I finally finished reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell today. That was a long read that had about 800 pages leading up to a great 100 page conclusion. I'm not saying that any of the first 100 pages was bad, boring, or even bland, but it never seemed to go anywhere. The plot moved along so slowly, that it often seemed like you were reading some things for no reason and the multi-page footnotes were in there to break up the monotony of the narrative. That being said, I'll repeat that it was not boring at any point. There are basically three separate stories contained in this behemoth, but I'm not sure than any one of them alone would be worth reading. It may be the case that the author actually needed that many pages to tell the story. I'm actually a bit confused by my experience with this book because although I kept wanting it to get over, once it was, I wanted more of what was written towards the end. The treatment of magic, while a fantastical entity in its own right in the book, is so mundane, that it doesn't feel like you are transported into a different world. I guess I'd say that it's a good book, but probably not one that I'll read again.
On the other hand, after I finished that first book, I got to read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Even with a couple of kids running around, I flew through that book. It was really good. I really like nNorse mythology and Gaiman told a Norse myth. It read and and the feel of the various sagas and compilations I've read. He really captured the feel of the world and rhythm of the myths. I think I'm going to try to start reading it chapter by chapter to my daughter at night.
Finally, I just caught this post of Facebook today and it has to be one of the best commercials ever. All I can say is, "I'm on a horse."
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