Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I loved the thought of the incarnations of gods disguised as normal people first and foremost. Fat Charlie, wasn't the most lovable character. Though you do feel very sorry for him throughout most of the novel. Especially when you find out he's not embed with his father's powers, his brother was. A brother he never knew about known as "Spider", which happen to morn their father over a drunken stupor. Then proceeds to "save his ass" by going to work for him as he slept him self to sobriety, then screws him by screwing his fiancée, literally.

I thought the way the roles changed between Charlie and Spider were great. The fact that Spider lives his life, by working at the end, but with his love Rosie (Charlie's ex). and Charlie and his great career as a singer who marries Daisy, and gets to live the life he deserved. Great twist of things. I would say the integration of the gods in this humanistic play of man (love/greed) was nearly perfect.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

Let me just say, this is probably one of my favorites.

The world they create in this book is amazing, and sort of a new outlook. You still get the whimsical overlay, but the way it's done it's not too much. The book starts off with the main character, a younger girl named Lyra Belacqua, her and her magic creature bonded to her, which in this series they call daemons. You seem to be born with one, and it's your companion for life, and when your an innocent child, it can still shape shift. Then it shifts to her uncle coming to town, Lord Asriel. This is when Lyra becomes curious about the conversation topic "Dust".

She wants to go up North with her uncle, whom is alway traveling. But as usual he refuses, because it would be too dangerous. Lyra goes back to her friends, and one in particular Roger Parslow, who lives close to the college that Lyra lives in. This is where the conversation of whispers going around town that there is children being stolen by a group called "The Gobbler's". The Gobbler's still Roger, and this is when our adventure really starts, because Lyra feels that she has to save him, cause no one else will.

She then comes upon the cynical Mrs. Coulter who brings Lyra to London with her. Before Lyra leaves her master hands her an alethiometer, which would be the "golden compass" and tells her she must show it to no one, especially Mrs. Coulter. then she goes off on this adventure and makes alliances and gets herself caught eventually. Then she finds Roger at this place and escapes with him. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

The Annotated by J.R.R. Tolkien

Love this series. period.

I was recommend this series when I was a freshman in high school, and I remember picking up the first in the series "The Hobbit" where there is this well crafted world that I get dropped into. (Map included!) This long adventure story starts off with the Great Gandalf, a wizard that always has an adventure following close by. Gandalf visits a friend Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit. Which hobbits are not ones to go on adventure, they like to stay in and smoke their pipes and live in their hobbit-holes, completely content. But Gandalf talks him into taking on a journey with him and they go off through Tolkien's invented lands of forests and run into many dangers with great reward.

The great thing I love about Tolkien's writings is the way he lays things out in the beginning. He doesn't go into great detail of items or appearances, just enough to get the ball rolling.

Like when he's describing Gandalf, he mentions him wearing a grey hat. Nothing special, but it gets the image instilled in your head and you move on to the adventure ahead. Also another great thing about his writing, especially The Hobbit, in the first chapter especially, he talks to you and narrates it like a bed time story. Telling you as he remembers it, mentioning things, but never truly going into it unless it's essential to tell the epic journey.

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

This story was interesting, but a tad confusing to be honest.

There was some interesting banter in this book. I felt like it was like going down a rabbit hole while the Narrator was the hunt for the sheep with a spot on his back. Certain parts of this book were just strange like the girlfriend with the ears that make sex a thousand times better. I actually laughed out loud as this point, just because it was just a silly thing to focus on and be aroused by, but to each is own. But he seemed like he needed an escape from his boring life, which he earns with this hunt.

This isn't what I thought I would be getting into as far as a "Japanese Horror" story goes. I thought it was going to be a ghost story like the Ring or something. This seemed to have more of a humorous undertone than anything. I did enjoy it, it was a bit hard to follow at times. But I thought it was a different type of story than I'm use to, which was nice to have.