Notes from a Neil Gaiman FanGirl
Dr. Brittnee Fisher
If you have chatted with me about books, you probably know that I recommend Neil Gaiman about one hundred percent of the time. I hate to say that I have a “favorite author,” but if I had to make the commitment, I’d most likely go with Neil. When I’m recommending Neil’s books to other readers, I often describe his works with words like intelligent, whimsical, magical, mystical, gripping…just to name a few. Gaiman is one of the few authors whose books feel more like an experience than a read, and I often have difficulty pulling away from them. He’s also one of the few authors with books that I will read repeatedly.
Neil hasn’t limited his works strictly to traditional novels. He is also well known for his comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction works, and short fiction. You might be familiar with Gaiman’s work through other media, as several of his books have been adapted to film or television series. His book Coraline was made into a stop motion movie that is wildly popular and is known for having a bit of a cult following. Another book by Gaiman, Stardust, was made into a film starring Claire Danes. This movie is so dreamy and is one of my personal favorites! Gaiman’s book American Gods has three seasons available for those who prefer a series.
If you love audiobooks or are looking for potential audiobooks to try, I recommend Neil's books. Neil generally narrates his own books, sometimes with other voice actors or professional narrators, and really tells the story. Since he’s intimately familiar with his own imaginative works, he knows precisely where to inflect, emphasize, and dramatize. He also has a dreamy British accent that I personally adore.
I know one author can’t fill the needs of every reader, but I implore you to at least give Neil a shot. He is an author that I discovered through the help of a friend that has stuck with me for years. I find comfort in Gaiman’s work because he allows me to escape our harsh reality to enjoy a little magic. If you decide to try him out, the St. Johns River State College Library has many of his works for you to enjoy! I'm listing just a few to get you started. Let me know what you think!
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman; Dave McKean (Illustrator); Margaret Atwood (Foreword by)
Call Number: St. Augustine Circulation PR6057 .A319 G73 2008
ISBN: 9780060530921
Publication Date: 2008-09-30
The original hardcover edition of a perennial favorite, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal. Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place--he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings--such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? The Graveyard Book is the winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award for best novel, the Locus Award for Young Adult novel, the American Bookseller Association's "Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book," a Horn Book Honor, and Audio Book of the Year.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Call Number: Palatka Popular Fiction PR6057.A319 A84 2002
ISBN: 9780380789030
Publication Date: 2002-04-30
Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident. Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible. He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the same...
Coraline by Neil Gaiman; Dave McKean (Illustrator)
Call Number: St. Augustine Circulation PZ7 .G1273 Co 2002
ISBN: 9780380977789
Publication Date: 2002-07-02
New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman's modern classic, Coraline--also an Academy Award-nominated film "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house...." When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is a can't-miss classic that enthralls readers age 8 to 12 but also adults who enjoy a perfect smart spooky read.
Art Matters by Neil Gaiman; Chris Riddell
Call Number: Palatka Circulation BF408 .G276 2018
ISBN: 9780062906205
Publication Date: 2018-11-20
A stunning and timely creative call-to-arms combining four extraordinary written pieces by Neil Gaiman illustrated with the striking four-color artwork of Chris Riddell. "The world always seems brighter when you've just made something that wasn't there before."--Neil Gaiman Drawn from Gaiman's trove of published speeches, poems, and creative manifestos, Art Matters is an embodiment of this remarkable multi-media artist's vision--an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives. Art Matters bring together four of Gaiman's most beloved writings on creativity and artistry: "Credo," his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings "Make Good Art," his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts "Making a Chair," a poem about the joys of creating something, even when words won't come "On Libraries," an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamers Featuring original illustrations by Gaiman's longtime illustrator, Chris Riddell, Art Matters is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspires us to make art in the face of adversity, and dares us to choose to be bold.
Stardust
Call Number: St. Augustine Audio-Visual PN1997 Stardust DVD
ISBN: 9781415737378
Publication Date: 2007
Tristan hopes to win the heart of his beautiful, but shallow love, Victoria. He promises to recover a star that fell somewhere beyond the stony wall that sets between the mundane England and the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. So Tristan sets forth on his own journey in Stormhold. Meanwhile in that magical land, the dying king has set his four surviving sons on a quest for the crown. And the witch Lamia is seeking the heart of the star for an entirely different purpose, one that involves her secret power.