10. Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

This is one of those books that everyone and their mom seemed to be checking out. I figured out that it was partly because it is a Battle of the Books book, but still. I eventually got around to reading it recently (I am typing this one up out of order, but other people want to read it so I need to turn it back in) and man, all the talk is not for nothing.

I have read a fair amount of fantasy in my day. I'm not much for the medieval sort of fantasy with robed princesses with staffs and jeweled headbands holing back their flowing locks on the covers. But the more contemporary sort, you know, with the kid who stumbles upon a secret world and somehow ends up really special. The genre is pretty large, though, and full of not very good books. It is difficult to make something fresh and not done a million times in any genre of fiction, but I feel like it is the most glaringly obvious for fantasy. Some books (Harry Potter, obviously) can be original and well written enough to break through all the millions of predictable plotlines and characters with stupid names. The Graveyard Book pulls it off.

A Man Jack (you find out bit by bit that he's a part of this governmental conspiracy group of Jacks thing) breaks into a house, kills a mom, dad, sister, and the baby escapes (okay yeah that does sound a bit like HP, but it is different because the family is normal and the baby is normal and it just wanders away; it doesn't get saved by magic). The baby wanders into the graveyard across the street and the spirits living (residing?) there, upon figuring out his situation, decide to raise him themselves.

They name him Nobody, call him Bod for short, and give him the protection of the graveyard, meaning he's invisible to the typical mortal, just like they are. He grows up, gets into many kinds of trouble, meets a lady, deals with the Jacks as they try and finish the job, etc.

So as much fun as I've been having reading the fluffy YA fantasy lit (I will review a book called Skulduggery Pleasant that fits into this category perfectly soon), it was really cool to read a book that is what the genre is supposed to be about.

It has a really creative interesting story, good writing, an array of lovable and hatable characters (my favorite being Silas, Bod's semi-mortal caretaker), and an ending that really gets you. It ends at a perfect place in a perfect way, but it still makes me want a sequel. Badly. Nice job, Gaiman.


Pages: 312
Time: Apr 22-24
Rating: 9

9. Savvy, by Ingrid Law

I honestly wanted to read this book because of its cover. Which you're not supposed to do, but hey, sometimes judging a book by its cover works out. This time it didn't, though.

This book was about a family of people with exciting talents like electrical manipulation, the ability to create land, water manipulation...other elemental manipulation, etc. You get the picture. You turn 13 and your "savvy" manifests. So on the main character's 13th birthday, her dad is in an accident (he is a normal dude) and she freaks out, wants her savvy to be something that saves lives, finds herself on some madcap road trip with her brothers and some stuck up preacher's kids on her way to find her dad. I like reading about siblings, especially brothers, and I liked her youngest brother who hides like a cat and doesn't talk to people.

Still, though, it was thoroughly mediocre writing with really obvious plot twists and there was too much God in it for my liking. He wasn't a large force in the book, but I guess everyday references to stuff like praying for your coma-bound father to wake up rub my bitter atheist heart of stone the wrong way. Whatever.

But it was a J book, meaning its intended audience is like 8-13 year olds. And when I was 8-13 I wouldn't have caught on to the transparently contrived foreshadowing, I hadn't solidified my annoyance with unnecessary references to the Lord, and the chaste handholding would have made me blush pleasantly.

Also, the concept of powers manifesting at a certain age has always been extra cool (I am still waiting for my Hogwarts letter, and with each passing birthday I amuse myself by pretending that in the real world it comes not at eleven, but one year later than the age I just turned). So basically I'd have liked it if I was 10, or if it was the same premise but for older people.

As it is, though, I'd recommend wholeheartedly it to any young kid who, like myself at their age, desperately wished to stumble upon one of the many secret magical worlds hiding quietly within our own. Just, you know, for myself, it was kind of boring. I did read it in like one sitting, though, so it didn't take much out of my life.

Pages: 342
Time: Mar 27
Rating: 5, unless you are 10, then maybe 7.5

8. Fables Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham, etc

I apparently like graphic novels a lot more than I thought I did. Owen gave me this one and neglected to tell me the premise, so it took me a second to figure out exactly what was going on. And then I was a bit skeptical, but not for too long.

