Jan 26 2009
{book news} neil gaiman: the graveyard book
I haven’t actually read this, which is not my fault, because it was published when I was in England for the semester and UEA’s lame uni library wasn’t at all like my uni library–connected to the municipal library system and able to get new books, in other words. I even tried getting Small Favor, the newest Dresden Files book, and Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox off interlibrary loan, and then I found out that ILL, at least at that library, is only for stuff you really need for school and you have to have your professor sign off on it. So much for that idea. I made do by periodically raiding the YA section instead and mostly read lots and lots of Diana Wyne Jones.
Now that I’m back, though, I’ve already read Small Favor and Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, and I’ve got Inkdeath (another book released while I was gone) and The Graveyard Book checked out and sitting on my nightstand. (Hm, I also need to read The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I could’ve actually bought that in the UK and decided I’d wait until I could get it cheap. Even though it was, like, three pounds. Whatever. I am not, however, planning to read Brisingr. I don’t even know how to pronounce that.)
Anyway, I’m looking forward to it; I understand it’s sort of like The Jungle Book except the kid is raised by ghosts, not animals, which is a highly intriguing premise in and of itself–and anyway, it’s Neil Gaiman, so it’s bound to be good. But that’s not the point of this particular post. The point is, I found out this morning from Neil’s blog that The Graveyard Book just won the Newbery. That’s also not the main point, although it’s really cool and I’m thrilled about it. The main point is that his blog and Twitter entries about this are really, really cute. I mean his blog is pretty awesome in general, in large part because of his journal labels and also because of entries like these (also, he likes Doctor Who) and Twitter posts like “Mr Gaiman briefly ponders putting marmalade in tea, then realises he has lost his mind,” but…I don’t even know. He’s very normal and just kind of adorable, y’all.
