July 3, 2017

Recent Reads

67. American Gods
55% done, and I'm bailing on this one.

About four books later I think it might have to call it. I love Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series, but cannot seem to get into his prose. I keep trying, because I love how this man's brain works, and the worlds he conjures up are fascinating, but alas, yet another one bites the dust.

This book moved to the top of my list when I saw that Starz was adapting it for TV. I listened to the audiobook, which is superbly narrated by George Guidall, and I'd give him 5 stars for his work here. The reason I even got so far into the book was mostly due to his narration, and partly because I was listening to it on long walks, and kept listening as I made my way back home.

The premise of this story is fantastic. I love the idea of old country gods following the faithful to America, and then finding themselves stranded and abandoned here as the faithful move on to worship new gods in the form of internet, money, TV, etc. I really liked the mythology behind this yarn, but no character is fully developed. Maybe that is intentional as can humans really know their gods? The story felt like a long strange road trip where some interesting characters are encountered, but mostly nothing of interest really happens. That scene where a man is swallowed by a vagina though! That kept me listening for another hour. There are sparkly bits in the story, classic Gaiman magic, but they were too few and far between to keep me interested, and if I had been reading the print book, I'd have bailed way sooner. So onto the DNF pile it goes.

As a side note, I watched the first episode of the Starz production, and find myself feeling the same way I did about this book. Not sure if I care enough to continue with the show either. Will see. Rating: 1 star.

68. Nightlights
This is the story of an artistic girl with a wonderful imagination. Young Sandy draws what she imagines, and the line between fantasy and reality blurs one day when a mysterious girl appears at her school. Does anyone else see her?

The art in this children's graphic novel is vibrant and lovely, and I really liked it, however the story didn't seem cohesive, especially the ending. There is touch of horror in this yarn which is quite appropriate for young readers, and this would make a wonderfully spooky Halloween read with the wee ones in your life. Rating: 3 stars.

69. A Child of Books
I've been making my way through several children's picture books lately. There is something quite lovely about holding a large brightly colored book in these adult hands that makes me happy.

I am a child of books.
I come from a world of stories.

Those two lines are what caught my attention. This is a book about the power of words, stories, and books, and while I really liked the art, especially the use of book texts, the writing itself was lackluster, and does not convey the magic of reading in my opinion. I'd give the art 4 stars and the text 2, and that's how I ended up with my rating. Rating: 3 stars.

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