Ocean at the End of the Lane (Signed) | 
pickI understand why this is such a beloved book. Strange, beautiful, grotesque, contemplative… for a book that was under 200 pages, it will stay with me for a long time. 💗
pickAn unnamed narrator attends a funeral in the area where he grew up and returns to his childhood home. There he remembers the strange events involving the women who lived on a neighbouring farm.
Menacingly creepy in places to the point where I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to go on and didn't know whether knowing or not knowing was worse.
"It was only a duck pond, out at the back of the farm. It wasn‘t very big."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pickI read this years ago and was due for a reread. It‘s so different than I remember! But I love the narration.
pickOne of my dinner dates this week while traveling for work. Neil Gaiman is always a good choice, and this is one of my favorites.
pickI soooooo wanted to LOVE this book! I had such high expectations and I think that was the problem, It just didn‘t live up to all the hype for me. Something just didn‘t quite work. But I did enjoy it more as it went along. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickI‘ve previously struggled to connect with Gaiman‘s books - so I‘ve been putting off trying this one for years even though it comes highly recommended and I admire the author (he‘s hilarious on tumblr) - and so I gave the audiobook a go and this was the NG book for me! I loved how it was bookended with the MC‘s adult self - with the majority of the story taking place when he was 7. The epilogue!!! Oof!
5 out of 8 so far.
I am trying so hard to get the whole set but I keep getting sent the wrong covers. Just need Fragile Things, Smoke & Mirrors, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane to finish out the set.
Being a book collector & looking for specific covers/editions is hard sometimes.
#wintergames #snowflakesquad #pokemon #charactergetsinjured #beartic #wintercosy #becosy #darkandstormy #wgwordsearch #notmany #atozbingo #O
Next up this has been languishing on my #kindle for years
pickA masterpiece of storytelling, with enough emotional heft to break your heart, creepy passages that make your skin crawl, and characters you won‘t soon forget. Might be my favorite of Gaiman‘s books.
so-soWistful. Horrifying and charming by turns. As I've come to expect from this author, there's inventive fantasy elements which come at the price of including images I sincerely hope won't show up in my nightmares. Can't help feeling there's something missing, maybe just wanted more time with certain characters, spent in the world built? Might just be a tone thing with Gaiman that doesn't match personal preference. ⚠️Suicide, body horror, child abuse
Today I went to see this at the theatre. The staging was incredible, and they had the WORLD'S CREEPIEST PUPPET MONSTER!!! 😱😱 Highly recommend.
I was hoping to read the book before the play, but I just haven't had time. Will read it soon, but need to find it first... 🤔
Embarrassingly, I have it in hardback, which shows how long I've been meaning to read it.
(Oh... and holographic bookmark merch 😊)
#bookspinbingo for July @TheAromaofBooks 😁
Done from the train off the top of my head. I will substitute in random books if I finish any / there are repeats.
Update: JUNE!!!!!! It's for June!!!! Oh my days 😶🌫️
pickA really good short fantasy mixed with chidhood memories.
Finally reading one that I missed a few years ago.
pickRating: 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was my first time reading a book by Neil Gaiman so i wasnt sure what to expect but i have to say i did really enjoy this one more then i thought i would. The Characters were so interesting, intriguing and enjoyable to read about, Lettie and The Old Man were definately my favorites. Loved learning about their backstory.
Currently Reading
Genre: Fantasy
Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother.
A repeat for me and it‘s just as wonderful. Still magical, enchanting, and creepy, but not in a cheesy way otherwise it wouldn‘t be for me. Gaiman is one of the few authors who can narrate well!
What‘s funny is I can hear the characters voices from Good Omens in it!
This is a great selection for an October read.💛🖤🧡
so-so‘nothing's ever the same," she said. "be it a second later or a hundred years. it's always churning and roiling. and people change as much as oceans.‘ ; 3.25/5
1. The Poughkeepsie Tapes!!! 😭
2. I don't read a lot of fantasy, but the first that came to mind was The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
3. Black, purple, orange! 🖤💜🧡
@Eggs @Blueberry #WondrousWednesday
pickShort and sweet and a good novel to start with when getting back into reading. I've also started looking at this book in terms of how parts of it are put together from a writer's perspective because watching the sandman by gaiman on netflix inspired me enough to attempt to write something.
pickIt took a little bit to get into, but once I did... I loved the story. Loved the fantasy and just loved the beauty of it.
