TBR- not my usual genre, but I've heard so much about it that I want to give it a try.

I gave this to my boyfriend to read first. He did not like it and knows my reading habits well. He told me not to try it, but I took that as a challenge. He was right. It is a genre I usually do not delve into so that is a problem right off. I found that the story jumped around far to much for me. I would be enjoying a passage or at least tolerating it and then suddenly I would be jerked in to some other totally unrelated scenario. He had some interesting points to make about society; however, I did not want to plow through page after page of confusion to get to a few nuggets of wisdom. So I put the book down and chose not to finish- a rare occurance for me. I will offer it to another bookcrosser with more of an interest in his work.

Released on Tuesday, October 07, 2003 at Mailed to janaqq in Cedar Park, Texas USA.

just received today and I am on page 35. Lately I haven't been able to get into any books, I am hoping that I can stick this one out. I have never read Gaiman before, he sure is cute.

Released on Friday, January 09, 2004 at 2004 MISC. Bookbox in Bookbox, postal release USA.

Saw this author being discussed on the forums...saw the book, and snagged it out of a bookbox!! What timing!! :o)

This one is currently offered up on the "For You -- Only The Best" Relay!! It is TBR, but I should be able to get it out no later than the beginning of April.

~~Accepted by--SpikesMom

3/22/04--DONE!! :o)

What a huge concept!! This is another book that really leads me to wonder what exactly is going on in the world around me!! Strange, weird, but soooo...close. Scary even. I'm glad I grabbed this one out of the BookBox that came my way...and I am thankful for BookCrossing that introduced me to this author...I can guarantee that I never would have picked this one up without BookCrossing!!

I will be mailing this one off to SpikesMom in the morning via Media Mail...I really appreciate her patience after she accepted it off of the Relay site!

Hope all who read this after I enjoy!! :o)

Just received and am off to make a dent in Mt. TBR so I can get to this all the faster!

I like the concept here, but the meandering pace did me in.

I like how Gaiman is filling a void between Stephen King and Clive Barker. That's important to note because it seems that with this book, you either love it or hate it (I, of course, am the minority. I was bored by it).

thanks so much for sending the book so quickly SpikesMom!!

RELEASE NOTES:

enjoy!!!!

I am a HUGE Neil Gaiman fan even though I haven't read much of his work, only 4 novels so far, including the collaboration piece with Terry Pratchett. I am sure I will enjoy this as those who adore Neil Gaiman have told me this is one of his best. I'm really looking forward to this one, my thanks to Geegal, you've made my day! :)

From Amazon.com:
Titans clash, but with more fuss than fury in this fantasy demi-epic from the author of Neverwhere. The intriguing premise of Gaiman's tale is that the gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities: "gods of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon." They all walk around in mufti, disguised as ordinary people, which causes no end of trouble for 32-year-old protagonist Shadow Moon, who can't turn around without bumping into a minor divinity. Released from prison the day after his beloved wife dies in a car accident, Shadow takes a job as emissary for Mr. Wednesday, avatar of the Norse god Grimnir, unaware that his boss's recruiting trip across the American heartland will subject him to repeat visits from the reanimated corpse of his dead wife and brutal roughing up by the goons of Wednesday's adversary, Mr. World. At last Shadow must reevaluate his own deeply held beliefs in order to determine his crucial role in the final showdown. Gaiman tries to keep the magical and the mundane evenly balanced, but he is clearly more interested in the activities of his human protagonists: Shadow's poignant personal moments and the tale's affectionate slices of smalltown life are much better developed than the aimless plot, which bounces Shadow from one episodic encounter to another in a design only the gods seem to know. Mere mortal readers will enjoy the tale's wit, but puzzle over its strained mythopoeia. Forecast: Even when he isn't in top form, Gaiman, creator of the acclaimed Sandman comics series, trumps many storytellers. Momentously titled, and allotted a dramatic one-day laydown with a 12-city author tour, his latest will appeal to fans and attract mainstream review coverage for better or for worse because of the rich possibilities of its premise.

This is the fifth novel that I've read by Neil Gaiman. I really enjoyed it but I liked Neverwhere more. I think this was partly due to my own limited knowledge of the gods that were featured in the book so it made it a little difficult for me to fully appreciate how far the gods had fallen. Also, while I enjoyed the short stories that were scattered throughout the book, I'm not sure what purpose they served. I kept expecting the gods/characters that were featured to show up in the main plot somewhere but it didn't happen. Maybe I missed them, I'm not sure, but without the connection to the main story, they felt like distractions to me. Overall, I still think this was a cool book and I will definitely purchase another copy to add to my permanent Neil Gaiman collection. I think I will have to brush up on my mythology before I read this one again to fully appreciate the tale that Gaiman has weaved here. He is a magnificent storyteller and I look forward to revisiting this one and reading his other works.

RELEASE NOTES:

Released via BookMooch.com.

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