3 books down. 7 to go for #READ1040 (read 10 books in 40 days).

3 books down. 7 to go for #READ1040 (read 10 books in 40 days).

Book 3:

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

You guys. This book was amazing. I'm a little embarrassed to say I hadn't read any of Neil Gaiman's books until now. Of course I'd heard of him and his master storytelling skills, but I'd just never gotten around to his books. 

Just... WOW. This book was creepy, surprising, lovable, beautiful... it was near-perfect. I mean--hello, Newberry Medal pasted onto the cover (It won several other awards too, btw). Truly, I don't think I've ever been so creeped out and fascinated by a book's first few pages! 

Take a look at pages 1 and 2 to see what I mean:

      (images taken from Amazon.com) 

If you can't read it, the first line reads: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

Hello, creep-tastic?! Right? Okay, so now look at the opening paragraph:

(images taken from Amazon.com) 

So, I was properly endowed with the heebie-geebies at this point. For sure. And it was great. Gaiman's voice is wonderfully descriptive and charming throughout the entire book. The main character, Bod (short for Nobody) Owens, is adorable, and tragic, and fierce all wrapped into one. He was supposed to be killed as a baby, but manages to elude the man Jack, and his bone-handled knife. Bod is then raised by ghosts in a graveyard where he's forbidden to leave, else his family's murderer discover his whereabouts. 

If you need more convincing of this books awesomeness, click here for the 1,100 people who've shared their love for The Graveyard Book on Amazon.com. 

Seriously, y'all. Go read this book.

Now.