Wednesday 12 August 2009

Neil wins the Hugo!

As most you, my Gentle Readers, know, I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan. He just won the Hugo for The Graveyard Book. He won! The Guardian book site has this lovely post about Neil's win, here, entitled "The Myth-Making Genius of Neil" . Here is the actual Guardian article on the win, "Neil Gaiman wins Hugo", here. Link to Neil's own post on his blog about the win, here.

I need to find some Sandman to try! Everyone raves about it, including the writer of the myth-making genius of Neil article. I might be the very last person on the planet to find a Sandman to try!! My children have seen Coraline the movie, my daughter loving it and my youngest son talking about the mother with the button eyes: "there was a mother with BUTTON EYES" and then insisting he never saw the movie. A very good friend watched it alone and had to keep stopping it and doing something else for a bit, before coming back to the movie. I still haven't seen it. I think the book is one of the scariest, one of the most deliciously frightening books with the bravest heroine ever. I'm not sure why, but The Graveyard Book wasn't as scary to me (except the beginning part, which is truly frightening in any book) as Coraline was. It was more melancholic, and really lingers in mind still, a year after reading it. The Dance Macabre, the living in the cemetary, the various ghosts he met, and Silas his guardian - they are all memorable, and The Graveyard Book is like no other. I'm awed that it won the Hugo, and very very happy it did. Congratulations to Mr Gaiman. My children thank him too.

Here is the link to the Hugo site and all the award winners this year: here.

Also found on the Guardian Book site, a lovely quiz about summer holidays in children's books, here. I scored 9 out of 11. It pays to read Enid Blyton! She is not in the same league as Gaiman, but still; my love of mysteries I can attibute in part to the Adventurous Four, Famous Five and Secret Seven.....

9 comments:

brideofthebookgod said...

Susan, you must must must read Sandman; I've just persuaded a friend to try the first graphic novel in the series and he is now hooked. There is so much depth, you will love it, I'm sure. And Coraline is fantastic, you will really enjoy it. Would I lie to you?

Debi said...

You'll love The Sandman. I just can't fathom that you wouldn't. Seriously, you will only end up more in awe of his genius.

Susan said...

Bride: I have to find the first graphic novel, first! I've started looking...so many editions out! I'm hoping our library will have one, so I can begin with that.

I'm considering renting Coraline for this afternoon - I'm home with the kids for the week on holiday, and we're having a 'staycation' - I'm so trendy! lol And I want to see it, because enough time has passed since reading the book that I can see the movie without interfering too much with my private vision of it - which is very dark and scary! those bright lights and animation was never how I saw the book....so I think I can now. I'll let you know! You would never lie to me! Dangerous question, though! lol

Debi: Okay, okay, between you and Nymeth and Chris and Bride and Stephanie!!! lol I'm looking for the first book of Sandman now!!

Bybee said...

They showed Coraline on the plane going to the US. Very good.
Hooray for Neil!!!

Booklogged said...

My two favorites of Gaiman's are Sandman and Coraline. Haven't read Graveyard Book yet but I'm looking forward to it.

Kim L said...

I love the Graveyard Book and I'm pumped for all the awards it has won. I actually read a Hugo and Newbery award-winning book before it won the awards! Yay!

On a side note, Coraline is fabulous. I think they did an awesome job of bringing it to life on screen. I even got to see it in 3-D!

Anonymous said...

I just saw Coraline to, I loved it, and such an artfull fantasy for children, and grown ups. I also think that Coraline is a more frightening book than The Graveyard book, both books are wonderful works though.

Ana S. said...

I was happy for Neil too :D And yes, you need to try The Sandman! It's his best work in my opinion.

Susan said...

Bybee: See my post today! I'm glad you got to see it, although I've found plane viewings are not the most comfortable way to see a movie! Not with kids under 10, anyway....actually flying with anyone under 5 is an adventure!

Booklogged: so if you read The Graveyard Book and I read Sandman, we'll be caught up and can then say we've read all his best work! I think you have an unfair advantage, Graveyard Book is one books, and there are 20? + volumes of Sandman?!

Kim: I know, isn't that great that we got to the book first?! I hardly ever do. And we've read an award winner!

See my post today. And I didn't see it in 3-D, but I don't mind! It's still excellent.

Book pusher: see my post today. It's still scary as a movie, which I am delighted by. I'm really curious how The Graveyard Book would translate to the screen. I've found many adults - like us! - who find Coraline as scary as kids do. That button-eye mother...

Nymeth: I saw your remark on Chris's blog, so I know how happy you are too! I think he got tweeted too by Amanda, if I read it correctly. As for the Sandman, you ALL have convinced me, and I'm now trying to find volume one. I don't think I've had so many people writing to tell me I had to try it! lol