The graveyard book

Though I haven't posted regularly. Here goes another brief book review on The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

The Graveyard Book is a great read (Though my subjectivity on the matter might be questioned as I rarely finish a book I don't enjoy-I'm looking at you Twilight-). The simple (yet Awesome) storytelling complements the complexity of the story and it keeps you interested as you meet the atypical dead characters in the graveyard. I read somewhere that the book is sorta an homage/tribute/his own version of the Jungle Book, but I haven't read that one yet. The illustrations are very good, relevant yet not too revealing (I'm a sucker for beggining-of-the-chapter illustrations here and there, much like the Harry Potter books).
I'm not going to summarize the plot, because I'm no good at doing that without giving spoilers away. If you are a softie like me, this book will leave you with a sense of familiarity that you feel like you know the characters very well, and as such it will affect your emotions as you finish the book and leave the characters behind.

This is my first Neil Gaiman book and certainly not the last.

Notes: The book's website has the author reading an excerpt of the book. Also, he is the one who reads his own audiobook? How awesome (genius/egocentric/cheap) is that?

I give the book 5/5 Coelacanths

Favorite Books and what not...

On my recent trip to Europe, I took Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov with me, to read on the bus rides. Well, not so much as Impressed, but more like I fell in love with the series. I read the next book in just 5 days (and that was in Madrid, while I was still on vacation). That came as no surprise because a few years ago I read I Robot and fell in love with Asimov's writing style. The interweaving of different stories, while maintaining the stories chronicity, is a refreshing take on this ever so charged and overloaded plots that we encounter almost everyday in movies and television. What was surprising (but not unexpected) is to find out that Asimov, was indeed the father of sci-fi. You can see the visions, imagery and the 'futuristic' technology you see from star wars to Star Trek on his works, done a long time before this was all developed. Even the Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy (which I also dearly love, for it's absurdist tendencies) makes subtle allusions to Asimov's work. Again I say, Indeed the father of sci-fi.

Sadly, I haven't had much time to read on that lately, as I just moved here for grad school. I guess that happens...now, on to Neon Genesis Evangelion (which I'm watching for the third time!!!)