american gods

just finished american gods by neil gaiman. that's a good book. thanks, mini-me! i recommend this book. it's a bit racy in a few parts but neither the sex nor the violence are gratuitous - they are truly integral to the story. it's a bit of a fairy tale. (or is it?) the only thing that bothered me is that the references run rampant, and i am sure i was missing them right and left. mini-me said let it go, but i am not built that way.

at the end of the book, mr gaiman thanks a couple folks for helping him rid the manuscript of stray and unintentional anglicisms. well, guess what, he didn't get rid of all of them. these were recurrences i noticed:

"anglicism" = "americanism"
"meant to" = "supposed to"
"packet of burger king fries" = "burger king fries"
"packet of cigarettes" = "pack of cigarettes"
"about" = "around"
"cleaning his teeth" = "brushing his teeth"

also, anyone who knows anything about america knows we worship health & fitness, and one more thing, if you don't like a purple car, just freaking repaint it, but hey, that's just little stuff. and, i am probably missing some significance of the purple car. anyway, anyone who can make rock city a serious dramatic focal point, well, that's some good writing right that there. conclusion: two thumbs up.



so, what's up next? i am thinking harry potter again. i always think i will regret reading hp again, and then i never do. why do i think i will regret it? i think i will be bored reading something i've already read. why don't i regret it? because those stories are rich, complex, with well-developed settings, and while the books aren't character studies per se, the characters are not flat. so? what's the problem? i have a whole stack of books waiting on me, for one thing. feels like a waste of good reading time to go back and reread. but then, i will never not only not read a fraction of all the books created, i will never read a fraction of the books i want to read. so, basically, who the fck cares?