Of Books and Fantasies

The Hugo Awards is upon us again.

After rejecting the nomination for Anansi Boys a few years back, Neil Gaiman has accepted the nomination for the Graveyard Book, adding to the millions of accolades heaped upon it.

While the Graveyard Book is one of the VERY VERY VERY few books that I get to finish reading, cover to cover in recent times, I did not feel it was THAT strong an offering. I think I got through it based mainly on loyalty to the author. Felt that many of the themes and ideas were rehashed from his earlier works… Sandman and the wonderfully awesome American Gods come to mind.

I love the fact that the Hugos has now shed it’s snotty potty pretentiousness and now have categories which honor Graphic Novels, as well as films. Definitely a step in the right direction. After all, art evolves, stories evolve, and so the story form must evolve as well.

As a friend reminded me recently… The Medium is the Message.

American Gods, now THAT is a book that totally deserves the Hugo. Just re-read it and it’s still good on it’s 5th reading. There’s something about the characters that makes you feel for almost each and everyone of them. The rich history that comes with each of the Gods makes the book read like a Justice League of Gods, of sorts. In my eyes, it deserves a “Classic” status already.

Speaking of American Gods, I actually managed to dredge up this really cool website. It lists most, if not all the gods mentioned in American Gods, along with their unique origin stories!

It’s a great read for those that dig the book. For those that dig mythologies. And especially for those love reading up on obscure deities, forgotten gods, and little known stories.

Anyway, the point of this whole post is that, looking through the list, it makes me realize how much I’ve fallen. There was a time when I would have gone out to get most of the books on the list, if only just to glance through them. These days, I can only gaze at the list wistfully and wish I have the time to read even 1 of them.

“Working Life Sucks” is a recurring mantra on this site. So I decided to do something about it. I put my foot down, and downloaded Neil Stephenson’s Anathem. Now I am sneaking sentences while commuting on the train, while waiting for the Girlfriend, and of course, while sitting on the pot.

Even so, I still yearn for the day when I can just cosy up on my couch with a book in my hands, a hot cocoa drink besides me and a thunderstorm raging outside my window.

These days, it seems all I can get is the thunderstorm…