American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Title: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: William Morrow 2001

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 480

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fantasy Project; NPR Scifi/Fan; Ebook; 52 Books -- W20; Lucky No. 14 -- Favorite Author

The storm was coming….Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place.

On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose accepts.

But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter -- all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does.

Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined.

All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought -- and the prize is the very soul of America.

So it turns out that I read one of Gaiman's books out of order.  Anansi Boys is a follow-up to American Gods.  I ended up knowing a bit more about Anansi than this book reveals.  It didn't ruin this book for me, so I guess it was okay.

This novel was out book club selection for May.  I was really excited to introduce my book club ladies to Gaiman as I love his work so much.  And this book did not disappoint.  I love how all of Gaiman's works (okay most of them) start in the real world with a seemingly normal person.  But then something happens that's not quite right and we're thrown into a hidden world of some kind.  In this case, we get to meet gods.  Half the fun of the novel is trying to figure which gods Shadow meets in his travels.  I got most of them; guess I know my various mythologies.  I loved following Shadow as we learn more and more of what really is going on.  The big twists threw me, but I loved them.  Overall, this is a very strong novel from Gaiman.  It has his usual style of characters and writing.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Title: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Author: Ray Bradbury

Publisher: Simona and Schuster 1962

Genre: Horror

Pages: 308

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: NPR Scifi and Fantasy; NPR Teen; Mount TBR; Read Your Freebies; 52 Books -- W15

Few American novels written this century have endured in th heart and mind as has this one-Ray Bradbury's incomparable masterwork of the dark fantastic. A carnival rolls in sometime after the midnight hour on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time. A calliope's shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret of the satanic raree-show's smoke, mazes, and mirrors, as they learn all too well the heavy cost of wishes -- and the stuff of nightmare.

For a classic horror novel, I wasn't that impressed.  In reality, I think I read this too late.  I was reminded of newer horror writers.  The entire time I thought I was reading a Stephen King novel or something of the like.  The writing was a bit stilted at times, but overall I did enjoy the story.  The nightmares are scary enough to get me at times.  The characters are shadowy and mysterious.  The twists and turns kept me interested.  A good read, but I think I prefer Bradbury's science fiction to his horror.

2014 Reading Challenges -- Perpetual Edition

Overall, I want to focus most of my 2014 reading challenges of knocking out some of my perpetual reading challenges.  So I've chosen a few books from each challenge to help me reach my ultimate goals.

Fantasy Project: 20 Books

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
4. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
5. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
6. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
7. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
8. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
9. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
10. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
11. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
12. The Little Prince by
13. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
14. TBD
15. TBD
16. TBD
17. TBD
18. TBD
19. TBD
20. TBD

Nonfiction Adventure: 20 Books

1. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
2. Living History by Hilary Rodham Clinton
3. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
4. John Adams by
5. Washington by
6. American Lion by
7. Woodrow Wilson by
8. Alexander Hamilton by
9. The Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge
10. What Ifs of American History by
11. A Vindication on the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
12. Becoming Mona Lisa by Donald Sassoon
13. The Emperor of Maladies by
14. TBD
15. TBD
16. TBD
17. TBD
18. TBD
19. TBD
20. TBD

NPR Scifi and Fantasy: 10 Books

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
3. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
6. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
7. Neuromancer by William Gibson
8. Contact by Carl Sagan
9. Dune by Frank Herbert
10. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

NPR Teen Books: 10 Books

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
5. Dune by Frank Herbert
6. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
7. TBD
8. TBD
9. TBD
10. TBD

Top 100 YA Novels: 5 Books

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
2. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3. Tithe by Holly Black
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
5. TBD

21st Century Women Authors: 5 Books

1. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
3. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
4. House of Riverston by Kate Morton
5. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

United States of YA: 5 Books

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD

Time Top 100: 5 Books

1. Neuromancer by William Gibson
2. Beloved by Toni Morrison
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD

Rory Gilmore: 10 Books

1. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
2. Living History by Hilary Rodham Clinton
3. The TIme Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
4. Beloved by Toni Morrison
5. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
6. Siddartha by Herman Hesse
7. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
8. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
9. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
10. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

