My new love for Neil Gaiman

What's the first thing that you think of when you think of Neil Gaiman?

For me, my love of Neil Gaiman did not come from one of his books, directly, it came due to the love of one character that I had seen on a poster on a friend's door when I was in high school.  Who was that, you ask?

Death

From the Sandman series of comics/graphic novels, etc.  To this day, I have yet to read any of the Sandman writings.  Not because I don't really want to, but because I don't really care for comics, graphic or otherwise.  But, I have many friends who have told me about these characters, and from the first moment I laid eyes on that poster that depicted all of the Endless characters, I was enthralled.

However, this post is not really about Death or any of the other Sandman/Endless characters.

This post is really about my new-found love for audio books. I was in the library a few weeks ago when it hit me that I really needed to start reading more.  I am still in the middle of the Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte (and believe you me, I looked for those books on audio and couldn't find them), but I also wanted to continue reading other things.

I am not sure why audiobooks stuck out in my mind.  I just recall looking at the shelves of them on the library wall and I found Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  Well, what's this? I asked myself. I hadn't realized that he'd written anything besides Sandman/Endless, and I was intrigued.  Actually, I had known that he had written Coraline, however, I did not realize that was a book.  I thought it was a screenplay.  Go figure.

So, I checked it out and was pleasantly surprised when I heard Neil's voice coming from my car speakers.  I was not sure what to expect.  Would I be able to follow a story that was being read to me?  Would I be able to imagine the characters and the settings the same way as if I were reading the words to myself?  The answer to both questions was yes, I could.

I will admit to having to rewind the discs a few times because I missed a passage here or there, but I have never experienced something so amazing before.  The storytelling, the imagery, and simply just the imaginative story were compelling and amazing.  It was enough to seek out other works written by Gaiman.

Since then I have listened to The Graveyard Book and The Sleeper and the Spindle (both with a full cast).  And I don't care if they can be found in the teen fiction section of the library.  I think that The Graveyard Book would make a great live action movie.  And, I enjoyed the tie between that and The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  I hope that Mr. Gaiman continues to write novels set in those realms.  Perhaps he already has. I need to research further.  If you know, please leave a comment below.

I am currently listening to Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerry Maniscalco.  A tale of a young lady who studies autopsies when her uncle, etc.  I won't give too much away as I'm just beginning the second disc, but I just read that there are more books in this series, and depending on how much I enjoy this one, I'll be sure to check them out.

To be sure, though, I will be looking for other Neil Gaiman books on audio.

You never forget your first.