Mr. Gaiman is a master of the modern fairytale, abstractly manipulating physics and using legends as histories (“It all depends on how you look at it”)

The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, at its simplest, finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them.

A man returns to his childhood home in Sussex, England. The man finds himself in a farm which is down the road from where he lived. As the man sits by the pond, he starts remembering events of bygone years, a suicide, a stolen car and darkness unleashed.

American author Shirley Jackson (14 December, 1916 -8 August, 1965) born on this day. She is best known for her excellent short story The Lottery.

Stardust is an inventive fairy-tale reminiscent of the old stories and an imaginative as the best of them; a wonderful, funny and charming book

About: American Gods by Neil Gaiman is an award wining fictional book. The book blends fantasy, Americana and mythology to create a unique story from the brilliant mind of one of today’s top writers. 624 pages Publisher: Harper (April 30, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 0380789035 My rating for American Gods –5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic for­mat through the Man of la Book Affil­i­ate Account Thoughts: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Web­site | Face­book | Twit­ter) is fascinating, titillating, smart and funny. This is not a light read on vacation because the book asks you to suspend reality and be immersed in it. Mr. Gaiman makes many cultural references, societal commentary (not always good) and loads of mythological elements weaved into this fascinating story. The book’s main character takes us through a journey which weaves a tale of how the old gods (Odin, Thor, Anubis, elves, leprechauns, etc.), who were brought over to the US by immigrants, are dying because people stopped believing in them to favor the new gods (media, celebrities, technology, money and more). The scenery takes place mostly on the back roads of the United States where the protagonist meets gritty folks who, despite the storyline, are believable and…

Odd runs away to his old house, only to encounter Norse gods in the form of a bear (Thor), an eagle (Odin) and a fox (Loki) outsmarted by the frost giants

Like many bibliophile I am also somewhat enamored by book covers.  I don’t judge a book by its cover, but I certainly pre-judge it as many of us do (but that’s the topic for another post).  I am also a comic art collector (well, before kids that is) and have about 10 reviews of graphic novel in my “draft” folder (at the time of this post) – so yes, I like pretty pictures.

This is a delightful book and I thought it was thoroughly entertaining. Neil Gaiman has been writing modern fairy tales for years filled with magical moments

Banned Books Week. “The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes” by Neil Gaiman is the collected issues of Sandman #1-8. This is the story of Morpheus, who has been accidentally captured in 1916 by a magician. Morpheus, the Sandman, is an eternal being responsible for sleep and rules over The Dreaming – the place where humans go when they are in an unconscious state. 240 pages ISBN-10 : 9781401225759 Publisher : Vertigo Language : English My rating for The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes – 4 Buy The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes Amazon.com* More Books by Neil Gaiman* Morpheus was accidentally captured because the magician, Roderick Burgess, was trying to achieve immortality by capturing Death. Morpheus bides his time, when Burgess dies his captor becomes Burgess’ son Alex, but he too cannot get anything out of their elusive prisoner. Accidently Alex weakens Morpheus’ containment spell by running it over with his wheelchair and Morpheus escapes, punishing Alex with a lifetime of nightmares The weakened Morpheus goes on a journey to recover his symbols of power: a pouch of sand, a helm and a ruby. The pouch is found in the possession of occult detective John Constantie’s girlfriend. To recover the helm Morpheus has to travel…