Amy Reads the Week (of April 6th, 2007)

Happy April, Gentle Reader! Mr. Reads and I have Quite the Burgeoning Garden going; our tomato, garden salsa pepper, and sweet pepper plants are growing, the basil, oregano, and chives are all happy and healthy, and just yesterday, there was the tiniest hint of green in our freshly planted strawberry pot. There is a cold front sweeping through the South this weekend, however, so we need to Keep An Eye on possible frost!

I must admit something, though: I’m not a huge fan of Spring. Fall and Winter are definitely My Seasons Of Choice, and I can pretty much do without Spring, and I *certainly* can do without Summer. I despite the heat, I despise the Lack Of Programming, and the only thing exciting that Spring and Summer bring, other than the new happiness of our new garden, is the occasional New Book. And this week, yes, Friends, this week brought the new Harry Dresden Novel.

I was a reluctant Harry fan in the beginning. The first few books make it difficult to distinguish between Harry’s innate chauvinism and the attitude of the book. But as I kept reading, I realized that Harry’s chauvinism, his continuous desire to Save Women From Themselves, was in fact a *huge* character flaw, and therefore Quite The Interesting Character Flaw Indeed! I’ve met other readers who had similar reactions, both male and female alike, and even Mr. Reads, upon handing me the first Dresden novel, told me to give it a book or two before I made judgment.

Some book series suffer from extension. Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, for example, and undeniably Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series (which This Humble Author stopped reading at least six or seven books back). But the Dresden Files, on the other hand, get more interesting, more in depth, and *better written* every book. You can’t say that often, and when you can, you revel in it, just a bit.

As Mr. Reads and I are sharing the reading of one book, and as Mr. Reads’ birthday is next Wednesday and therefore I’m giving him First Dibs on Mr. Dresden’s adventures, I’m reading a bit slower than I’d like. But low and behold, a recent trip to the library uncovered a few more gems that have slipped through my mental cracks. Yesterday, I came home with the new Nancy Martin book in her Blackbird Sisters Mystery series, which is a delightful cozy mystery series with a heavy emphasis on vintage haute couture—some of This Humble Author’s Favorite Kind of Fashion! I also came home with the new short story collection by Kage Baker, which details more adventures in the Company series. Arriving soon in stores is, of course, the Last Harry Potter novel, and a bit farther down the line, the next of Greg Rucka’s Atticus Kodiak series. Two, yes, Gentle Reader, two new Connie Willis books grace us with Their Presence this summer and fall, and the seventh book in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Series arrives the beginning of May.

Enjoy that Other Written Word, Gentle Reader, as I plan to, as well. We’ve today off from university, and Sunday, I can finally (finally!) eat chocolate again without guilt. This weekend, and Sunday, in particular, I plan to read As Much As I Can, before work, work, work begins again.