I find myself with more free time on my hands than I am used to. Even with all the extra shifts I have found myself having to work I still have a great deal of down time. In part this comes from the new "You can only sit at the desk and enjoy the free air" rules they instituted (we have to pay for the air every other Friday). The other reason now that I think about it also stems from the first part. I have been going through my weekly books in one sitting now as we are basically only allowed to read at work (oh the life of a dispatcher as you sit and wait for the shit to hit the fan).

With all this free time and also because I have cut down my pull list I have fallen back on those books with no pictures that everyone seems to hold in such high esteem. Which actually brings me to the whole point of all of this as I was again reminded of just how brilliant Jim Butcher is. Not to mention funny. He is one of the few authors that can actually make me giggle out loud like some one out of the home on a weekend pass. I have mentioned a time or two that his Dresden Files series is just top notch and the books are the definition of page turners.

Harry Dresden has got to be one of the best written characters ever. That is right I said it. One of the best ever. Hey may walk in the world of the supernatural but he is the most human character I have come across in a long time. You pull for Harry. You cheer for his victories and love his wise ass mouth. More than that he is a character that you can care about because at some point along the way you will find a bit of yourself in Harry or one of the members of his supporting cast.

My first introduction to the Dresden Files came from stocking the shelves at a bookstore I used to work at. I always got stuck with the Sci-fi/Fantasty section because no one wanted to do it for some reason. So I would always take my sweet time and one day I came across the first four volumes of the Dresden Files on my cart of books to be shelved. Which if you knew the store I worked at for there to be four books from any series at one time actually in stock (other than Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings) was a shocker. So I read the jacket covers and told myself I would have to check them out some day. At the time I was knee deep in Peter Hamilton and Tad Williams country and did not want to add yet another series of books to my reading list.

Then about a year and a half ago when surfing Hulu I cam across the Dresden Files TV show. Which I might add was doomed from the start as it was only on Sci-Fi. I gave it a shot thinking at least it would kill about an hour and it was so dead at work with all the students gone for summer break. So I watched the first episode, then the second and then the rest of the series when I got home. I had the bug in a bad way. The next day I had the first two books in the series in my hand and tore through them. As it was summer vacation at the college there was almost nothing for me to do at work other than sit there in the event that the place caught on fire and some one had to officially point that out. So I was reading about a book a week just to keep myself from fallingl asleep at work. I read the first two Dresden File books basically in one evening. I then went back to the bookstore and got the rest of the series that was out at that time. I ended up finishing them off three days later. I even almost broke down and bought the hard cover versions of the newer books (I hate hard covers). Jim Butcher had won me over in a big way, a way that had not happened since I had picked up that first Peter Hamilton book three years earlier.

Combine Butchers work with hearing the voice of Paul Blackthorn who played Dresden in the TV show in my head and it was just for lack of a better word just heavenly. Then came that extra added twist that made me have a nerd-gasim. Butchers work was being translated into comic book form by Dable Brothers Publishing. I did a happy dance honest to goodness I am not making that up.

The only problem was like everything else I was late to the party and had missed most of the first two volumes of the comic book. So the hunt began like with everything else I turned to CCL and I am slowly getting all the books together. In the meanwhile though I was looking for something else to keep me entertained at work and that is when I decided to give Butchers other series The Codex Alera a shot. While it was a huge shift in gears from the Dresden books it is still just another example of how talented Butcher is. It would also make an excellent comic book as it is heavy on chances for beautiful eye candy. That and in the first book alone he has crafted a a rich world that mixes magic and sword play well.

I have yet to do more than browse the first Dresden files comic as I am waiting to have all of them together so I can devour them in one sitting but it looks great. As I write this I have the trade for "Welcome to the Jungle" working its way to me in the mail. Once I have had a good chance I will fill you in on my impression of the comic book adaptation.

I also have done something I almost never do which is break down and purchase a hardcover version of a book. Normally I hold out and only purchase paperbacks as I find them more friendly for the commute back and forth from work and home. Also as I know at some point that I have at least one more move in my future I would rather move a box of paper back books over hard cover any day. After reading "Turn Coat" I could not hold out for "Changes" to make it to paperback. So that is also in the mail on its way to me (in the same package as the graphic woot woot).

Spoilers be darned I say I can not wait. If you are looking for something to pass the time with or something that is as addictive as crack (but legal) get ye to the bookstore (those brick and mortar places that have all those books without pictures and people walk around doing all that mouth breathing) and try the Dresden Files. You can also find the full run of the TV show still on Hulu and with luck you will find it as charming as the books.