3 posts tagged “neil gaiman”
As a book exile here in Costa Rica I'm all for promotions that involve free downloads of novels. Harper Collins has American Gods by Neil Gaiman available online for the next month.
And Tor is giving away a book a week for the next three months for those of you interested in fantasy and science fiction works. I've read the first two already. Neither of them were things I'd normally pick up, but I'll take what I can get. I haven't read much fantasy since I was a teenager, so Mistborn was a nice blast from the past. And I've never read any military science fiction, but I enjoy John Scalzi's blog and was curious about his fiction. Old Man's War wasn't really my thing (too violent), but it was a quick, entertaining (and funny) read. I whizzed through it last Friday afternoon while Petra was napping.We went to see my Ob/Gyn yet again this morning. He poked and prodded me and announced, "You're not ready. Come back again next Thursday." I am ready, though, more than ready to stop being pregnant and meet my baby. But it would seem that the baby's not in agreement and is planning to stick around at least until her official due date (which is next Saturday). My job now is just to wait until she's good and ready to emerge.
Unfortunately, I'm not the best waiter in the world. Since she's been at term (after 37 weeks), I've been getting impatient for the pregnancy to be done. I've enjoyed my third trimester and have felt healthy, energetic, and even glamorous. But I'd like to stop now.
We saw a brand new baby in the doctor's waiting room today. A tiny, blacked-haired, blue-wrapped boy baby. His head would have fitted nicely in my cupped hand and he had beautiful little hands and feet. I wanted him. I wanted mine. But, I'm taking deep breaths and practicing patience...
Distraction is one good option. I've been reading The Economist from cover to cover every week, as well as writing pages and pages in my diary every day. And I've worked my way through eight or nine books in the last ten days. There's nothing like a greedy bout of binge reading to make the world a better place.
I reread Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's take on the apocalypse, as well as Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman's story about the trickster god, and was much more amused by both books this time around than the last time through.
The book is unexpectedly funny and extremely well-written, which helps take the edge of the tragedy at its heart. But tragedy it is even so. Ishiguro's main character is a masterpiece of repression and the willful suppression of self-awareness. The reader becomes aware of the ruination of his life, the waste, the misplaced loyalty, the missed opportunities. But he is unable, in the end, to confront himself honestly or acknowledge the limitations of the rigid rules he has lived by. It's harrowing stuff, made all the more so because it's so understated.
What's the most obsessive-compulsive thing you do in a normal day?
Submitted by Nikki.
Checking to see if Neil Gaiman has updated his blog. I love the way he writes about his kids and colleagues/friends; I'm curious as hell about his wife because he hardly ever mentions her; I enjoy the glimpses he gives of the life of a busy, insanely productive, and very famous writer; and I like the oddities he links to. I check his blog several times a day. I also check Wil Wheaton's site, Go Fug Yourself (they're so mean that I just can't resist), and a couple of political blogs - maybe I need to get out more!
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