Theme Song Saturday (34)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Here's my pick this week:

I Get Off by Halestorm is probably in bad taste; however, I still feel as though it describes this book.  Granted, Lolita is only a teenager and cannot fully understand the consequences of her actions.  That being said, she gets a lot of pleasure out of Humbert's response to her and, at some level, flaunts it.  So, in a sick and twisted way, this song kind of fits.

Leave a link to your pick in the comments ^_^  

Theme Song Saturday (33)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Here's my pick this week:

Lolita by IAMX doesn't need to really be described.  The song is perfectly describes Humbert's perceptions of Lolita.  He first sees her in the summer, she likes to wear pink, and she is ultimately his downfall.  

Leave a link to your pick in the comments ^_^  

Book Review — Proven Guilty

Title:  Proven Guilty
Author:  Jim Butcher
Genre:  Urban fantasy
Pages:  Paperback 479
Published:  February 2007
Publisher:  Roc Fantasy
ISBN:  978-0-451-46103-2
Opening Lines:  "Blood leaves no stain on a Warden's grey cloak."
Author Links:  Website   ♠   Twitter  ♠   Facebook
Rating:

"There's no lover between Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book, and the White Council of Wizards, who find him brash and undisciplined.  But war with the vampires has thinned their ranks, so the Council has drafted Harry as and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in the Windy City.

"As Harry adjusts to his new role, another problem arrives in the form of the tattooed and pierced daughter of an old friend, all grown-up and already in trouble. Her boyfriend is the only suspect in what looks like a supernatural assault, straight out of a horror film. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in Chicago, but it's all in a day's work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob . . ."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts:  I loved the start of this book.  Admittedly, I thought of Dragon Age: Origins (of which I have played twice in the last month *sheepish grin*) when Harry talked about Wardens and grey cloaks.  It was the perfect foreshadowing for the rest of the book.

This book is really hard to describe without giving away too many details.  After receiving a note from the Gatekeeper tasking Harry with finding black magic in Chicago, he gets a phone call from Molly Carpenter to help bail her boyfriend out of jail.  Being the only witness to a brutal beating, Molly's boyfriend has been wrongly arrested.  And if seeing Michael Carpenter's daughter tattooed, pierced, and dressed like a Goth isn't enough, the attendees of a local horror movie convention are being killed by the villains of the same movies they love.

Akin to the previous book, Harry is still struggling with identity issues.  Now he is a Warden of the White Council and directly in charge of Chicago.  However, even while he understands the Council's need, he is still at war with whether their methods are correct.  He is still that teenager standing before the Council, waiting for them to pass judgment on something he never fully understood.  In this book, it is painfully apparent that he is still struggling with that.  Honestly, I wonder how this will change the outcome of the next books.  Further, he is still being hunted by Lasciel.  While she seemingly accepts her position as a guest in his mind, she is still very much a powerful presence.  When Harry is preparing to enter Faerie, he is faced with the fact that he might be too cocky in his belief that he can control her.

This book also deals a lot with his loneliness.  Even in the first few books, Harry has always been battered with being alone.  With Susan, that really seemed to abate.  However, with each book, that struggle has turned into a torment.  And Lasciel's scheme in the previous book kind of drove that notion home.

"I saw what kind of man you are.  Kind.  Gentle . . . Lonely.  And . . . And hungry.  No one has touched you in a very long time." (465)

This will play a really important role in the future, and, I fear, might mean Harry's downfall.  During several points in the book, he made a point to say that this was a very weak area of him.

It was nice to see Michael return and offer a helping hand in Harry's dilemma.  However, his statement near the end of the book was rather distressing, and I hope that we will never see it in the books.

In a lot of ways, I felt this book was a lot darker than previous ones.  Butcher is really digging into Harry's character and trying to show his internal struggles.  This book really mirror that.  I felt it was extremely deep. I am anxious to see what crosses he will have to bear in the next books.

Note:  The newest Dresden book will hit the shelves this November!

Current Pages: 13,016
Current Progress:

41/50 books

Theme Song Saturday (32)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Here's my pick this week:

Look After You by The Fray kind of fits for most of the Dresden Files.  Harry cares about people with a great intensity.  There is nothing he would do to keep them from pain and make sure they're safe.  Furthermore, since the last book, Harry is finally able to see he has feelings for Murphy.  However, even though he has this great love for people, he ends up sacrificing himself for everyone else.  For me, even though this song is more of a love song, it's perfect.  Unfortunately, I am not far enough into the book to determine whether it is the best fit for this particular one *sheepish grin*

Leave a link to your pick in the comments ^_^

Follow Friday

Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee's View and Alison at Alison Can Read. The point is to follow as many book blog as you can and make new friends! As part of the adventure, she gives a weekly question.

Here's this week's question:

Q: What is the BIGGEST word you've seen used in a book lately - that made you stop and look it up? Might as well leave the definition & book too.

