The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
Ratings43
Average rating3.8
This is a book with ups and downs. Some parts are 5 but others are 2s. But Neil Gaimans narration make it worth it. If you like to hear about stories and or like Niel. This could be a book for you.
Disappointed. this book consists mainly of book introductions and lectures. A random collection, and too much alike - and shallow - in style.
This is really a mixed bag, there are good moments, boring moments, repetitive moments, and sad moments and if, like me, you dislike Amanda Palmer you'll probably get annoyed at how much talk of her there is in this collection.
Gaiman writes decent fiction but his philosophy isn't all that deep and I can't say that I found it all that interesting to step into the mind of someone who will excuse having awful people listed as their favourite writers (I get it you can enjoy things written by bad people but listing them as a favourite is another pair of shorts altogether). I enjoyed his questioning on the distinction between adult fiction and children's fiction and his pieces on grief and loss which were quite poignant.
I read this book 5 or 6 years ago when it was first published and felt the need to read it again a couple of weeks ago.
If you're a good friend of mine then you know that I love ANYTHING written by Neil Gaiman and have ever since I first discovered his writing when someone recommended I read “Neverwhere” about 25 years ago.
The View From the Cheap Seats is a collection of forewords, prefaces, or introductions to books he has written; a compendium of introductions of other famous people he has written and verbally presented at Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Comic Book conventions; articles he has written about people, books, music, and even the Syrian refugee crisis; as well as a smattering of work he did early on as a journalist before becoming a writer of fiction. (His Lou Reed interview was astonishing in the depth of his knowledge of Reed's music, and the fact that he asked questions in such a way that Reed did not hang up on him, as he had done with so many journalists, but rather stayed on right up until he HAD to go be on stage for a concert he was giving.)
And as much as I have loved his novels, short stories, and other works of fiction (even his “children's” books), The View From the Cheap Seats holds an entirely different level of love from me for his writing for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost; when I read his works of fiction I ‘hear” his characters' voices, inflections, tones, etc. based on either what he has written about them and how they speak or, if I have to imagine the characters voices, it is because he has described the character in ways that I assign a certain voice to them. I think we all do that in our heads, whether we actively think about it or not.
When I read this collection, every little bit is in Neil Gaiman's voice which I love to listen to for some reason. It may be the accent, but I think it is probably more because he is as careful and yet delightfully free with his spoken words as he is with his written ones. Some people can speak so eloquently and yet that eloquence never makes it into their written words, others have the exact opposite problem. Neil Gaiman has mastered both.
Secondly, we learn so much about his personal life; his youth, his likes and dislikes, people he has known, why he likes some things and doesn't like others, how he views people and the world and more importantly, himself. When he writes a movie review, an author dedication or a preface to another writer's book I find myself either comparing my takeaway or making notes of the title or author or writer so I can remember to look into each of those myself to see what I can come away from them feeling after I'm done. Will I feel the same? Or will I have a different view? Will I find what he found, or will I miss it altogether?
If you have not yet read The View From the Cheap Seats, I wholeheartedly recommend you do so, especially if you're a Neil Gaiman fan. And if you've already read it, do what I did and re-read it again. Like the majority of Neil Gaiman's work, it is as good as or better the second time around.
This was a really lovely collection!
In my opinion, some of the inclusions were better than others (hence the lack of a rating), but I was really satisfied with this overall! As y'all know, I love everything Neil Gaiman so I was delighted to read this. I learned a lot and gained so much from this book. Plus, I discovered some new books I want to add to my TBR.
Not sure if that's a good thing.
His mind ♥ Literary criticism, essays, ponderings about libraries and literature and stories, specific or in general.
- I think Neil Gaiman is a brilliant writer.
2. I love listening to Neil Gaiman narrate audiobooks.
3. I always WANT to love his fiction, but with the exceptions of Stardust and The Graveyard Book, I usually don't love his fiction. (Probably because it's a bit too dark and sad and twisted for what I prefer.)
4. But I DO love most of his non-fiction. And that holds true here.
Marvelous! Love that it was his own voice reading.
Some segments were novel and some familiar. Lovely phrases were repeated, but how could they not be.
