M Is for Magic (edition 2008)

These stories are exactly what I would've wanted to read when I was younger, when I wanted something chilling or spooky but not as heavy as Poe or Lovecraft. The final story, which ended up as a chapter in The Graveyard Book, works better in that context but is still good as a stand-alone. Gaiman has such a gift for tapping into the archetypal without it (almost) ever being tired or trite. ( )

Ah Gaiman, your books are like crack to me. Your shorts are no exception ( )

I'm trying out audio (again), this time during my commute to work. My commute isn't bad, about 30 minutes, so a collection of short stories, written and read by Neil Gaiman no less, seemed like a good place to start. I was right!

I'll say first of all that I love Gaiman's voice. I could listen to the man all day. I don't really have any other narrators to compare him to, but just the fact that I actually finished this audio book should be a testament to his greatness!

I've read a lot of these stories in print, but I have to say that hearing Gaiman read them himself added a little something to the story. For example, I would never have "heard" the troll speaking in such a gray, tired voice if I had read it on my own. Hearing Gaiman's take on that really paved the way for the ending of that one. There were more examples, but that's the most striking.

"Four and Twenty Blackbirds" reminded me a lot of [a:Jasper Fforde|4432|Jasper Fforde|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1241065899p2/4432.jpg]'s Nursery Crime series. It's a very tangled, nursery rhyme noir PI story, which sounds like a big mess but was actually a lot of fun.

"Troll Bridge" was a little eerie. I did not see the ending coming, but it made sense. It reminded me a little of another story of Gaiman's that I read in [b:Fragile Things|16788|Fragile Things|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266451580s/16788.jpg|3262727]. I like this take on the theme better.

"Don't Ask Jack" was probably my least favorite, just because there wasn't much story. It's a goose-bump-inducing little vignette though.

"How to Sell the Ponti Bridge" was another I wasn't that crazy about. It was sort of a fantasy version of a ballsy scam. Not exactly my thing.

"October in the Chair" is a story that I really liked in Fragile Things. I just like the imagery of the months of the year gathered around a campfire telling stories. The story October tells is somehow more sad for me than anything.

"Chivalry" was one of my favorites. I loved the character of Mrs. Whittaker (sp? a reason I do like print books better). I can just see this lonely, crusty old lady who makes poor Galahad work for the Holy Grail.

"The Price" is perfect for Halloween. I saw this whole story very clearly in my mind, and I felt so worried for the cat and the family. It always amazes me when well-written short stories can make me care about characters so quickly.

"How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is just an odd story. I didn't care for it in Fragile Things, and I didn't care too much for it here.

"Sunbird" is another one I've read elsewhere. I somehow lost the end of this on my ipod, so I can't say too much about it, but I do remember that it was not a favorite when I read it in print.

"The Witch's Headstone"--the story that started [b:The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266641078s/2213661.jpg|2219449]. I love it in any format. I just love Bod and the witch, and I loved the book this grew into.

"Instructions"--I don't think I liked this a whole lot when I first read it, but it has grown on me and I now love it. I love my illustrated edition, but I also love hearing Gaiman read it.

This book is supposed to be a collection of stories for teens, and I do think it would work as an introduction to Gaiman for that age group. But I also just highly recommend it in general. ( )

Great collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman. It includes a couple o the stories I heard Neil read at a book reading/signing a few years ago and which I didn't own previously, so it was nice to read those here. ( )

Z's loved, loved, loved the following: October In The Chair, Chivalry, The Price, and Sunbird. Really liked The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds (I had to refresh memory on a few of the referenced nursery rhymes, which was pretty fun). Liked: Don't Ask Jack and How To Sell The Ponti Bridge. (We've already read The Graveyard Book, so we skipped The Witch's Headstone.)

Here's the rub. This book is shelved with middle readers at Powells, where Z picked it up. It's right in between Coraline and The Graveyard Book - both of which we've read a few times, since he's a Gaiman fanboy and there's not much Gaiman for 7-year-olds out there. After reading reviews of this collection online and seeing it age leveled for 8 and up, I was pretty surprised by the some of the more mature language in Troll Bridge (a married man talking about "getting laid" on the side while on business travel and "snogging" and sneaking drinks to a house party in How To Talk To Girls At Parties. Turns out, this book is shelved as YA in most library systems - I ended up editing out a few paragraphs when reading Troll Bridge aloud and skipping How To Talk To Girls . . . But I'm sure he'll love these two pieces in a few years. when he's ready to tackle Gaiman's whole catalogue.

Until then, the rest of this collection was great on its own.

( )