Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I don't conside myself a huge Gaiman fan. I loved his American Gods, but found Coraline only ok. For the first half of The Graveyard Book, I put it in the 'only ok' category - but it seems that I was mistaken, because as soon as I read a bit of it each day, consistently, I got into it more and started to really love it.

The Graveyard Book is about Bod Owens, whose family is killed when he's just a baby and who ends up being brought up the ghosts of a graveyard close to what was his home. He is given certain special powers to be able to live in the graveyard comfortably and he does just that until he starts growing up and venturing out bit by bit. He of course gets himself in and out of all sorts of trouble... and basically has loads of adventures.

What I remember most from my reading experience is sitting on the couch, all snug and warm, and sipping my glass of wine while reading, immersed in Bod's world. When I allowed myself the luxury of reading it like that, I loved it. When I was reading snippets here and there while also reading other books, I didn't enjoy it at all. Does that ever happen to you?

It's definitely a 'mood' book, perfect for the R.I.P. Challenge if you need suggestions and also perfect for this Saturday's Read-a-Thon.

(Ooh, I can't wait for Saturday!)

I'm told that I would love Neverwhere, so I think that'll be my next Gaiman book!

Challenges: R.I.P. Challenge, 2010 Countdown Challenge, Four Month Challenge

7 comments:

Larissa said...

Neverwhere is really great, you'll sure love it indeed!

Tasha said...

I've started this one 3x but have ended up setting it aside each time. Your post has inspired me to give it a 4th try, and perhaps I'll immerse myself in it this time. I know what you mean about how letting yourself go in a book versus reading snippets here and there can make for an entirely different experience.

Kailana said...

I am not a huge Gaiman fan either. For every book I really like by him, there is another one that I don't really like so much. I liked this one, though.

Thoughts of Joy said...

I've read three of Gaiman's books, and I rated them 2, then 3 and this one got a 4! I thought it was very good. It surprised me that I liked it so much. Apparently, you did too! :)

Col (Col Reads) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Col (Col Reads) said...

I just read The Graveyard Book for the RIP Challenge. It was good, but I thought it could have been a bit more scary. It didn't make me a fan. Nice blog -- I was making sure the links worked, as I'll be cheering for you in the Readathon tomorrow! Best of luck! Col

ibeeeg said...

Interesting. Sometimes, mood, and timing do effect my take on a book. I set it aside, and come back to it a different point in my life, and suddenly I am reading a book that I really like. Funny how that works.

I have to say though, Graveyard is a book that I found to be incredible. I really get why it won the 2009 Newbery Medal. I thought there was a lot of imagination in this book, plus all the graveyard residents added greatly to the overall story. I did listen to the audiobook, and Gaiman narrated. He is fantastic, and I am sure only heightened my like for this book.