Neil Gaiman - 3 books that have changed my life

Neil Gaiman talks about 3 books that have changed his life.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is the winner of the 2010 Cilip Carnegie Medal, the Newbery Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Book Prize 2009, and shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award

Stunningly illustrated by Chris Riddell, who brings the ghouls, ghosts and hero wonderfully to life in this fantastic ghost adventure story, laced with menace and humour.

When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard?

Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him -- after all, he is the last remaining member of the family.

A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man?

View more videos and browse Neil's books on Bloomsbury Publishing's website:

[Voileen]

The books he mentions

1) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
2) Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock
3) Swamp Thing by Alan Moore

[NirNaethCZ]

When I was 16 I borrowed the Fellowship of the Ring off my English teacher. English being my second language, I could hardly understand a word of it but my passion for fantasy was strong. I persevered, went on to study English at uni and setttled in the UK where I now teach English literature to native speakers. Never give up!

[nadermost]

Your dreams are too important to be scared away by your nightmares.

[MrJSyer]

I'm a simple man: I see Neil Gaiman talking about writing, I click "like". One of the most awesome authors alive, for sure.

[tirinsplay]

It’s nice that he gave Ursula Le Guin a mention. She easily belongs in the top three.

[megaky]

I love this guy. His love of fantasy, the power of the imagination and basic, good storytelling is infectious.

[kxlot]

Such a nice man!
I rang him up at an airport bookstore I was working at...
I had been saving up for a collector’s edition of The Sandman and was basically working my way through all of his books. So I got totally star struck and was too zapped to ask for an autograph! 🤩🤪🌪😓
He smiled nicely and when I was too short-circuited to take his money he just sat it on the counter and told me “Keep the change.”
🤣🤣🤣
I will never forget it!

[estebanruiz]

In 1971, when I was in the fourth grade a teacher gave me a copy of Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. That book is forever cemented in my psyche and it turned me into a bibliophile.

[AF-dnbz]

Best storyteller of this generation. One major reason being that he actually has so much story to tell and doesn't pad his books with useless prose

[misspopcoin]

He is an amazing writer.
The ocean at the end of the lane.
The graveyard book.
Coraline.
Neverwhere.
Stardust.
Good omens.
Odd & the frost gaints.

All great books. He is such a diverse writer. Not many people can write different genres so well.

[lauradevitt]

I can honestly say that "One Fish Two Fish" changed my life. I know it sounds stupid but I am dyslexic and have a learning disability and despite being sent to special ed and my mom taking me to experts I just didn't pick up reading. When I was 8, my mom read it to me every single day for 6 months and that repetition just made something in my brain CLICK. I went from being unable to read to reading at a college level in about 3-4 years. After that I might say C.J. Cherryh's Cyteen series or her foreigner series. Her books are easy and fun to read but they present ideas that I never ran into any other place. The ideas were always subtle but important to the story. It trained my brain to look at things in different ways. I don't know if I could pick a third book. There are so many other options.

[arggabe]

A friend and I once spent several hours discussing the parallels and contrasts between the Graveyard Book and the Jungle Books (mostly Kipling but Disney was brought up). We filled a couple of white boards with notes and diagrams. Then we introduced Lindskold's Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls book to the discussion and several more hours were spent. We wasted an entire day on it and it was glorious.

[Posidengodoftesea]

This person was not designed to be anything but a writer. Amazing to witness

[skinnybub]

I’m almost finished with Neverwhere I can’t believe it took me so long to find this amazing writer! For people that don’t like to read try audiobooks because it’s a tragedy to not love books!

[Missjunebugfreak]

Neil is one of my favorite writers. And I absolutely love his voice.

[TheDisKit]

The Narnia books did a similar thing to me as well. I remebered it as the film 'The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe' but then when I had bought the whole series, I realised 'The Magician's nephew' was the first in the series. That book in particular did something to me. There's something so magical and special but at the same time it's a bit eerie. It did scare me back then but it's one of those books you just can't forget.

[worryworm]

The greatest gift I've ever received was a library card at age seven.

And a teacher who, when I started public school, at seven, realised my reading needs and compromised to not make me feel more "other", and awkward than I already did.

[Winters]

Watchmen did for me what Swamp Thing did for him. It was unreal while grounded in reality and the topics and exploration of such huge ideas were done so well that I remember thinking about it still to this day. Isolation, futility, fate, love, and the human experience. All there. All wrapped up in a naked blue god. Brilliant and transcendent.

[StarContract]

Reading his books made grim days seem cheerful. I consider myself privileged to be son of parents who looked for books to entertain me.

[nartarlyiatremaynne]

Neil I concur with your sentiment. Books were my best friend whilst I was a child. Even now having grown up I will often lie on our sofa in the winter with a roaring fire reading for hours, until it is dark outdoors. Or in our hammock in the summer. My idea of heaven my darling Husband will lie next to me perfectly quiet just to hear me read aloud. For my friends on one day near their birthday I spend the afternoon reading their childhood books aloud to them. I did this when we were Uni when we were stony broke, and it still gives me pure joy.