Adventures in the Dream Trade
by Neil Gaiman
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"The majority of this book is a journal--a web log--covering February to September 2001. This daily material was posted to the web so that his fans could see just what happens after a book is accepted. ... Here are some of Neil's poems and song lyrics. ... There are some stories ... essays and introductions"--Jacket.Tags
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Having been a fan of Neil Gaiman's writing since his Sandman comics days in the late 1980s/early 1990s, I always pick up anything with his name on it. Adventures in the Dream Trade is no exception; I picked it up at WorldCon in early August. It's a book of Neil ephemera - introductions he wrote to other people's books and graphic novels, poetry, song lyrics and a few pieces of short fiction. The bulk of the book is a reprinting of his blog from February to September 2001, which charts the process between the time he turned in the manuscript for American Gods to the time it was published and shortly thereafter, when he was on book signing tours (in America, the UK and Canada). This is actually quite fascinating, as he describes the show more process of reviewing what the copy editor has done (which often seems to consist of Neil telling the publisher to put the words back the way he'd written them), how covers for books are chosen, who is invited to write blurbs for a given book and why; all sorts of information about How It's Done. And, of course, being Neil, it's all very entertainingly told. That said, I'd venture a guess that this is probably only for completists, or in any event only for fans who know his writing well; others might find the stories entertaining (well, I'm sure they would), but would miss a vast amount of references to his work. So I recommend it, but it's up to you to decide for whom I recommend it {g}. show less
This is a collection of Gaiman's introductions to others' works, as well as his blog from the "American Gods" tour. The latter is by far the most interesting part: really witty and charming and just delightful. When Gaiman talks about having to sign 5,000 inserts for a special run of "American Gods," all I could think was, "Gee, I want to be a professional writer!" Which is why I'm crazy. But seriously, this was an extremely...invigorating read that made me excited about writing.
I would never have considered myself the type of person who would read a book of introductions about other works I've never read, a blog from 10 years ago and a few random, not very good poems. But I just did. Cover to cover (with a bit of skimming on the intros, I'll be honest). I really enjoyed some of the essays early on and his thoughts on C.S. Lewis and the Screwtape Letters were something I might never have come across otherwise. It was the second half of the collection that really got me though, all of the blog entries from when American Gods was going through the editing and publishing stages up through his book tours.
This is a great read for anyone whose never read a single Gaiman book or comic but was interested in the show more reality of a book becoming a BOOK to the public. He really hashes out the details of editing and copy-editing and interviews and what happens to get those blurbs on the back of book jackets. And for anyone who is a Gaiman addict or just simply a fan, well it's a ridiculous pleasure to read his entries, even the shortest of them. His voice is so simply his voice no matter what he's writing and his humor and observations about everything from author's photos to sushi in New York are entertaining and insightful.
It is also an interesting read as it shows Gaiman's transition into the internet world of blogs (he still calls it a "web blog" throughout) and e-books (he thinks their only future will be in being able to read while your bedmate sleeps). Blogger, the site he uses, crashes often or loses his long entries. Occasionally he catches his foot in cord and unplugs the phone line and there goes the internet. As the U.S. book tour gets going he's switching over to his new neilgaiman.com site and again it is interesting (in cultural way at least) to hear about the transition simply in light of the shifts of the past 10 years. show less
This is a great read for anyone whose never read a single Gaiman book or comic but was interested in the show more reality of a book becoming a BOOK to the public. He really hashes out the details of editing and copy-editing and interviews and what happens to get those blurbs on the back of book jackets. And for anyone who is a Gaiman addict or just simply a fan, well it's a ridiculous pleasure to read his entries, even the shortest of them. His voice is so simply his voice no matter what he's writing and his humor and observations about everything from author's photos to sushi in New York are entertaining and insightful.
It is also an interesting read as it shows Gaiman's transition into the internet world of blogs (he still calls it a "web blog" throughout) and e-books (he thinks their only future will be in being able to read while your bedmate sleeps). Blogger, the site he uses, crashes often or loses his long entries. Occasionally he catches his foot in cord and unplugs the phone line and there goes the internet. As the U.S. book tour gets going he's switching over to his new neilgaiman.com site and again it is interesting (in cultural way at least) to hear about the transition simply in light of the shifts of the past 10 years. show less
For Neil Gaiman completists only, here's a collection of introductions he has written for various books, some random poetry and lyrics, some other odds and ends, and mostly a blog he wrote during the final publication stages and book tour for American Gods.
