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David McK (3425 KP) rated Good Omens in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
Good Omens
Good Omens
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.3 (42 Ratings)
Book Rating
One of the few books in which Terry Pratchett collaborated with another author (in this case, Neil Gaiman), this is also one of the few non-Discworld books that he co-wrote for adults.

Heavily borrowing from 'The Omen', this novel concerns itself with a (possible) Armageddon scenario, including the four Horsemen (bikers) of the Apocalypse. As is usual for a Pratchett book, it also contains many footnotes in each chapter, and more than once had me laughing out loud!
  
Good Omens
Good Omens
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.3 (42 Ratings)
Book Rating
Excellent wit and humor (0 more)
You have to be willing to laugh at religion to enjoy this. Yes, even your own.... (0 more)
One of my all-time favorite novels.
This is one of my all-time favorite books, and my introduction to both Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, whose entire bibliographies I intend to complete. Highly recommended for anyone who is willing to temporarily (or not) turn off the urge to take higher things like God, the Antichrist, angels, demons, and the apocalypse too seriously.
  
40x40

Sam (74 KP) rated Furiously Happy in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
Furiously Happy
Furiously Happy
Jenny Lawson | 2016 | Biography
8
8.7 (15 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love reading books on mental health, with some of my favourites being Matt Haig’s Reasons To Stay Alive and Notes on a Nervous Planet, however Matt Haig’s stance is very serious. This is the complete opposite to that – it takes mental illness and turns it into something laughable and relatable.

And the relatableness was the reason that I enjoyed this so much. Lawson makes references to A Series of Unfortunate Events which everyone knows is one of my absolute favourite series of books. She also loves cats, which is the way to my heart.

Just before reading this, I had read Art Matters by Neil Gaiman, which is a collection of a few of his essays illustrated by Chris Riddell. Neil Gaiman talks about how he helped an author believe they could narrate their own audiobook by telling them to tell their self that they are a professional audio book narrator.

Seems unrelated? Well the weird thing is, in Furiously Happy, Lawson talks about when Neil Gaiman gave her some advice for narrating her own audiobook. This freaked me out a bit, especially since I had just picked up Furiously Happy on a whim.

Think of it as you like, but for me that was meant to be. It was proof that I was meant to find this book in a little charity shop.

Overall, I found the book to be a good giggle and I read it within a day. It’s definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of Matt Haig or if you just need a pick-me-up.
  
Stardust
Stardust
Neil Gaiman | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a really fun read. I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time but I never found the time. I finally decided to buy the audiobook and boy was I impressed. Neil Gaiman reads the book to you and it was quite a lot of fun.

I always worry when I have the author reading the audiobook. It's either going to be amazing or torturous. Neil did a great job at doing the voices and helping you imagine what each character would sound like.

The plot was cute and sweet. I loved the adult fairy tale aspect of it. I loved the characters and I loved the unique aspects in the book.

If you're looking for a fun read, this is it.
  
Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.4 (38 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gives you an overview of Norse mythology (0 more)
It is a little boring, a struggle to read (0 more)
A little informative and interesting
Contains spoilers, click to show
I love Neil Gaiman. I was so excited to read this book as I really enjoyed American Gods and jabe a love of Viking history. Right before reading this I read Stephen Fry's Mythology, unlucky for Neil and me. I can't help but compare the two and Gaiman's Norse Mythology comes up short. Whilst we do have access to more information of Greek myth than Norse myth, I don't think that's the entire reason that Norse Mythology is a hard read. The telling of the Norse stories doesn't have the flow I have come to expect from Gaiman, there is a strangled growth to it that makes for a choppy reading that is just hard work and not that enjoyable. Gaiman's style and what I enjoy about him is too constrained in this retelling of Norse myths, this may be due to a lack of evidence of Norse myth and history. I think it would have worked well online, as blog posts etc. As a book it is something easily put down, forgotten about and never finished.
  
The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
Neil Gaiman | 2016 | Essays
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me preface this by saying that I might be biased, since I have loved everything Neil Gaiman has written. Still, I'm generally not a big fan of nonfiction, especially essays and speeches, and I have loved this. Part of that is that it is speeches and essays about reading, books, comics, and the people that made some of my favorite books and comics. There is humor, passion, intelligence, and nostalgia in almost every essay.
It took me longer to finish this than it usually would, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.