Reading list second half 2019 + update

Howdy 🤠

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. Things have been extremely busy at work and I’m excited for what possibilities 2020 has in store Automattic as a company and for me as a professional.

This extra effort has been synchronous with my reading list. I find myself ending work after long hours with a little more mental exhaustion than I would normally have. As a result, I have spent the vast majority of my reading time exercising via walking while listening to books on tape in order to try and effortlessly kill two birds with one stone.

Virtually all of the books have been fiction, and all from the same series at that. I think my choice of genre is directly related to my workload 😅. Back during my 100 days of running I listened to the first three Dresden Files books and found myself returning to them for more. It turns out there are 15 books already published in the series, so the prospect of having a lot of available content I was already familiar with was another deciding factor (notice a pattern here?) During the time between my last reading list and now, I read 10 books in the series. Book 4: Summer Knight to Book 13: Ghost Story. I’m not sure how long the books are because I listened on audio for the most part. In general though: they average about 50 chapters and 20ish hours recorded, per book. By the way, the narration is excellent…. James Marsters is the narrator in every book, and really brings the stories to life if you ask me.

I didn’t explain it much in the previous post, but possibly the main appeal for me is the books are basically Harry Potter for adults in the Noir genre. Hell, even the main character is named Harry, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, that is. Harry is a wizard who runs a small private investigation business in Chicago. On the surface you have a fun series that mixes a little bit of crime/mystery with the supernatural, but as the series matures you’re slowly sucked in to the supernatural world at large and the powers at play. As Harry becomes stronger, so increases the stakes in each book. The recurring characters, development, and overarching plot are what keeps me engaged, even 13 books later.

Anyway, without butchering the review: I think Harry Potter for adults is a good baseline if you’re thinking about reading this series. I like simplicity. Did you like Harry Potter? -> You will probably like this. I’ll link the covers + links to the books I read below (don’t you worry those aren’t affiliate links, no one is going to make any money off of your precious clicks – I promise 🙏) — if you’re looking for links to Books 1, 2, and 3 – those are in my previous post.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Leonardo da Vinci

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Knight-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/B002CSL0C0/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dresden+files+book+4&qid=1582033391&s=audible&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Masks-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/B002UUDFD2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dresden+files+book+4&qid=1582033391&s=audible&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Rites-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/B003CN7DQ6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=dresden+files+book+4&qid=1582033391&s=audible&sr=1-3