Wow this place is really bloody dusty.....
It's like someone hasn't been here in at least a year....heh

You will notice that this is not an AssortedBlog
That is because i actually started this blog a while ago and i didn't wanna change it.
Partially because of the content that i already had on this blog…which i am going to go back and edit to make sure all is well later.
Another reason is the fact that i love the name Paranormal Bookshelf and it takes me back to why i got into these kinda books.

Another reason I'm keeping this a bit separate is actually something I want to explore down the road when I'm more into all things blog.
And that is why book nerds are kinda set apart from other types. Ok so not the actual people but I guess the best way to say it is the “book nerd culture” is kinda set apart from the television, gaming, movies, comic book nerd culture.
 It’s something that I’ve thought of for a while and something that I’d love to hear people’s input into. Maybe someday down the line I can have some “nerd famous” to comment on this.

Basically I am considering this the re-launch of The Paranormal Bookshelf.

I am doing this for several reasons beyond the fact that I haven’t posted in a while.
It is mainly because I want to explore more things than just reviewing books and telling you what I think of them.
I want to have a place where I can talk about things in a book series that made me like it, or the carryover of legends or mythology between two authors.
My biggest hope would be me being able to get those authors to comment on similarities or their inspiration.

This change really came about when I got the chance to write my Junior Thesis at The College Of Wooster.

I had the opportunity to research and write a thirty page paper about the connections between the Greek and Roman god Pan, Shakespeare’s Character Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the old Irish and English pixies and sprites.
And all of this research was focused around two of my favorite Characters in television and fiction.
The secondary being the character of The Trickster from the early episodes of the television show Supernatural and the main focus was around the character or Robin Goodfellow from the Cal Leandros Series by Rob Thurman. Rob Thurman even answered some of my questions about Robin’s origins on Twitter.
This was such a fun experience that I’d love to do similar things again.

Reviews that are in the works are Hammered and Tricked, book 3 and 4 of The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne.
And a book that actually came out in 2009 that I am rereading called Child Of Fire by Harry Connolly This actually includes a brief twitter exchange between myself and Mr. Connolly about his protagonist’s weapon, interesting stuff.

Well so yeah…. Those are the future plans for The Paranormal Bookshelf.

Side Jobs By Jim Butcher

This collection of short stories from the archives of the Dresden files is an answer to my own personal prayers. 
I own a few of the short story anthologies that Butcher has participated in and i have been extremely satisfied, but i wanted a way to have them all together. 
Poof, as if he was as magical as his main character, yeah i just said that, live with it.

For the actual review ill start out saying that is you haven't read the other Dresden Files books this is not the one to start with.
But for fans of the series, buy it yesterday.  Not only does it give you a better look into the Alphas and Harry's relationship with them but there is even a story written from Harry's brother Thomas the vampires point of view.  This glimpse into the psyche and life of Thomas is a very enjoyable ride.  It brings to light several things about the vampires and lends yet another layer to Butchers lush world.


And for those of you who like me were left hanging over the cliff at the end of Butcher's last book Changes (those of you who dont know what im talking about i cant ruin it) you get a story from Sergeant Karrin Murphy everyone’s favorite five foot nothing cop that can kick your ass and still look cute's point of view.  This is in my opinion an accomplishment that shows Butcher's depth as a writer. 
For fans of the series this is a must have in my opinion.

Unshapely Things

I just finished the first Connor Grey book, Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco. 

Ill start by saying that this book takes a very different route on fey-human relations then most other books.
While in most books the fey is behind the scenes and not common knowledge. 
While Del Franco's take on the fey is that when they came to this world in what he calls the "convergence" (when their world and ours collided) they became members of society that even the common man is aware of. 
This also means magic is out in the open as well (called the Weird in these books, it even has its own neighborhood) . 
This difference in my opinion makes it worth a read.
The main character of Connar Grey (awesome name which sets up one of in my opinion the best tag lines in supernatural fiction. "Down in the Weird, crime isnt black- and -white. And that's where Grey comes in...)
His lack of magical ability, caused by an encounter that you dont know too much about with a radical environmentalist elf, puts him at a serious disadvantage when compared to the other paranormal fiction hero's and heroines.
Honestly this book is so different in the way it approaches magic and the paranormal in relation to the normal people turns the norm in paranormal fiction on its head....wow that was a Weird sounding sentence...heh Even without the wit action and suspense in this supernatural whodoneit it would be worth a read.
With it, its an awesome wild ride.

Suspect Zero. By Richard Kadrey

Though this isnt exactly a book it is a fantastic introduction to the dark writing of Richard Kadrey.
And i highly suggest giving it a read

http://richardkadrey.blogspot.com/2010/08/suspect-zero-part-1.html