I received 20 copies of the special World Book Night softcover edition of this wonderful book (the cover shows the Aziraphale version of the cover - that's the angel). For more about World Book Night, see its web page here. I requested this title because I've adored the book ever since first discovering it via comments on BookCrossing; it's a marvelous collaboration between Terry "Discworld" Pratchett and Neil "Sandman" Gaiman, and is thoroughly good fun (as near-apocalypses go!).

From the interestingly uneasy relationship between Aziraphale ("an angel, and part-time rare book dealer") and Crowley ("An angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards") to the howlingly funny baby-swapping incident [I'll never be able to see "The Omen" in quite the same way] to the classically Pratchett-ian footnotes to the assembly of the Four Horsemen (with a little help from the delivery person in the big brown truck) to Agnes Nutter's "Nice and Accurate" prophecies [a prototypical Necronomicon if ever I saw one], it's very entertaining. I admit I was in considerable doubt as to exactly how things were going to turn out, but was quite pleased with the result - though of course there's nothing to stop it all starting up again next day... The story blends humor (from slapstick to deeply ironic) with some surprisingly heartwarming moments, and some rather chilling scenes as well - and then there's the truly epic climax, in which the world will end - or will it? Very funny, very charming, and I adore it, even though - or because - I get a little sniffly here and there...

The entire book is quotable, and it's too hard to choose a few select items, but one line that did impress me was this one, about organized religions: "If you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive." [For more, see the Wikiquote page.]

This edition has some additional material including interviews with Gaiman and Pratchett about their collaboration - also very much worth reading. ("How did you write it?" "Mostly by shouting excitedly at one another down the phone a couple of times a day for two months...") Oh, and there's an amusing writeup on TV Tropes - but beware of spoilers; maybe you should save that 'til you've read the book.

[There's a marvelous unabridged-audio version of this book available, read by Martin Jarvis; recommended!]

I left this book, bagged against the damp, chilly weather, propped up on the stone wall surrounding this tiny historical cemetery. (Since one of the early scenes in the book takes place in a cemetery I thought this was fitting {grin}.) Hope the finder enjoys the book!

This book is being released as part of World Book Night 2013, in hopes that it will encourage someone who doesn't read very much to give it a try. (You're welcome to keep the book if you want!)

A BookCrossing alert told me about this book just as I was looking into World Book Night. Knowing where the cemetery was located, we stopped there on the way to church (with some irony, perhaps) and found the book just as shown in the picture. Not sure this is my cup of tea but I will add it to the TBR pile and get to it (some day). Thanks to GoryDetails.

Funny and charming. Just remember, it’s fiction

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