Some of the introductions tempt me to seek out the books mentioned. And the blog is just a nice chatty visit with Gaiman behind the scenes.
Too bad his bad behavior has derailed his career and puts a taint on the charming image he projects here.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents
The Introduction / John M. Ford
Mostly Introductions
• Fan Letter
• Shameful Secrets of Comics Retailing: The Lingerie Connection
• But What Has That to Do With Bacchus? (Deadface)
• Breathtaker
• Bratpack (Rick show more Veitch)
• Astro City: Confession (Kurt Busiek)
• 300 Good Rerasons to Resent Dave Sim (Cerebus)
• Tantrum (Jules Feiffer)
• The Dark Knight Returns
• Starchild: Crossroads (James A. Owen)
• The Adventures of Professor Thintwhistle and His Aetheric Flyer (Lupoff & Stiles)
• Of Time and Gully Foyle (Alfred Bester)
• Concerning Dreams and Nightmares (H. P. Lovecraft)
• The Einstein Intersection (Samuel Delany)
• The Swords of Lankhmar (Fritz Leiber)
• The Screwtape Letters (C. S. Lewis)
• The King of Elfland's Daughter (Lord Dunsany)
• Curiosities: Lud-in-the-Mist (Hope Mirrlees)
• From the End of the Twentieth Century (John M. Ford)
• Jonathan Carroll
• Roger Zelazny
• The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Harlan Ellison)
• Banging the Drum for Harlan Ellison
• After They've brought on the Dancing Girls
Poetry
• A Writer's Prayer
• Neil's Thankyou Pome
• Sonnet
• How to Write Longfellow's "Hiawatha"
• The Old Warlock's Reverie: A Pantoum
Flash Girls
• In Re: Pansy Smith and Violet Jones
• Banshee
• Post Mortem of Our Love
• Personal Thing
• All Purpose Folk Song
• A Girl Needs a Knife
American Gods Web Log
Fiction
• Time Out
• December 7, 1995
• Good Boys Deserve Favours
• The Flints of Memory Lane
• Essay for Patti
On Gaiman show less
Some of the introductions tempt me to seek out the books mentioned. And the blog is just a nice chatty visit with Gaiman behind the scenes.
Too bad his bad behavior has derailed his career and puts a taint on the charming image he projects here.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents
The Introduction / John M. Ford
Mostly Introductions
• Fan Letter
• Shameful Secrets of Comics Retailing: The Lingerie Connection
• But What Has That to Do With Bacchus? (Deadface)
• Breathtaker
• Bratpack (Rick show more Veitch)
• Astro City: Confession (Kurt Busiek)
• 300 Good Rerasons to Resent Dave Sim (Cerebus)
• Tantrum (Jules Feiffer)
• The Dark Knight Returns
• Starchild: Crossroads (James A. Owen)
• The Adventures of Professor Thintwhistle and His Aetheric Flyer (Lupoff & Stiles)
• Of Time and Gully Foyle (Alfred Bester)
• Concerning Dreams and Nightmares (H. P. Lovecraft)
• The Einstein Intersection (Samuel Delany)
• The Swords of Lankhmar (Fritz Leiber)
• The Screwtape Letters (C. S. Lewis)
• The King of Elfland's Daughter (Lord Dunsany)
• Curiosities: Lud-in-the-Mist (Hope Mirrlees)
• From the End of the Twentieth Century (John M. Ford)
• Jonathan Carroll
• Roger Zelazny
• The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Harlan Ellison)
• Banging the Drum for Harlan Ellison
• After They've brought on the Dancing Girls
Poetry
• A Writer's Prayer
• Neil's Thankyou Pome
• Sonnet
• How to Write Longfellow's "Hiawatha"
• The Old Warlock's Reverie: A Pantoum
Flash Girls
• In Re: Pansy Smith and Violet Jones
• Banshee
• Post Mortem of Our Love
• Personal Thing
• All Purpose Folk Song
• A Girl Needs a Knife
American Gods Web Log
Fiction
• Time Out
• December 7, 1995
• Good Boys Deserve Favours
• The Flints of Memory Lane
• Essay for Patti
On Gaiman show less
I am a fan of Neil Gaiman and I enjoyed this collection of ephemera, as it is described by another reviewer. The longest part of the book is the blog about the launch of "American Gods", so it is rather fitting that I should read it now as the book is relaunched to link to the TV series. Although much of the writing in this book is essentially "knocked-out", it still illustrates Gaiman's amazing ability to communicate with us. I think it is really for true fans only.
