tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post6216977281756612270..comments2024-03-02T14:54:21.802-05:00Comments on The happily ever after . . .: The Graveyard Book Read-Along: PART IIIChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00420773211895134710noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-71540643859759338392012-10-23T23:14:40.132-04:002012-10-23T23:14:40.132-04:00Cheryl I agree! Thanks to Carl, nrlymrtl and Deb, ...<b>Cheryl</b> I agree! Thanks to Carl, nrlymrtl and Deb, anyway. ;) <br /><br />It's interesting that I started out reading <i>The Graveyard Book</i> thinking it was extremely grim if not morbid and wondered at its appropriateness for middle grade kids and then before I knew it, I was at home and comfortable with Bod and his situation living in the graveyard with ghosts as parents and a [likely] vampire as his guardian. All of a sudden everyone on the outside were the ones who didn't quite fit in.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00420773211895134710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-67868214914514128132012-10-23T22:43:57.540-04:002012-10-23T22:43:57.540-04:00Love the discussion in the comments here! The fam...Love the discussion in the comments here! The familiar themes in the very strange setting is definitely a wonderful feature of the book.<br /><br />Owns and Owens! Ha, so didn't think of that...Cheryl @ Tales of the Marveloushttp://marveloustales.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-60280622554000466502012-10-23T22:03:10.275-04:002012-10-23T22:03:10.275-04:00nrlymrtl, I, too, love the way Gaiman so effortles...<b>nrlymrtl</b>, I, too, love the way Gaiman so effortlessly balances the dark and scary with a personal coming of age story. Bod owning his name at the end was very satisfying to read! <br /><br /><b>Deb Atwood</b>, I almost missed the "owns" and "Owens" connection, too! Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00420773211895134710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-75115800523644777182012-10-23T22:00:41.474-04:002012-10-23T22:00:41.474-04:00I have American Gods on my to-read list! I'll ...I have American Gods on my to-read list! I'll get to it at some point. Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00420773211895134710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-834445176535145642012-10-23T00:00:05.471-04:002012-10-23T00:00:05.471-04:00Ah, I'm such a dunce. I didn't catch the i...Ah, I'm such a dunce. I didn't catch the importance of the name Owens until you said "owning" his name. That is a great little pun that Gaiman has inserted--and so meaningful, too.Deb Atwoodhttp://www.debatwood.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-22518199032716226892012-10-22T17:32:29.907-04:002012-10-22T17:32:29.907-04:00I'm glad you enjoyed this favorite of mine. I ...I'm glad you enjoyed this favorite of mine. I love Gaiman's balance of scary, sadness, friendship, and coming to life in this book. I like how Bod owns his name, Nobody Owens, by the end of the book. nrlymrtlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00572346310916207565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-90534326661544110332012-10-21T23:41:25.456-04:002012-10-21T23:41:25.456-04:00Even his more complicated stories, like American G...Even his more complicated stories, like American Gods, have a great deal of universal appeal because of the presence of story elements that we can all relate to. I think that is one of the things that makes good fantasy and science fiction accessible to even non-fans, if they choose to give it a try. Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-21394089726781395632012-10-21T22:20:25.224-04:002012-10-21T22:20:25.224-04:00Carl, I think Gaiman has a gift of writing a story...Carl, I think Gaiman has a gift of writing a story that is dark, unexpected and a bit frightening and yet--like you said-- tell it in such a universally appealing way. As if his stories are completely natural and ordinary! Really good stuff. Thanks again! :) Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00420773211895134710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3661609629555743722.post-70979485963037579562012-10-21T21:59:29.721-04:002012-10-21T21:59:29.721-04:00It is so bittersweet, isn't it? But lovely in...It is so bittersweet, isn't it? But lovely indeed. It is such a special book, all the more because Gaiman takes something completely unexpected: the dead, a graveyard, monsters and uses it to tell a very universal story which we all can relate to. I just love it. And more than that I love that we got to experience this as a group. It was a lot of fun to be riding around listening to this and knowing that others were listening to it or reading it all over the place. Such a cool thing to be able to get together in this manner. <br /><br />Thank you so much for experiencing it along with us. I do appreciate it and hope you had as great a time as I did. Not sure what my next group read will be, but I look forward to it all the same. Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.com