GARRETT, PI series, mixed in with a little Anne Rice, some Laurell K. Hamilton, Dashiel Hammett and a bit of Harry Potter all rolled into one. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is the only Wizard who happens to advertise in the Chicago phone book, trying to use his not-inconsiderable powers for good (and to pay the bills which ARE considerable.) Unfortunately, the good guys don’t want to believe there IS such a thing as the supernatural so why pay to battle it, most of the wizarding world doesn’t trust him and the bad guys, both human and not, just want Harry dead.

These are some of the only books I’ve read recently where I hate to put them down until I get to the very last page, and where I actually burst out laughing from Jim Butcher’s way of tossing in a totally unexpected turn of phrase.

So far, there are 10 books in the series:

STORM FRONT	FOOL MOON	GRAVE PERIL	SUMMER KNIGHT	DEATH MASKS
BLOOD RITES	DEAD BEAT	PROVEN GUILTY	WHITE NIGHT	SMALL FAVOR

If you like supernatural thrillers that are witty and compelling and with a protaganist you can root for, then don’t miss THE DRESDEN FILES. And if you love James Marsters (aka SPIKE from the series ANGEL and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), check out the Audiobooks of each – he narrates the whole series. (Yeehaw!) Or if you like comics better, then check out THE DRESDEN FILES: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE illustrated books…

Now if only SCI FI Channel would ‘uncancel’ the series, so I could watch Harry’s further adventures while I wait for Jim Butcher to write the next installments, including TURN COAT, the new one due out in April 2009!

Available on eBay:

With a book series like HARRY POTTER, I find I like to read it in hardcover first, then listen to the audiobook version afterwards. (Then, of course, see the movie…)

Back when the HARRY POTTER series first came out, audiobook versions weren’t as prevalent, so I had to do it the ‘hard way’ starting with HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE: read it for myself. For me, that established a certain set of ‘voices’ in my head for each character (besides the other voices that are already in there! LOL). As each book in the series was released, I found I liked keeping my own set of rhythms, cadences and nuances ‘consistent’ for Harry, Hermione, Ron (and all the others) by continuing to read it for myself for the first time, taking as long as I wanted with each chapter or scene to make sure it ‘felt’ familiar. (There’s also just something about holding it in your hands, the heft and feel of a great hardcover, plus it doesn’t hurt that J K Rowling is such a consistently good writer…!)

However, just as the movies give additional layers to the characters and storylines that you just don’t get through reading, so do the unabridged HARRY POTTER audiobooks. They give me a 3rd way to ‘live’ the stories, through Jim Dale’s telling of them, with his as the ‘voice in my head’ that time around. (Not much room left in there, though. Glad he’s been the narrator for ALL of them!! =)

Listening to someone else read a book for you gives you a whole new perspective and sometimes a new take on scenes you might not have noticed before or skimmed very quickly or that had a different flavor in your own mind. And just as when I watch the HARRY POTTER movies over (and over and over) I catch things I missed the first (and second and sometimes fifteenth) time out, listening to the audiobook version can do that for me, too.

Of course, depending on the narrator, it can make or break the experience for you. In the case of the HARRY POTTER audiobooks, though, Jim Dale is one of the best. He can be a ‘voice in my head’ anytime… (For more on Jim Dale, click on the picture for his official website.)

To see the Official J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter) website go to: www.jkrowling.com