I just finished Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” (588 pages)- it was bombin’! I love basically every single thing this man writes, but I was really hesitant to start this book, cause the basic plot line of old gods of America battling new gods didn’t appeal to me at all. I really should have known better, the book was fantastically well-written and the plot evolved really nicely, if at a fairly slow pace. I have really mixed feelings about the “new gods” of Internet, drugs, cars, and even a railroad baron because I feel like they don’t contrast the traditional old gods very well. The old gods, though, were fantastic! The main mythology he pulled from was Norse, which is my favorite, but I think it might be a bit less fun to read for someone who isn’t familiar with it; I know that I really want to brush up on my Asian mythologies after reading it. He had Japanese, Voodoo, West African, Egyptian, Slavic, Native American, Hindu, Arabic, German, Chinese, Irish, and even Aztec folklore folded in. Also, the epilogue echoes his poem Instructions (http://www.endicott-studio.com/cofhs/cofinstr.html), which is possibly my very favorite combination of words ever. So yeah. I’m gonna go read Anansi Boys now. :)