The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“‘Oh, monsters are scared,’ said Lettie. ‘That's why they're monsters.’”

“Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.”

Don’t underestimate Neil Gaiman. He’s been writing and thinking about writing a long time now and it’s showing. This reads like a children’s book or a young adult novel but if you’re paying attention it’s unmistakably written by a weaver of both literature and fantasy.


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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My last read for the spring Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. A perfect children's book that's exciting and fun for adults too. It's about bravery, loyalty, family, and love. A classic! Can't wait until James (and then Miranda) is old enough to read it and appreciate it.

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Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I only started reading this because I didn't realize that it was part of an American Gods series. It's one of the books I inherited from my dad, and by the time I realized it was related to American Gods, I was super into the story. It was a delightful read! All the fun parts of American Gods, all of the humor of it, without the bleakness of it.

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Good Omens by Terry Pratchett

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman 
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Can a book be bad and pointless, and still kind of cute? If so, this is that book. It's a cross between The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Screwtape Letters with a lot of British humor and snarkiness. It's not very three-dimensional though. The only somewhat developed characters were the demon Crowley, the angel Aziraphale, and the Adam and his friends. I enjoyed them. The other characters were extremely flat and pointless. The ending went on and on. I don't recommend the book but if they ever make a holiday movie of this, I'll definitely go. Haha.

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American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars. This is what happened. I hated the book for the entire first half. I grumbled. I chucked my copy around. I contemplated quitting it. I was so bored. The story was very boring. Bored bored bored.

I have a very serious case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) so I kept reading anyway. That's the problem with FOMO, sometimes, randomly it's rewarded. There's actually been a scientific study about random unpredictable rewards being addictive so it's no surprise that FOMO is self-reinforcing. Economic science agrees -- sunk costs after all. If I could just give up I'd never know about the occasional reward, and I would, on average, be better off. I understand that intellectually. But I can't quit. The unread book taunted me from the shelf until bit by bit- even after my daughter cruelly tore my bookmark out- which was really my dad's bookmark where he had given up who knows how many years ago. Maybe he didn't have FOMO.

Anyway, the ending was better. I ended up liking the story. I ended up liking the hero. I ended up liking even some of the supporting characters. I don't know though. I believe Gaiman has addressed this elsewhere, but it's really strange and incomplete to leave Jesus or Yahweh out of a story about American Gods- though of course that would be a mess. He could have let the other Gods talk about it though.

PS. There are two different versions of this book now- an author's version with more material... so we may not all be reading the same book exactly.

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