This isn't so much a book review as it is a review of a series of books. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher tells the stories of the only wizard you'll find in the yellow pages. Harry Dresden, the detective wizard, works with Chicago Police head of Special Investigations Lt. Murphy. Together, they fight vampires, werewolves, creatures of Faerie and demons. Harry also has to deal with the White Council -- the governing body of wizards who do not trust Harry because he has a bit of a histor...

Instead of writing two very boring papers for my lit theory class, I decided to write a fun paper on....drum roll.... Harry Potter. I know, you're shocked. And, while I'm not asking for help writing this paper, because that would be wrong, I thought I would put some of my notes up here to see what ya'll thought. I think it's pretty interesting stuff (I would) and I thought someone else might also find it interesting. The focus of the paper is how does JK Rowling, by writing about a ...

As most of you know, I have a love of Fantasy Literature. However, no matter how I fight and say that fantasy literature is worth academic study, it is not a proper area of study for an English major. I have had to relegate Fantasy Literature to "pet project" and "hobby." I'm ok with this, as I love all kinds of literature and I fear that being forced to work at fantasy lit, I might grow to hate it. This means that I needed to find a proper area to focus my studies on. Not being a fa...

This is my 100th article, and I nothing would be more appropriate than a Harry Potter tribute. Well, perhaps a Lord of the Rings tribute... but let's face it, Tolkien's not writing any more books these days, and Rowling is! This summer is going to be an exciting one for Harry Potter fans. The fifth movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is set to release in theaters July 13 and the last book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released July 21. I must say, I have n...

I figured since I referenced this trilogy in my last article, that I should write a review of it. So, here goes! The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix As you can tell by the title, this is a set of three books: Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen. There is a fourth book called, "Across the Wall", but it is a collection of short stories, most of which have nothing to do with the trilogy, so that's all I'm going to say about it. The trilogy is in the fantasy genre (as I'm sure you've guessed s...

I feel as though I have been lax in my geek duty to you all. I have not reviewed any fantasy books! I don't know what go into me. To make up for that, I will do my first fantasy review on what is possibly my favorite trilogy to date. I will spare you all my reviews of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, since I suspect most of you have either read the books, watched the movies, or heard enough about them. I will begin, instead with: The Deed of Paksenarrion The Deed of Paks is, a...

I recently purchased what I believe to be the coolest book ever. It is called The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim. This book takes you on a day by day journey into intellectual growth. Monday is for History, Tuesday is for Literature. Wednesday is devoted to the Visual Arts while Thursday concentrates on Science. The weekend begins with Music on Friday, with Philosophy on Saturday and Religion on Sunday. Tomorrow, I will learn about Hammurabi's Cod...

I had the great pleasure to meet Neil Gaiman when he came to my school last November. I went to a private Q&A session with him that afternoon, and then went to his talk that night. He was amazing. Funny, charming, and so smart that I felt like a moron sitting in the audience. I had the even greater pleasure of getting a few of my books signed. One of the books I had signed was Fragile Things . It is Gaiman's latest work -- a collection of short stories and poems ("If you're one of th...