As an author about to embark on her own book promotion and touring, I really enjoyed reading his blog on what happened *after* he sent American Gods to the publisher. I can definitely relate to the eyestrain of looking over proof after proof of the book design and catching things that somehow didn't get caught by me, the editor, the copy editor or, in the case of [b:Don't Leave Your Friends Behind: Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements and Communities|13568677|Don't Leave Your Friends Behind Concrete Ways to Support Families in Social Justice Movements and Communities |Victoria Law|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1333117456s/13568677.jpg|19147312], my co-editor.
Of course, being on a small independent publisher show more is waaay different than being on a gigantic publisher and getting *sent* on tour and having everything (the schedule, the events, the travel, the places to stay, the food) for me. But, despite the vast differences in our touring experience, I still enjoyed it. show less
Of course, being on a small independent publisher show more is waaay different than being on a gigantic publisher and getting *sent* on tour and having everything (the schedule, the events, the travel, the places to stay, the food) for me. But, despite the vast differences in our touring experience, I still enjoyed it. show less
pour le coup, très variable : la partie introduction était plutot ennuyeuse pour moi qui n'ai pas lu les livres dont ca parle, la partie Blog de la sortie de American Gods beaucoup plus intéressante même alors que je n'aime pas ce livre
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Neil Gaiman was born in Portchester, England on November 10, 1960. He worked as a journalist and freelance writer for a time, before deciding to try his hand at comic books. Some of his work has appeared in publications such as Time Out, The Sunday Times, Punch, and The Observer. His first comic endeavor was the graphic novel series The Sandman. show more The series has won every major industry award including nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, three Harvey Awards, and the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to win a literary award. He writes both children and adult books. His adult books include The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which won a British National Book Awards, and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel for 2014; Stardust, which won the Mythopoeic Award as best novel for adults in 1999; American Gods, which won the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, SFX, and Locus awards; Anansi Boys; Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances; and The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction, which is a New York Times Bestseller. His children's books include The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish; Coraline, which won the Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla, the BSFA, the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Bram Stoker awards; The Wolves in the Walls; Odd and the Frost Giants; The Graveyard Book, which won the Newbery Award in 2009 and The Sandman: Overture which won the 2016 Hugo Awards Best Graphic Story. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Adventures in the Dream Trade
- Original publication date
- 2002-02
- People/Characters
- Neil Gaiman; Eddie Campbell; Rick Veitch; Batman; Robin; Kurt Busiek (show all 24); Dave Sim; Jules Feiffer; Frank Miller; James A. Owen; Alfred Bester; Gully Foyle; H. P. Lovecraft; Samuel R. Delany; Lord Dunsany (Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett); Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett (Lord Dunsany); John M. Ford; Flash Girls (musical duo); Lorraine Garland (of the Flash Girls); Emma Bull (of the Flash Girls); Will Shetterly; Jennifer Hershey; Magnetic Fields (musical group); Holly Gaiman (daughter of Neil Gaiman)
- Important places
- Minnesota, USA; New York, New York, USA
- First words
- Eddie Campbell portrayed me, cruelly and inaccurately, in his comic Bacchus, as a man imprisoned in a back room whose own life and work had been taken over by the constant interruption of writing blurbs and introductio... (show all)ns.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"This is not what I look like," I tell them. "This is not my face." [Essay for Patti]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It was nominated for a British award for religious fiction, which came as a real surprise to Neil and Terry, who were rather expecting bricks through their windows.
(Introduction to The Screwtape Letters)
[On Gaiman] - Original language
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