Status Update

Jayson is 54% done

Notes:
(1) "He felt her heart beating against his chest. The moment began to transmute, and he wondered if there was something he should do. He wondered if he should kiss her. He wondered if he wanted to kiss her, and he realized that he truly did not know."
- How romantic ... if she weren't 16 and him nearly 30.
(2) The special effects in my mind have a much higher budget.

— Apr 04, 2021 11:51PM

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Jayson’s Previous Updates

Jayson is 96% done

Notes:
(1) It's at this point I must pause to read "How the Marquis Got His Coat Back," which is included as a bonus story in this audiobook edition.
- For all those people out there who get on me for writing multiple reviews for the same book, this is technically two books in one.
(2) So, "Stardust" or "Coraline" next? The answer is: whichever one my library gets me first.

— Apr 20, 2021 11:50PM

Jayson is 93% done

Notes:
(1) It just dawned on me that this might be Gaiman's take on "Don Quixote." In his mind, the hero's a knight, but to normal people, he's another off-his-rocker vagrant.
(2) "She squeezed him tightly enough that the bruises on his ribs hurt, and he hugged her back, just as tightly, making all of his bruises complain violently, and he simply didn't care."
- Love hurts.

— Apr 19, 2021 11:40PM

Jayson is 90% done

Notes:
(1) Abbott: "Bring me the Warrior's trousers."
- Everything sounds cooler when you're "the Warrior."
(2) "Arise, Sir Richard ... I do give to you the freedom of the Underside. May you be allowed to walk freely, without let or hindrance ... and so on and so forth ... et cetera ... blah blah blah."
- "Blah blah blah" certainly saves time. I do hate lengthy formalities.

— Apr 18, 2021 11:40PM

Jayson is 87% done

Notes:
(1) "I told him I would help him, if he would help me. Then I told him the nature of the help I needed, and he laughed at me. He laughed. At me."
- Man, villains really don't like being laughed at.
(2) Richard: "Don't do it. Don't set it free. We don't matter."
The marquis: "Actually, I matter very much. But I have to agree. Don't do it."
- Well, at least they agree.

— Apr 17, 2021 11:45PM

Jayson is 84% done

Notes:
(1) "Pulling it out from under Door's layers of silk and cotton and lace, [it revealed] the silver key; and then it ran its fingers over the key, as if it were exploring her secret places."
- "Secret places" just sounds extra wrong.
(2) 'Door shook her head. "You killed him because he turned you down?"
"I didn't kill him ... I had him killed."'
- Eh, villain's logic.

— Apr 16, 2021 11:50PM

Jayson is 81% done

Notes:
(1) "Mr. Vandemar ... he kicked Richard in the kneecap. Richard fell to the ground, in agony."
- Umm, that didn't look like a kick to the kneecap to me.
(2) "Giants built that gate ... half-remembered tales of long-dead kings of mythical London churning in his head, tales of King Bran and of the giants Gog and Magog."
- Ah, so it's not just a "Game of Thrones" thing.

— Apr 14, 2021 11:50PM

Jayson is 78% done

Notes:
(1) "The blade was long, and it curved like a kris, sharp on one side, serrated on the other; there were faces carved into the side of the haft, which was green with verdigris, and decorated with strange designs and odd curlicues."
- Finally! being Filipino actually pays off vis-à-vis bookish esoterica! A kris is a in kind of wavy Southeast Asian sword/dagger.

— Apr 13, 2021 11:40PM

Jayson is 75% done

Notes:
(1) "They stopped in front of the door. There was a brass plate on it, which said: THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO HOUSES."
- I wonder what cruelty they prevent? Termites? Demolition? Naff decor?
(2) Lamia: "Don't you like me?"
Richard: "Of course I like you ... You're very nice."
- Nice save! Nothing says polite yet benign like "You're very nice."

— Apr 12, 2021 10:30PM

Jayson is 72% done

Hmm... awkward elevator silence. I've been there.

Notes:
(1) Door: "Yummy curry. This is really good."
- Nothing conveys little-girl like "yummy." Gaiman's a master of getting personality across with little details.
(2) "Door wiped the last of the curry from her bowl with her fingers, and licked them."
- Again, indicators of a childlike personality... starvation too.

— Apr 11, 2021 11:30PM

Jayson is 69% done

Notes:
(1) I just learned how the marquis lost his coat. Important info, since the subsequent novella's called "How the Marquis Got His Coat Back."
(2) "It came to Richard then that Hammersmith had known Door as a small child, and he found himself feeling unaccountably jealous of the huge man."
- Gaiman, master storyteller, sprinkling seeds of future romance here and there.

— Apr 10, 2021 11:40PM