I really do love Neil Gaiman and this was the quintessential collection. Topics range from relationships with friends and his wife and children to why libraries are important, why reading is important and why writing is important. There's something in here for everyone!
I should not have read this book in one go..
This is a lovely book, truly. But with the release of Norse Mythology, the author's new book, I found myself wanting to get through it. I should have just put it aside after the first part - about libraries, reading and youth - and picked it back up later. I think I would have appreciated it a lot more then.
The work is sorted wonderfully, providing more insight into the author's thoughts and world views. There are funny bits and odd bits and heartfelt, painful bits. Neil Gaiman is my favorite author and I believe that I will be coming back to some of these nonfiction works later. It has introduced me to authors unknown (or well known, but unread to me) and provided me with background to some of my favorite books. All in all, I have nothing but praise for this book. But I shouldn't have read it in one go :)
My SF&F reading list is longer due to Gaiman's introductions for various other authors. Audiobook is best, because of Gaiman's reading voice. I could listen to him read a spreadsheet. I'll now and forever pronounce “labyrinth” as “LABBY-rinth” in the English manner, like Neil does.
The un-essential Neil Gaiman.
I'm not trying to be mean; this is by the author's own admission a collection of odds and ends. The problem is really that there are few essays or critiques and most of the works therein are the intros to other people's books. Okay, but not particularly engaging. An interesting read for fans, but I doubt you'll take it cover to cover.
I love Gaiman, so it came as no surprise that I loved this as well. That being said, I did find some of the selections dry, and wish I'd known that it was a book full of speeches and introductions, rather than nonfiction. Only the last segment is technical nonfiction.
Neil Gaiman's love of reading and writing is fascinating and infectious. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the library.
Neil Gaiman is like a best friend that you've never met, but will one day, and I fully intend to soon. He has a heart that gazes on life with sheer fascination, and an imagination that is nothing short of magic. In this collection of non-fictions from Neil, you'll be given a glimpse into the mind of imaginative perspective. Everything from his thoughts on writing, making art, and why creators create is here. Plus you get glimpses into people that have impacted his life in significant ways, such as Terry Pratchett and his wife Amanda Palmer. You'll travel with him to the rich and famous Oscars and the most destitute of the poor in Syrian refugee camps. You'll laugh and you'll cry, and if you really pay attention to his stories you'll be a better person for having done so. I would say that's true of all his stories, whether fact or fiction. Neil is a good man to have for a friend, because he makes good art.
Oh Neil, I never get tired of hearing your voice in my head. This collection of Neil's non-fiction is not exactly what I was hoping for, but I still enjoyed spending time hearing his thoughts. This issue was that I only had a frame of reference for some of his thoughts because so many of these articles are very out of context. When I was familiar with the book or person he was discussing, I really enjoyed reading; when I wasn't, I had a harder time getting into it. It does provide a handy reading/viewing/listening list for anyone who wants slowly absorb all the Gaiman knoweldge and references in existence. I may or may not attempt that.
I didn't realize it was possibly to be simultaneously deeply self-indulgent and also selfless, but that's what we have here. I just can't in good conscience recommend this book. It's selections of introductions to other works, speeches, verbal introductions and other miscellany. Two objections stand out: firstly, few readers will be familiar with all of the works discussed (or even a majority). It's quite dull to read an introduction to a book that you have never read and don't have access to, quality of writing notwithstanding. Secondly, in general, a collection of essays always wants for strong editing, especially when the topics of the essays are overlapping. In one case this was done, but in the others there are numerous redundancies – sometimes entire paragraphs lifted from one to the other.
That said, if you look at this as an encyclopedia of Stuff Neil Gaiman Recommends, it becomes more useful – I know I will seek out several of the introduced books here.
Finally an extra star entirely for the moving essays about Diana Wynne Jones. I have long found their friendship extremely touching. Gaiman has never wavered in his admiration of her and even when his fame far outstripped hers he advocated for her.
It says a lot of good about Neil Gaiman that he used this fame-backed ploy to talk up his own favorite books, regardless of their own fame. Nonetheless, it is a fame-backed ploy.