1001 Books: 10 Books

1. Neuromancer by William Gibson
2. Contact by Carl Sagan
3. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
4. Beloved by Toni Morrison
5. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
6. Siddartha by Herman Hesse
7. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
8. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
9. The Little Prince by
10. The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul by Douglas Adams

U.S. Presidents: 5 Books

1. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
2. John Adams by
3. American Lion by
4. Washington by
5. Woodrow Wilson by

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Title: The Road

Author: Cormac McCarthy

Publisher: Vintage 2007

Genre: Dystopia

Pages: 241

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall into Reading; Dystopian; Monthly Key Word -- December; Book to Movie; Bingo -- 4 from everyone but me; NPR SciFan (perpetual); Fantasy Project (perpetual)

How I Got It: Library loan

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

Another meh book.  I can appreciate the stark simplicity of the writing, but I just wasn't a fan of the rest of the book.  Nothing grabbed me and kept me really interested in reading.  I'm fairly certain that I finished because it's only 241 pages.  Don't really see what all the hype was about.  I guess it just wasn't my kind of book.

Movie:

The movie added a ton of action beats that just don't exist in the book.  It also expanded the role of the wife.  I understand why they did it for a wide spread release movie.  The book just doesn't have enough to appeal to mass audiences.  Overall, I like the movie better than the book, but It still just wasn't something that really held my attention.

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters and Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman

Title: The Sandman Vol 11: The Dream Hunters and Vol. 12: Endless Nights

Author: Neil Gaiman, Yoshitaka Amano

Publisher: Vertigo 1999, 2003

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 128, 160

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; Seriously Series; 52 Books -- Week 39; Fall into Reading; NPR SciFan

How I Got It: Library Loan

As I read these back-to-back, I thought I would review them together.  Plus, I don't have a huge amount to say about these two volumes.  Basically: they were good.

Written by Neil Gaiman; Art by Yoshitaka Amano Featuring striking painted artwork, this love story, set in ancient Japan, tells the story of a humble young monk and a magical, shape-changing fox who find themselves romantically drawn together. As their love blooms, the fox learns of a devilish plot by a group of demons to steal the monk's life. With the aid of Morpheus, the King of All Night's Dreamings, the fox must use all of her cunning and creative thinking to foil this evil scheme and save the man that she loves. This book also boasts an eight page section highlighting Yoshitaka Amano's amazing painted art.

This is an interesting volume.  Definitely a departure from the rest of the series, but I like it.  It has an even more dream quality than the rest.  I believe this is due to the beautiful illustrations.  I almost felt like I was intruding on someone's personal dream to follow the storyline.  Very interesting...

Joined by a dream team of artists from around the world, Neil Gaiman—the Hugo Award-winning, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of AMERICAN GODS and CORALINE—returns to the beloved characters he made famous in THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS. Alternately haunting, bittersweet, erotic and nightmarish, the seven stories in this book—one for each of the Endless siblings, each illustrated by a different artist—reveal strange secrets and surprising truths. In addition to the seven tales of the Endless, THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS includes a biography section in the spirit of the Sandman collections (designed by Dave McKean) and a summary of each volume in the Sandman Library.

This volume was a nice ending to the series.  It wrapped up a few of the leftover story lines.  It created a few new ones.  But overall, I loved seeing all the Endless siblings highlighted throughout the volume.  Very enjoyable series if you like the strangeness of Neil Gaiman.  I definitely do!

Sandman

• 1. Preludes and Nocturnes
• 2. The Doll's House
• 3. Dream Country
• 4. Season of Mists
• 5. A Game of You
• 6. Fables and Reflections
• 7. The Brief Lives
• 8. World's End
• 9. The Kindly Ones
• 10. The Wake
• 11. The Dream Hunters
• 12. Endless Nights