A:

Hmm, I honestly cannot remember.  The books I remember needing to run to a dictionary were either the LoTR series or the books required for my college courses.  Man, I feel like such a spoilsport!  *sheepish grin*  However, check back in a few weeks.  Lolita is currently on hold for me at the library, and I have every confidence that Vladimir will have me searching for my dictionary ;)

Book Review — Dead Beat

Title:  Dead Beat
Author:  Jim Butcher
Genre:  Urban fantasy
Pages:  Paperback 424
Published:  May 2006
Publisher:  Roc Fantasy
ISBN:  0-451-46091-X
Opening Lines:  "On the whole, we're a murderous race."
Author Links:  Website   ♠   Twitter  ♠   Facebook
Rating:

"Paranormal investigations are Harry Dresden's business, and Chicago is his beat as he tries to bring law and order to a world of wizards and monsters that exist alongside everyday life.  And though most inhabitants of the Windy City don't believe in magic, the Special Investigations department of the Chicago PD knows better.

"Karrin Murphy is the head of SI and Harry's good friend. So when a killer vampire threatens to destroy Murphy's reputation unless Harry does her bidding, he has no choice. The vampire wants the Word of Kemmler (whatever that is) and all the power that comes with it. Now Harry is in a race against time—and six merciless necromancers—to find the Word before Chicago experiences a Halloween night to wake the dead . . . "

~ Jacket Copy

Thoughts:  I'm used to Butcher starting the Dresden books in the middle of some sort of action sequence.  And, honestly, it has gotten very, very old.  When this book started with Harry coming home to a beautiful jogger leaving his bedroom, I was pleasantly surprised.  It seems that the addition of Thomas to Harry's life has changed things for the better!

Harry is finally settling into his new life with a family and a new dog.  Things seem to be going okay when Murphy drops a bombshell that she is going to Hawaii with Kincaid!  And if that isn't enough, Mavra now has incriminating photos of Murphy helping on the illegal raid put together by Harry and Kincaid.  Unless he helps her find the Word of Kemmler, she will leak the pictures and destroy Murphy's career.  However, unknown to Harry, this book is sought after by the biggest and baddest necromancers, the disciples of Kemmler.

This book deals a lot with temptation and identity.  Throughout the book, the coin containing the fallen angel comes back to haunt him.  The lovely Lasciel is now a mirror image of herself in Dresden's mind, and she wants to "help" him stop these necromancers.  She offers knowledge and a way to boost his power base, which would allow him to take out Cowl.  However, at what cost?  Further, Thomas challenges Harry to finally admit and face his feelings regarding Murphy and the fact that he is alone.

Honestly, I felt this book did a lot toward Harry's character development.  He still has a lot of character flaws, and I still find him to be rather stupid.  However, it was nice to see him move forward a bit.  That being said, I nearly cried when he is confronted by Lasciel and his subconscious mind.  I fully understand wanting to save the people you love, but they wouldn't want us to sacrifice the core of who we are.  Further, the pop culture references were awesome!  I loved that Harry referred to Lasciel and the coin as the Ring and the fact that he quoted Aladdin.

I was happy that Butcher made Thomas more of a central character.  Since he first appeared on the scene, I really liked him.  Also, it will do Harry a lot of good to have Thomas in his life.  Further, it was also nice to see Butters return.  He was a pretty endearing character, and he had an awesome part to play in this book.  And, not to ruin anything, Harry's ride from the Field Museum to the campus was pretty stellar!

Butcher also brought back a few characters briefly seen in other novels.  He was able to flesh them out, and I hope he brings them back later in the series.

This book was really fun!  At points, it was heart rending, but I also found myself laughing until my sides hurt.  Even though I have a library book out, I am considering taking it back to the library and picking up the next Dresden book!

Current Pages: 12,537
Current Progress:

40/50 books

Theme Song Saturday (31)

Welcome to Theme Song Saturdays, a new weekly meme, hosted by yours truly, in which we share our love of music and books! Since I love books and music, this meme is for fun to try to incorporate those two loves! Whenever I read a book, a certain song -- kind of like a soundtrack or theme song -- plays through my head.

Want to know how to play? Head over to this post to read the rules and get the code.

Sorry this has been very overdue!  We have been without a functioning computer for awhile, so this was kind of put on hold.  However, with the arrival of our new laptop yesterday, that has changed!  Yay!

Here's my pick this week:

Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival almost always seems to fit the Dresden Files.  However, something about trying to stop the necromancers before Halloween and warning everyone to stay behind a threshold makes this song very appropriate.  Aside from his views on Polka, I don't know Harry's preferred music genre; however, I would be willing to bet that he wouldn't turn his nose up at classic rock!  

What is your pick this week?  Leave a comment with a link to your song ^_^