What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?? Revisiting...

What's in Your Library Bag this Wednesday? Mine is empty as promised!! Last week I promised myself I wouldn't pick up another book, I'd try to work on some Christmas stuff! And it's been hard. It's not that I don't want to focus on the other stuff, I just really enjoy reading; especially before bed. It seems odd to just go to bed and not read a few pages before I fall asleep. But, if I read a book before bed, I'd read it all the time instead of shopping, crafting, ordering online, etc. I have no willpower when it comes to reading something I like.

I do have another reader's advisory class coming up, though. This one is on what's called Speculative Fiction. This is kind of a wide ranging genre and includes fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction and the like. One of my favorites types of books to read is Urban Fantasy, so I thought I'd revisit an oldie but a goodie and do a little review here.

I've mentioned before about how a patron turned me onto reading series through a suggestion. The suggestion happened to be Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, the first in the Anital Blake Vampire Hunter series. Now she is the Queen of Urban Fantasy. Urban fantasy's main prerequisite is that it takes place in a city. They are usually in contemporary times with supernatural elements involved. So, Laurell K. Hamilton weaves a fantastical story of vampires, werewolves, and magic all taking place in St. Louis, Missouri.

Anita Blake is a necromancer, she raises zombies for a living; she is the legal vampire executioner for the state; and she is on retainer with the police force for all supernatural crimes, RPIT or the Spook Squad. Appearances are deceiving as Anita is a petite little gal with long black hair. She doesn't appear intimidating in the least. She tends to overcompensate this fact by carrying a big gun, knowing karate, being fit, and having an attitude to boot. It doesn't hurt that she can control the undead and kills vampires for a living, either.

Guilty Pleasures begins with a new vampire petitioning Anita to help figure out some crimes taking place in the vampire community. Anita doesn't like or trust vampires...go figure, but she gets dragged into the crimes one way or another. Jean Claude, a powerful vampire in his own right, takes a liking to Anita and decides to "help" her when she must go in front of Nikolaos, the Master Vampire of the city of St. Louis. See, even vampires have rules. In the end, the crimes get solved through many twists and turns and Anita ends up with new scars, emotional and otherwise and a troubling new "tie" to Jean Claude which is anyone's guess how that will turn out. The crimes are dark and edgy and the tough as nails vampire hunter, Anita Blake, becomes everyone's favorite heroine. By the second, third, and fourth novels, you are just "dying" to find out what will happen  next as Anita delves deeper into the world of the supernatural and the relationships that surround her.

As with most good series, the more you read, the more you want to read. What starts out as a harmless read soon becomes an obsession. So don't pick one up if you a) don't have any free time and b) don't have the stomach for the sex and violence which are an itricate part of who Anita Blake is. But, do pick one up if a)you want a book you just can't seem to put down and b)if it's the darker and edgier the better!!

Anital Blake is one of my all time favorite heroines and I can't wait to see what Laurell K. Hamilton does with her next. Maybe you'll like her too....but, I try it after you finish all of your holiday obligations. I'm just sayin...