A Storm is Coming

I find myself loving Neil Gaiman more and more.

This book is about a man named Shadow who is just getting released from prison. On his way home he is seated next to a man called Mr. Wednesday who changed Shadow's world in incredible ways. Shadow ends up working for Wednesday as they prepare for a storm of clashing gods.

There are just so many gods in this book that have their own distinct personalities and powers. One thing I really like about this book is that Gaiman doesn't come out and say "well this is this god and he does this and this one is this guy and he does this." Sometimes we get no explanation about a character's motives or background but they are so lovingly described that I have no doubt I could research them and discover that Gaiman captured their essence.

This book is just enjoyable to read. Shadow spends a lot of time in the Midwest, which I always like. The writing is beautiful and the plot is complex. While reading this book I also had a lot of people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed it. One of my coworkers at Barnes even went and grabbed a used copy of Gaiman's Fragile Things for me.

I highly suggest checking out Gaiman's personal blog.

Shopping Trip

I had the need to go to the bookstore the other day and thought I'd share what I got.

First up is McSweeny's Issue 13 which is pretty cheap if you buy it from the actually website: Here or if you get a discount because you work at a bookstore. I've been reading a lot of graphic novels and reading a bunch of comics online lately, so I'm excited to read this one.

Second is American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I've heard a lot of good things about this one. I read Coraline (my thoughts on that here) but that's it from him. I really enjoyed Coraline so I'm looking forward to reading this one. Actually finishing this one, since I am already on chapter three. Gaiman's website is worth checking out if you haven't yet: neilgaman.com.

And, finally, Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin. I've recently read an article about this series of book, the Art of the Novella Series. I unfortunately can't seem to find the article anymore which is frustrating me, although the publisher's website has several links to related articles. Aside from my infinite love for Russian Lit, I picked this book up because the design is really simple and appealing. Melville House Publishing has a variety of different stories in the Art of the Novella series, which can be found here. These just look so good and are most are from authors that have yet to disappoint me. I'm planing on reading this one on Saturday.

Not photographed was the amazing pumpkin spice latte I got. Book and coffee make me one happy girl.

She has our hearts in her keeping

Onto a book that I am excited to write about!

And, as an added bonus, a movie review as well!

Coraline is written by Neil Gaiman who is an author that I ran across again on goodreads.com quotes. This is a really quick read for sure. It is the story about a little girl, Coraline, who's parents don't really have time for her. She finds a door in her new apartment and goes through at night to find a world where everything seems so much better. In this world she has an other mother and an other father who are much better at paying attention to her. They also have buttons for eyes. However, things are not what they seem.

Coraline has to go about trying to defeat the other mother and get herself, her parents, and the souls of other lost children free from the other world. The pictures are a little creepy, at least I would be creeped out by them if I was a kid. Hell, I'm kid of freaked out by them now.

Best quote from the book by far:

"Coraline sighed. "You really don't understand, do you?" she said. "I don't want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted?Just like that, and it didn't mean anything. What then?"

I also went and saw Coraline the movie. Now, when I was little, my mother took one of my brothers and I to go see the Nightmare Before Christmas. We freaked out and had to leave. That clown with the tear away face still makes me shiver. So, when I saw all the kiddies in the theatre to see Coraline, I felt for them. And several of them left. The poor girl next to me looked like she was going to cry.

That being said, I thought that this story was perfect for a stop motion picture. The details were amazing and just visually beautiful. The story was changed a little, most noteably the addition of a character, but I think that the changes made the movie flow. The other mother was wonderfully creepy - you can watch her slowly become less like Coraline's real mother and more like her true spiddery self. I yelped several times in fright, especially the end.

For the love of God, don't bring an infant to see this movie like some crazy lady did. In fact, bringing an infant to a movie theatre is just never a good idea.