In Which I Discover The Dresden Files

Have you ever avoided a book or series because you irrationally thought you wouldn’t like it, and then finally read it and realized you loved it?

Yeah, that’s me. For some reason I just knew I wouldn’t like the Dresden Files and have been avoiding them for years. I’m not big on crime novels, I’m not big on urban fantasy, I’m not even a huge fan of magic as a big part of fantasy novels (I like new worlds more than the magic, generally). I finally decided that I couldn’t call myself a fantasy author if I hadn’t read at least the first book in the series.

And now I’m addicted. I started June 19 and am now up to the middle of Changes (#12)… I’d be finished but the library took back the ebook I was reading! GAHHHH! I have to wait a little longer to finish. I have the feeling I’ll be buying the entire series in paperback, so I need to shop around a bit to find a complete set I can afford. I’ve also read a few other books in that time, of varying degrees of awesomeness (or lack thereof).

I feel silly for having avoided the Dresden Files for so long, but happy to discover another series I love. I generally am not a huge fan of long series because they often seem to just putter out rather than improving with later books. I feel like these are just getting better and better.

Please tell me I’m not the only one to avoid something out of sheer contrariness, and then realize it’s awesome.