Fragile Things

Long ago I purchased a copy of American Gods.  It sat on my shelf unread for too long and then, without ever reading it, I donated it to a bookstore.  Fast forward a few years and I saw a wonderful commencement speech by Neil Gaiman on YouTube via a link sent by a friend.  A few days after I saw that speech, which stayed in my mind, I was in the library and saw this book.  It's a collection of some of his short stories and poems.  I was so inspired by what he said, I wanted to get to know his art. I wanted to ease into his work so I could come back to American Gods one day.  This book has a "wow" factor.  I mean that I would sometimes finish a story and literally say "wow" or "that was SO good".  There were, of course, a few stories that I didn't care for either way. However, the majority of his stories absorbed me.  At times I would be reading a story and become so enveloped in it that when it ended, I had to remind myself that I was reading a short story and not a novel.  I had settled into the story so deeply that I was somehow fully expecting it to go on, and the point is I wanted it to go on.  If you are a fan of Mr. Gaiman's work, I think you'll enjoy this.  If you are unsure whether or not you will enjoy his work but enjoy fantasy, this is a very nice introduction.

*On a side note, as I was reading his work, I found myself thinking that it is very much possible to write great stories without being lofty.  In fact, making a story more accessible lends a certain authenticity to it.  This was a good writing lesson for me!

The Magicians

I don't know if I should like this book or roll my eyes.  I finished it relatively quickly and I did find myself interested in one of the side characters, Alice, whose character is well developed and interesting.  I ultimately kept coming back to the book to find out what happens to her. The main character, however, is the ultimate jerk.  It's difficult to like him and, frankly, I never did.  This is Book One in a series, although only Book One and Book Two, The Magician King, have been published thus far. The basic premise of the book is that a miserable young man named Quentin Coldwater discovers that magic is real and he is transported to a magical university where he makes a few friends and essentially gets his Bachelor's degree in Magic (think Harry Potter goes to college).  The twist is that he fervently wants to escape the magical school and go to a different magical world that he's read about since he was a kid (think Narnia).  So one day he finds out that it may actually be possible to go to the other magical world and then the adventure begins.  My problem with that is the adventure begins about 75% of the way through the book.  So up until that time you have to deal with Quentin whining about how he hates school, he hates his family, he barely tolerates his friends, he only kind of likes his girlfriend.  You may want to eat some cheese while you read this book because there is a lot of whine flowing.  It's been praised as a darker Harry Potter, but really it's just about a guy who is probably clinically depressed, but happens to know magic and wants to go to Narnia.

SPOILER ALERT:  I have more to say, but don't want to give too much of the plot away. If you want to know one more thought of mine, highlight the text starting here ---> I don't often do this, but I kind of wished Quentin was the one who died and not Alice. Her character and her background of coming from a magical family, that we are only vaguely introduced to, would have made stunning material for Book Two. Instead, I've recently learned that Book Two brings back some little girl that Quentin had a crush on while he was still at a non-magical high school and in the end of that book she apparently gets raped.  No thank you Mr. Grossman. Why do you have a vendetta against your female characters? I'll be crossing Book Two off my list.<-----end spoiler

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me

I waited a long time for this book to come to the library.  In the meantime, during the wait, I was able to read half of it for free in Barnes & Noble one day on my Nook.  So when the book came today I was able to finish it in about 3 hours. It's okay.  Not as funny as Bossypants, but a quick enjoyable read. There were a few dry moments when she is describing certain ideas, people, and places related to comedic writing that bored me.  Other than that, you could easily breeze through this book in a day.  If you have to make a choice and can only read *one*, I'd go with Bossypants every time.

Enjoy Every Sandwich

Well, I probably would have enjoyed the book more if there were some sandwich recipes listed in the back or at the end of each chapter. At first I thought the book was going to be similar to The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch but it is not even worthy of being placed in the same category.  It is about a man who receives a terminal diagnosis and decides to live each day to the fullest.  However, that is where any similarities end. The Last Lecture is beautiful, moving and focused. You can tell it was written by a man on an honest mission.  Enjoy Every Sandwich, however, is all over the place and it's hard to pinpoint what message the author is trying to convey.  He talks about God, yoga, science, health, nutrition, love, family, medicine, and past lives.  Yes, he devotes many paragraphs to his description of visions he had depicting his multiple past lives.  I found myself, at that point, thinking I picked up the wrong book.  I have to say, if you want to read a book about life's lessons and living in the moment avoid this one at all costs and read The Last Lecture instead.