Gaiman, Neil - The Graveyard Book - Relaxed Buddy Read - (Start November 10 2013) Revisit June 17, 2016

[Jen]

I think I know the "Sleer tomb"! Frobisher wasn't it? :-) (Or something like that. I remember because he said it a couple times and I listened to it a couple times. . .)

:-)

Then the Jacks stuck in my head because I was only familiar with one of them. Or maybe two: (view spoiler)[Jack Frost was the one I knew from other stories and Jack Dandy rings a vague bell. I'd never heard of Jack Tar or Jack Catch, who were, I think, the other two. (hide spoiler)]

[Chelsea]

Sounds right:) I had only heard of Jack (view spoiler)[Frost, (hide spoiler)] but is it supposed to be the same character as from other stories?

[Jen]

Chelsea wrote: "Sounds right:) I had only heard of Jack [spoilers removed] but is it supposed to be the same character as from other stories?"

I don't see how it could be. I think it must have just been that in that fraternal order, the Jacks were each given whatever name was available.

[Caly ☯ Crazy Book Lady]

I finished the book and I have to say it was okay but not my favorite NG by far. I thought the premise was awesome and the ending was actually quite good, I just feel the story was rushed and characters under developed like Silas and the Jacks. I wanted more...

[Jen]

Were we ever told what Silas was? I'm pretty sure he (view spoiler)[must have been a vampire, (hide spoiler)] but I can't recall ever being told for sure.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it more, Caly. I really liked it, but I'm curious about how I'll feel about it when I can read it in print. (I suspect, though, that I'll still really enjoy it as I'll probably hear the voice cast in my head.)

:-)

[Chelsea]

We don't need to use spoiler tags anymore, right? I'm assuming everyone has finished it since Sophie hasn't posted on here in ages and when she did, she was at least through Chapter 5.

Jen- It honestly never crossed my mind that Silas could be a vampire... Maybe because vampires aren't normally do-gooders. But it kinda makes sense. He never ate real food, he was able to persuade humans to do things, he was neither dead nor alive, and I think he is immortal. But for some reason, that never occurred to me as a possibility. Nice observation.

Caly- I also thought that the majority of the book was underdeveloped, but I still enjoyed it. Gaiman created an intriguing world. But I think it's such a shame that Bod lost his ability.

[Caly ☯ Crazy Book Lady]

Hmm I never thought of Silas as a vampire either but since Lupescu was a werewolf that is totally a possibility. I just wish we had gotten a little more information on him and the Jacks and the Honor Guard etc. The story itself I enjoyed very much, I just don't think it is one of NG better ones. Ocean at the End of the Lane is still my favorite to date.

Chelsea - It was kind of a bummer that Bod lost his abilities but I loved the fact that he didn't dwell on it but embraced the idea of seeing the world. In my mind I hope someday he returns to be buried in that cemetery so he can be with them all again.

Jen- I would definitely like to mail you my copy of the book if you like. You can send me a message with your address. 8-) I really do love sharing my books so please don't feel bad.

[Chelsea]

Yeah, I also hope that he gets buried there so he can be with his "parents" again.

[Jen]

I'm pretty sure there was a line in Chapter One that said Silas ate one thing and one thing only. And the way the narrator voiced it made me think, "vampire?" :-)

Chelsea: I would definitely still use spoiler tags. This thread is not just for us right now. The Mods could resurrect this thread if anyone in future wants to buddy read it. (And wasn't that how we got "our" thread here? I'm on the app and can't check right now. I might be confusing our discussion thread with another buddy read I'm doing.)

Caly (and Chelsea). . .Did you know that Liza Hempstock in this book is definitely a relation of the Hempstock women in The Ocean at the End of the Lane? Neil shared this fact in the short talk he made about The Graveyard Book at the end of the full-cast audio I listened to. :-)

And Caly, I would happily accept this book if you truly want to send it to me. :-) You should have my address already. . .through Swap-Bot and that Swap we're partners in. Since you are to send to me, you should see my address when you click the link to "See the partners you send to" (or whatever it's called). ;-)

But I can also send it to you in a Goodreads message. :-)

[Caly ☯ Crazy Book Lady]

Jen wrote: "I'm pretty sure there was a line in Chapter One that said Silas ate one thing and one thing only. And the way the narrator voiced it made me think, "vampire?" :-)

Chelsea: I would definitely still..."

LOL Jen, I did forget that I had your address for our swap. What I will do is send the book when I send the swap that way its only one mailing.

That is very cool about the Hempstock woman! Thanks for letting us know that.

[Jen]

Caly wrote: "LOL Jen, I did forget that I had your address for our swap. What I will do is send the book when I send the swap that way its only one mailing.

That is very cool about the Hempstock woman! Thanks for letting us know that."

I thought the Hempstock connection was pretty cool, too. :-) (And I'm pretty sure Neil also said that he initially started out writing a story about vampires and werewolves, or something like that, which is what sort-of confirmed for me that that's what Silas was.) :-)

And that sounds good, regarding the book/swap. I'll be haunting my mailbox after you mark "Sent," *haha* ;-)

[Chelsea]

Jen- Yes, I'm agreeing with you more and more about Silas.

I see your point, but actually, the previous group to read this book didn't use spoiler tags at all. Since they were on a schedule, they just respected not writing spoilers ahead of schedule. So anyone who was behind, or anyone in the future using this thread, just has to be smart enough to not thoroughly read past posts.

I haven't read any of Gaiman's other works, so I'm completely unfamiliar with the Hempstocks:)