november books

i think i need to stop chastising myself for reading less than i wish i read on a regular basis. the pressure is getting to me and instead of cracking a book, i turn on the tv and watch a stupid rerun... i did get through one really great book in november, but for december, i'm taking off the pressure. if i dont read anything, i'll still be at my quota of 2 books per month for a whole year!

anansi boys - neil gaiman

fat charlie is an extremely normal, mostly boring florida-born englishman engaged to the sweet, do-gooding, contrary rosie. after the death of his wiley, sometimes-estranged, extremely embarassing father, fat charlie finds out that he's a half-god. turns out his tricky father was actually anansi the spider (you know, from those jamaican anansi the spider tall tales?). at anansi's funeral, fat charlie finds out about his other half - a long-lost brother, a man named spider. being a nostolgic chap, charlie summons spider as he's told (of course, he thinks it's rubbish, but... well... what could it hurt to ask an 8 legged creature to bring his brother for a visit). spider shows up at his doorstep and promptly overtakes charlie's life.

you see, spider has always known about and has fully embraced his demi-god status. he's beautiful, talented, charming and witty. all the gals love him, and if they arent so first inclined, he can simply make anyone love him. fat charlie is in silent awe about all of these amazing happenings until the tables are turned upon him - spider falls in love with rosie, who is under spider's spell and thinks spider is actually fat charlie. fat charlie's inner discontent turns to rage, and despite spider's best deciving tactics, fat charlie manages to summon the goddess birdwoman to rid his life of spider.

what follows is wonderful chaos. gaiman weaves a nail-biting, fantastical adventure tale about brotherly love, true love, pure revenge and heritage. how will anansi the spider rescue his bloodline and fool his foes from the grave?

i indulged in the audiobook version of this story and i'm extremely happy i did. the reader has a very diverse, sumptuous voice and he catches each character's nuances perfectly. i highly recommend either the book or the audio version to anyone who's looking for a fun, magical realism romp around the norm.

only one i know, but it's quality vs. quantity, right? ;o)