I have never read the complete Chronicles of Narnia. When I tell people I tend to like fantasy, and especially when I offer names (Brian Froud, J.K. Rowling, Charles de Lint -- some of his stuff anyway -- Neil Gaiman, Michael Ende), they ask me whether I've read The Chronicles of Narnia, or worse, simply assume that I have. They are most often taken aback when they learn of their misassumption, as though one who likes fantasy would have just read those books because they were there. The fact is that when I was eight I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and stopped there. I liked it. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't read the others.
I've also never read The Lord of the Rings. Sometimes I feel I've really slacked off in my fifteen years.
Anyway, last night I finished Prince Caspian and was utterly convinced that I should finish reading all the others. And I think I shall.
My favorite fantasy novels are The Neverending Story and Eight Days of Luke, which people tend not to read these days because it's out of print, although it really should not be. There are plenty of others that I love, but I can't think of them right now because I am more than ready to eat lunch -- even if it's eleven o' clock; I do eat lunch early -- and I think those two are just my all-time favorites. Well. For now.
And, as a side note, Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys and Coraline are two of the most brilliant novels I've ever had the joy to read. They're not really fantasy. They're not really anything. You should read them.
~Emily
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4 comments:
Thanks for the movie review. I loved all of the books. I wasn't a big fan of Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys", I found his female characters greatly flawed. (I have written Mr. Gaiman and expressed my opinion and he's such a darling man he didn't take my opinions personally.) I did love his books "American Gods" and "Neverwhere"!
Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure what movie review you're referring to ... did I forget something?
I just loved "Anansi Boys". I can understand what you mean about the female characters, but I like flawed characters much better than porcelein characters. And I imagine that the story was intended to be somewhat flighty, so too much more detail in the characters might have subtracted from that, and I loved the hilarity or the story.
I haven't finished "American Gods", but I loved "Neverwhere".
Yes, Mr. Gaiman is a very genuine and loving person. I spent time with him last April in New York City, thanks very much to our friend Cat!
~Emily
Sorry love, I thought you saw the movie Prince Caspian not read the book! Sorry!
Lucky you to meet Mr. Gaiman! I haven't met the man. I saw Cat while I was at the Comic Con and saw Mr. Gaiman often but never spoke to him.
You are a luck girl indeed!
I'm in touch with Cat because she helped my family out so much with meeting Mr. Gaiman -- it was a wonderfully and thrillingly personal encounter, so I'm forever grateful to her!
I am indeed a very lucky girl!
~Emily
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