#PennyAPage +2.37
#ReadMyRoom @AkashaVampie @jb72 @Bookworm54 @AsYouWish @CocoReads
#DoubleSpin #BookSpinBingo @TheAromaOfBooks
💙💚 I really miss this! The other day I saw this child be just utterly excited in a restaurant. Like the best thing in the world! This joy is something I need to consistently remind myself that is all around us. 💙❤️
This is my #DoubleSpin ( @TheAromaOfBooks ) book :) I love Neil Gaiman, but... I have heard some mixed reviews on this one... Fingers crossed, this is something I will enjoy
pickThis book is fantastical, bittersweet, creepy, and absolutely brilliant. Neil Gaiman‘s prose is beautiful and captivating. He‘s also one of only a few authors who narrate their own books well. I only regret having waited so long to read it.
bailedI hate to say this, because I have a soft spot for Gaiman, but I just could not get through this. I put in a good effort, I think, and made it about halfway through. It gave me Coraline + The Witches (Dahl), but not in a good way. 🤷♀️
pickTrigger warning for suicide. I've actually already read this. But I love Neil Gaimans voice as a narrator so here we are. This has some terrifying imagery. Supernatural horror for sure.
pickThis was a beautiful little story. I enjoyed Gaiman‘s illustration of childhood and found the setting and era evocative.
#AlphabetGame #LetterO
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Using another Gaiman book for this game! 😄📚💕 I liked this one a lot, though I wish it had been longer!
pickI ended up really enjoying this; I was very unsure at the start, it is very surreal and I didn't really get it, but by the end I fully embraced it and loved it. In an odd way it portrays childhood as an adult looking back, not in a tangible way but in a misty memory way. It also isn't for kids, although I have passed it on to my 15 year old son as we are going to see the National Theatre production. I think it would be ok for a mature teen.
I love Neil Gaiman and this was no exception! It‘s a beautiful dreamlike story about a man remembering his childhood.
#alphabetgame #letterO @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Road trip read ... really not sure what to make of this one .... 😕
pickTo this very day, this quirky fable leaves me with a profound sense of inquietude. Gaiman dazzles with his hauntingly beautiful prose, deep-seated angsty theme & spine-tingling malaise. You'll sleepwalk your way through this book, transported into the unfathomable depths of Gaiman's brilliantly twisted imagination. Childhood is often penned as a beguiling, magical experience, but Gaiman defies this trope exquisitely. He's a bona fide genius!
“Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. You don‘t. I don‘t. People are much more complicated than that. It‘s true of everybody.”
so-soListened to this one on Audiobook pretty decent production I would say.
Overall not my ideal genre of book but it kept my interest. I definitely thought this book would be more of a mystery but it was more fantasy and plot building. A middle of the road type of book for me no major wow moments.
I think there's also a movie being filmed for this. I'd be interested in seeing it.
3.5 stars.
What an odd book so far. I can't tell if I hate it or if I'll love it. I've never read a dark fantasy book before. But it's a short listen so I'll continue with it.
It tells the story of a man who returns to Sussex for a funeral and then finds himself driving "randomly" to the scenes of his childhood. He is drawn to the Hempstock farmhouse wherein, he remembers, there lived three generations of powerful and mysterious Hempstock women.
pickThis was chosen by my book club this month and it was a fun quick read! It was my first book by Gaiman since I usually read thrillers but I did enjoy it. I am very open to reading others books by him!
pickThis one was way creepier than I remembered. But I love the way he perfectly conveys how childhood can feel overwhelming. We talk about how childhood is magical, but sometimes being a kid is scary. Things can feel out of your control & confusing. Gaiman captures that perfectly. Memories made in childhood make a deep impression and help shape us. Plus the Hempstock women are a delight. I hadn‘t realized how many of his other books they pop up in!
The next one as I continue my determined effort to conquer the piles of books I have bought. 😍 #theoceanattheendofthelane #neilgaiman
