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Gnnn, the last couple of weeks have knocked me down big-time. I finally gave up and went home sick yesterday, and took today as a sick day also. I feel really weird about calling in sick to a temp job where I've only been working for two weeks, but damn it, I've been sick for nearly ALL of those two weeks, I haven't been sleeping, I've been working 6-day weeks, and I just wasn't getting over it.

So I came home yesterday afternoon, crashed for a while, then slept in this morning, and mmmmm, I think I'm finally shaking off this cold. I feel so much better. Still pretty hazy in the brain department, but I'm finally starting to have some energy again.

I've also been re-reading the Dresden Files books (SIDE JOBS SOON YAY) ... it's been ages since I read the first one, and I'm pretty sure I never actually read the second one (I started with book 3 originally, then went back and read book 1 afterwards just to see how it all began, but I never got around to going ahead and reading the second one!). It's really fascinating to see how many of the later developments were obviously planned from the beginning, and yet, how much less layered it is in the early books -- it's so obviously a film-noir-with-magic story in the first book that it's fascinating to think about how it developed later. And he's so isolated in the first couple of books; even Murphy is pretty distant, and she's basically the only friend he's got. Oh, Harry.

The list of this year's nominated Yuletide fandoms is up - this is the unmodified list; that is, they may later disqualify some of these. I noticed Dresden Files is on there and I'd be really surprised if this one makes the cut (though it did last year, so it might this year). Anyway, nominations close today, so you might want to see if all the fandoms you want are on there!

I have all of my winter-season ficathon assignments now except for Yuletide (obviously), so I guess I should start working on those, shouldn't I? Perhaps I'll start poking at those this afternoon. It feels so weird to have no pressing projects hanging over me right now, other than the fannish ones.

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Glad to hear you're feeling better! *hugs*

it's so obviously a film-noir-with-magic story in the first book that it's fascinating to think about how it developed later

Heh. That almost makes me want to check out the later books; I read the first one way back when and didn't much care for the film-noir-with-magic thing.

Thank you! :)

That almost makes me want to check out the later books; I read the first one way back when and didn't much care for the film-noir-with-magic thing.

It gets much better, and loses the film-noir almost entirely! If you want to give it another try, I'd suggest skipping the first two books and starting with the third one (Grave Peril), which was the first one I read, and the one that hooked me. You get a much better sense of the series' mythos in that one, a much greater feeling of world-depth. Book 3 is also where the ensemble cast really starts to become an ensemble rather than just Harry plus a girlfriend or two.

I'm putting it on my list! :)

(World-depth - great word. And exactly what I want, so yay for that!)

Glad you're getting better :D I think the thing that really sucks about getting sick is not so much being sick but the way the sickness seems to linger around forever :P

I've thought about rereading The Dresden Files plus a few other favorites but the thought always makes me balk. Those times I have reread a book it always left me wondering what I saw in said book in the first place, and I would hate for that to happen with my favorites. But it's so hard to find something good to read, and I miss those stories.

Thanks! Yeah, I woke up yesterday morning not only not feeling better, but feeling like I was getting sick AGAIN, which was the point when I decided I had to stop pushing my body and give it some rest.

I'm really enjoying my Dresden Files re-read. I've had the experience you talk about, where a book you used to love turns out to be a dud, but I still enjoy revisiting old favorites, regardless.

That's so funny - I just picked up the first Dresden book yesterday! I've never read any of them and I'm excited to give these a try. I've heard good things about them!

I hope you enjoy them! I'd love to have another person to talk to them about. :)

Huh. You know, I like the earlier Dresden books MUCH better than the later ones. I started reading with #1, and I enjoyed - oh, the first 6? Or so. Since then, I've bought them... but not as into them. I liked the struggling hero, mysterious past/etc. Then it got.. I don't know - less likeable. I mean, yea, he had to expand the world, and the characters had to grow. But one of everyone's favorite character is the half-brother? (or is full brother now? It keeps changing). I just didn't like him to begin with, then 'oh yea, now he's related? bleah.

Feel better soon!

Heh, see, for my part, I'm not really fond of the whole lone-hero archetype; I like ensembles, so the more that the cast grew around Harry, the more I liked the series. The half-brother ... I really didn't like him when he was first introduced (vampires really aren't my thing), but the more I saw of his interactions with Harry, the more I liked him, until I realized that I'd fallen for him utterly. In fact, his reaction to the thing that happened at the end of "Changes" is the thing I'm most looking forward to in the next book!

But to each their own, of course!

And thanks! :)

I'm glad you're feeling better!

I loved rereading the Dresden books after finishing them all the way through. I loved seeing how they developed and how Jim Butcher set up things later in the series. I agree that those first books weren't as... developed (?) as the later books. I wonder if maybe he didn't want to put in too much detail in case the books didn't take off? I'm so excited to get Side Jobs. Really need some more after that last book!

Thank you! :)

imagine the first books were sort of easing readers into the world. After all, he does throw quite a bit at you right off the bat; maybe he thought it would've been too overwhelming, or maybe just too difficult for a new reader to follow, if he'd gotten too deeply into Harry's complicated personal history in the first few books.

And, yeah, I'm ridiculously excited about Side Jobs, even though I know it won't answer anything. *g*

Yes, there is so much in those later books, I can see how quickly it would become overwhelming if you haven't traveled the entire way with Harry. I love books with continuing casts of characters, so the Dresden files is perfect for me. I just love the everyone that Harry has encountered, Thomas is one of my favorites characters ever with his apprentice a close second (Maggie right? I do need to reread the books!) Really, really need more Dresden soon.

Glad you're feeling better! I was sick two days into starting a new job! I got sunburnt on the legs at The Melbourne Cup (one and only time I've been :D) and had take a day off work :D At least my horse came second.

Ironically, when I started this job back in 2004 (I'm temping at a job I used to hold full-time), I was sick for my very first week on the job too. Perhaps I should think twice the next time they ask me about temping, ha.

Sounds like me and holidays. Work ALWAYS expect me to be sick within a day or two of coming back. I don't know why! ;-)

Heh - amusingly, I accidentally skipped one book, which turned out to be the book that introduced Molly and Lasciel. So, when I started reading the book following it, I kept thinking, "who the hell is this Molly?" and "Where the hell did this mind-demon come from?"

so confused!

Proven Guilty is the name of the one I think I skipped accidentally. I still don't know how that happened.

Haven't read Changes yet. From your blog, I know its a doozy!

Okay, wow, yeah - I can see how that would be confusing! And yes, Changes is really something. It's got me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next.

... and HI THERE, by the way! How are you?

Overworked, underpaid, exhausted, but hanging in there. I think I've only broken down a couple of times in the last few months. I'm beginning to worry that I'm going to go postal on the place though...not literally, but definitely figuratively. I desperately need to get the hell out of my job. But that's a whole sad story you don't want to hear about.

I'm trying Nanowrimo for the first time this year! I'm hoping to follow in your, awesome footsteps! I just read your post below about your novel! That is so, so, so awesome! I'm totally in awe!

Thank you! :) But, about the job ... ugh, that's no good. I have missed you around the internets, and I wish that I was able to meet up with you guys in November (you're still doing that, right?). Anyway, I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope you're able to find something better.

I was lucky enough to get out of my soul-killing job last year, and then they suckered me back in this month ... and it's been all the things that made me leave before (punishing hours, morale-flattening bureaucracy, office infighting and all the rest). I'm just counting the days until I'm free again for a while.