Neil Gaiman is becoming a favorite of mine.

[terrya]

I read "American Gods" and liked it a lot. I'm currently reading "Anansi Boys" and am also liking this. Gaiman reminds me quite a bit of Douglas Adams. At least to me.

If there are any more of Gaiman's books I should read, please let me know.

Thanks

[hermetic]

1. Hi terrya!

Neil is even better than what you just read. He wrote some graphic novels/comics called "The Sandman", which are totally mind-blowing, if you're up for that sort of thing. I've seen him at a book signing, he is a genuine human being. He does have a large following...

[terrya]

2. Hi enufalready!

Thank you. He just seems genuine...no artifice about him.

I may check those novels out. Thank you for your suggestion.

[hermetic]

5. Another recommendation

The best gift I think I ever got is a signed copy of "Agnes Nutter, Witch" Neil can be quite delightful.

[khashka]

7. Another Sandman fan?

Did you read "Endless Nights"? Especially "Delirium: Going Inside" or "Despair: Fifteen Portraits of Despair"..... Neil writing liking an angel on speed.

And you are right.... I've been emailing/ talking to him for years. And he's just a nice, decent, ordinary guy.


Khash.

[khashka]

3. Sure... here's a few....

Good Omens.
Stardust - if you like something a little more fantasy.
Two short story collections - "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Angels and Visitations" - ranging from the hysterically funny to the heartbreaking.

And, of course, the Sandman comics. Now graphic novels. Don't start at the beginning - start with "Brief Lives", you can get the back story later. If you can't do that, start with "The Sound Of Her Wings". I'm SERIOUS!! Everyone tells me "I don't read comics". Lame excuse. If this ain't literature, nothing is.


Khash.

[terrya]

4. Thanks, Khash

Will head to the bookstore to get those. I saw "Good Omens" at the Barnes and Noble near my workplace and will deinitely get that one.

[hermetic]

6. Hello Khashka

Always happy to see another Gaiman fan. Like you said, hysterically funny to heartbreak. Right up there with the best of them, this little guy from England, who continues to stand up for his rights.

A salute to books!

And, I edit for spelling.

[tatertop]

8. which one is hilariously funny?

I need a book like that.

[hermetic]

10. Funny?

My books are packed away right now for moving, but Khaska gives the right reading order. "The Sandman stories are awesome. 'And, of course, the Sandman comics. Now graphic novels. Don't start at the beginning - start with "Brief Lives", you can get the back story later. If you can't do that, start with "The Sound Of Her Wings". I'm SERIOUS!! Everyone tells me "I don't read comics'. Lame excuse. If this ain't literature, nothing is."

And well, "Agnus Nutter, Witch" is quite funny. Explore, enjoy. neil is full of surprises.

[khashka]

12. Cood Omens

Book of Revelation time. But an angel and a demon decide to fuck it up. They like the booze, the women, the books, the music, the cars and so they don't want the end of the world. And the Antichrist just wants to be an ordinary kid with a cute dog (rather than a hell hound.) So they each end up ruining Armageddon.

Short story- "Four And Twenty Blackbirds". Mother Goose as film noir


"Looking For The Girl" - About a man obsessed with a girl he saw in a skin mag. Every skin mag. It's not even clear she really exists - just every man's masturbatory fantasy. A darkly comic look at men, feminism, and porn.

Really sickly funny - "Babycakes". All the animals disappear. So what will we experiment on? Slaughter for food? Make jackets and boots out of? Babies! They can't fight back!


Neil really is a one of a kind.


Khash.

[tatertop]

14. There is a live video of him reading "Babycakes"

it's awesome

[pnwmom]

9. Read "Coraline." Supposedly for kids, but I loved it.

[Jeebo]

11. I can't BELIEVE none of y'all mentioned "Neverwhere"!

"Neverwhere" is one of the best novels of ANY genre I've ever read. It's a dark fantasy, and I've never been much of a fantasy fan, which makes it all the more remarkable that I enjoyed it so much. I have read a couple more Gaiman novels since then, "American Gods" and I can't remember which other one, and didn't enjoy them nearly as much as "Neverwhere."

Ron

[hermetic]

13. Oh, you are so right

I forgot all about "Neverwhere", that was my fist Gaiman. I LOVE that story.

[MountainLaurel]

18. I'm in the middle of reading that right now

I've been on Gaiman kick for the past few months, since I finally got around to "Sandman." But I read "Good Omens" several years ago at the recommendation of some coworkers, and it left me laughing out loud all the time.

[Orrex]

15. IMO the Sandman series is his best work

enufalready already mentioned them, but they're worth mentioning again. He also wrote several issues of DC Comics' Books of Magic and Black Orchid, all of which are available in trade-paperback format.

I'm actually not a great fan of Gaiman's fiction outside of Sandman. His style works so well with the corresponding visual artwork that it's difficult for me to get into his other writing, even though that's how I first discovered him. Sometimes his prose comes across as though he's trying too hard IMO, but that's a matter of personal taste.


Not sure who mentioned it first here, but Good Omens, which Gaiman cowrote with Terry Pratchett, is quite enjoyable, even though the ending strikes me as a trifle abrupt.

[bluescribbler]

16. If you like Neil

You might also likeTerry Pratchett's Discworld series. He's also collaborated with Gaiman on a few books.

[politicat]

17. Neverwhere

And if you can find the BBC DVDs of it, get them. They're full of no-budget, BBC effects and cheesy music, but the story is great, and the acting is terrific.

[swimboy]

19. I have to thank Khashka for recommending his work to me.

I've read Stardust, Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors. I need to get to American Gods and Anansi Boys soon. :hi:

[philosophie_en_rose]

20. And he's a genuinely nice guy. see www.neilgaiman.com

or www.neilgaiman.org

he keeps a blog.



He has a really interesting history. He's Jewish, was raised as a scientologist, and is generally just a nice guy.

[godhatesrepublicans]

21. I liked GOOD OMENS a lot myself.

He co-wrote it with Terry Pratchett, one of my top 5 writers.