Basically every character from any fable that didn't have creative rights restricting it is in this series. Snow White is more or less running this exiled kingdom of fables, who are all living in our world, as some Opponent that you don't learn much about in book 1 has invaded their homelands and kicked them out into our dimension. Other characters of note are detective Bigby (big bad) Wolf, Prince Charming (the womanizing douche), Beauty, The Beast, Jack (as in the beanstalk), etc.

The plot revolved around Rose Red (Snow White's sister, ya know)'s mysterious death. I'm not ususally much for mysteries, but it was fun. And well drawn. I especially like the art between chapters. I know it sounds lame. But it wasn't really. With everyone being immortal and all, they've all had time to sleep with everyone, create grudges, have lots of tension of all kinds, etc.

I will probably read more of the series at some point.

I am also like 5 books behind on this thing. G'damn. I'll probably write shorter reviews til I can catch up.

Pages: 120
Time: Not sure. Probably around Mar 15-17?
Rating: I am not obsessed with comic books, but for what it was, it was good. So... 7?

7. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman

This book was on the Library's sale rack, and Owen told me it was good, so I took it. It is a book of essays (I do read nonfiction!) about pop culture, covering everything there is to cover, more or less.

It's one of those really opinionated essay compilations where you can find yourself calling the author a genius or an idiot depending on how much you happen to agree with whatever it is he's writing about, and I called him both during the course of reading his book. But agree with him or not, he is very funny.

I really enjoyed the ramblings on Billy Joel, The Real World, the Sims, etc. Other parts I found less hilarious, either because we disagreed- he seems to think soccer is the wussiest of sports and is only for nerds, which doesn't make sense to me at all, because (while it is probable that soccer players have a higher IQ than football or baseball players) they have always seemed like the coolest sport players there are. This might be because my concept of "cool" is perhaps different than the mainstream, but so is Chuck Klosterman's, so I don't know why we must disagree so strongly on this topic- or because I simply did not care enough about the topic he was covering to get it (NBA jokes, etc).

Anyway, so it was funny, but also sort of limited in scope, because it was published what, like 2003, and already some things are dated. He spends a large amount of time comparing Pamela Anderson to Marilyn Monroe, and I'm all "Well, sort of, maybe. But isn't Anna Nicole Smith a much better comparison, even pre-sad untimely death?" I guess it doesn't really matter to Chuck, as he prefaced the book with a page or two about time and truth and his initial worry that his book would stop being pertinent after a few years. He concluded (and I agree) that something can be true in the time that you are experiencing it. For a time, the truth of Pamela Anderson being the equivalent of Norma Jean made sense. And any kind of analyzation of pop culture has top be rooted in the moment, because that is what pop culture is all about. So for that, I enjoyed it.

And I also am jealous of people who can just pull out the perfect hilarious reference to a person/movie/character/phenomenon at the right time, and this book was full of that. I am someone who freezes up during Mad Libs, so people (C.L., you are someone who comes to mind as being particularly gifted in the snappy and appropriately funny reference area) whose brains know exactly where to reach in comparing one thing to another impress me. Really, Klosterman could have picked any doe-eyed sensitive apex-of-man icon to blame for the fact that no realistic love can last. But he the fact that picked the John Cusack (or the characters that J.C. embodies) is just perfect. Although it might currently be Edward Cullen or some shit, that is a good joke. Hell, I know I've wished John Cusack (or Lloyd Dobbler, more accurately) would materialize in front of me before.

Reading nonfiction is interesting and different, but he did that thing that David Sedaris does at the end of each essay where everything is wrapped up so perfectly in this bow tie sentence that makes you laugh and go "aww" at the same time. Sometimes my writing ends up like that, but a lot of times it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I wonder if it really worked out that beautifully in real life, or if the facts got twisted to make it end so perfectly. And that is one of my whole battles with nonfiction.


Sorry I'm so late, BTW. I had a bout of not caring about anything, and now that I am back I have like 4 books to write about.

Pages: 272
Time: Mar 8-11
Rating: 7.5