The Graveyard Book

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

I love reading, a fact I've unfortunately forgotten in recent years. Something about reading nothing but "classics" in my classes has jaded me somewhat towards the whole practice of reading. Which I find to be a tragedy; there are so many good books out there, it would be a shame to taint them with bad memories of a few not-so-good books.

Recently, however, I've picked up the habit again. Really, it's because I don't have much else to do with my time. I go to class from eight to ten, do a few hours of homework, maybe take a nap, catch up on any other business, and then have several hours of time to use as I please. This week has been a bit busier than normal, what with a midterm and extended grocery shopping trip thrown in the mix, but I've still had a fair number of free hours. To fill these hours, I started reading.

The book of choice was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and I finished it tonight. It was fantastic. The book is about a little boy named Nobody Owens (Bod for short) who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard, and his life and lessons learned as he grows up. It reminded my of the idea that "it takes a whole village to raise a child," but altered to be "it takes a whole graveyard to raise a child" instead. The whole storyline was just so original, and slightly creepy in a non-disturbing way. And it imparted some very good wisdom along with the tale. The only problem is that I'm done with it. And have nothing else to read. I think a trip to the library might be in order. And a thank you to Gaiman's storytelling for reminding me of the pleasures of reading.

As Silas (Bod's guardian) tells him, "All the people here have had their lives, Bod, even if they were short ones. Now it's your turn. You need to live." What good advice.