Stardust: 5 Stars

 Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Guys....I think I am in love!  I am also a wee bit upset at all of you for not telling me about Neil Gaiman sooner! 

In all seriousness though, I am officially captivated by Gaiman.  I read Good Omens a couple months back and absolutely loved it. But since he co-wrote that with Terry Pratchett, I wasn't sure if that meant I would like both writers or just one of them.  But after reading Stardust and getting halfway through The Graveyard Book, it's obvious that Gaiman is a magnificent, magical author. I am definitely going to try more of his work.

In Stardust, we join Tristan Thorn on a quest for his true love, or at least who he naively thinks is his true love. Victoria clearly has no interest in Tristan and jokingly tells him that if he goes and gets a falling star, that she will marry him. Little did she know, twitterpated Tristan was going to do just that. But when Tristan discovers the star is a girl, the journey only becomes more interesting.

This story is magical and hysterical. Gaiman masters the art of storytelling with excellent, quirky characters and captivating scenes. He masterfully writes his own fairy tale for adults, but that obviously would appeal to children as well (except maybe when the unicorn dies). Even his antagonists are bewitching, despite their lack of morals. It makes them easy to hate, but still so enjoyable to read about.

I simply cannot recommend this book enough. It was entertaining and fun.  I love that Gaiman is a writer who likes to try new things and experiment with his work. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author and was magnificent) and it was followed by an interview with Gaiman. He tells of how the story came about. Considering his intentions and first release of this story involved a specific illustrator and lots of pictures, I now want to own that version of the book!  I guess that is another book to add to my wish list!

Can anyone recommend some more Gaiman book to me?  As a newbie, I am ready to soak him in!

Rating: PG

Recommended for those who enjoy: fairy tales, adventure, and quirky writing.

Ten Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club

It's time again for The Broke and The Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday. This week's theme is: Ten Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club.

I have been going to the same book club for about two and a half years now. It was my sister's book club that I joined when I moved to town. While I love the group and really enjoy going, I am by far the youngest and the only one that is not a mom (although that will change in a few months).  They are much more conservative than I am, so I hold back on some of my recommendations, simply because any language and whatnot will make most of them put the book down. So my list consists of books I would love to read with them, but know they wouldn't like just because of the language or length (because trying to read a 1000 page book in a month is a lot to ask).

1. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon:

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It's such a fun and fascinating read. However, there is a little too much language for my book club.

2. John Adams by David McCullough:

This one is just a very long book and I couldn't expect anyone to finish it in time.

3. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

This one would be perfect for my book club, which is probably why they already read it before I joined.

4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro:

This book would spark a lively conversation for sure, but again, a little too heavy for my particular book club.

5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas:

This one is definitely way too long for a monthly book club!

6. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis:

I love this book and book club actually did read it last year!

7. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson:

The context of this book, while fascinating, it very dark. I don;t think most in my book club would enjoy it.

8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett:

Again, I missed out on this one since they read the book before I joined the club.

9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn:

This one is definitely too heavy and full of way too much language for my book club. 

10. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick:

Again, way too much language in this one. Tiffany has quite the mouth.

Making Up For Monday: Let's Get Physical

It's time for Making Up For Monday! This is a weekly meme hosted by me that asks some fun literary questions. Feel free to play along!

This week's question:   How many physical books do you own?

Oh boy is this a tough question. I have so many books, that they do not fit into one room. Right now, they are kept in six different places around the house.  One of those places is in the basement in boxes because I have literally no room to put more books.  So I will tell you how many books I have outside of those books, because digging through boxes does not sound like fun.

The other fun thing is that we are currently undergoing a remodel of our kitchen. The reading nook I have is right next to the kitchen, so all those book migrated up on a shelf to make room for all the kitchen stuff that needed to be moved. So they are really crammed up there.

And that leads to a grand total of......

408!  

I think I might have a problem. 

What about you?