Monday Reviews - View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

I think we're all allowed one favorite in each categories of things that mark our lives. Pearl Jam is my favorite band. IPA is my favorite beer. I'm too moody to only pick one type of red wine as my favorite though. That said, Big Trouble in Little China is my favorite movie. Sometimes we choose our favorites and sometimes our favorites choose us. Neil Gaiman is my favorite author.

More than being the most talented author I read, I insist on saying he's my favorite... because the more I read him, the more I understand that what I do as a writer is the right thing. He doesn't pander or preach, he doesn't expect worship or shy away from giving praise... he's a nice guy. A nice guy with a wicked imagination and a writer voice that speeks to so many parts of me, that sometimes it's scary. Even those parts that I keep hidden. He speaks to them. Not many people get to know those parts. Those broken mosaics within. But he somehow connects. So he became my favorite... and I know I'm not alone.

But that's okay, because we all have the right as well as the opportunity to enjoy him and his words. This is a lovely collection of non-fiction pieces, read by Neil himself. They're real, honest, and make no attempt to cover. Quite the opposite actually. He reveals who he is and somehow in that act, we find a bit of ourselves.

I was debating whether to give this book 4 stars or 5. It is a collection of intros, essays, articles, and liner notes. The reason is that I don't want to seem skewed or influenced or as if I drank the "Gaiman" Kool-Aid as some people say... but influence he does, and influenced I am... because I am able to choose favorites... and Neil is mine.