Lost in Sagebrush

I just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s classic novel American Gods earlier this week, and it got me thinking about journeys. In the novel, Shadow Moon, our stalwart(ish) protagonist has just been released from prison, and he has a plan: move back to Eagle Point, kiss his wife, and live happily (quietly) ever after. Now, this is the beginning of a lengthy novel, so you know from the get go that things quickly go awry for Shadow, and he falls in with an unexpected crew in the form of some wayward gods of the Norse, African, and Egyptian persuasion. 

Shadow goes along with their scheme to regain their power because he has nothing better to do than to ride along and see where the road may take him, much as he has his entire life it seems. On this journey it is revealed that he is not really living, not taking in the meaning the his life, and doing far too much of what other people want rather than thinking about whether that is what *he* actually wants. Hmm. 

Far be it from me to fall into the over-used adage of “fear of missing out”, but Shadow’s (and our) revelation has something deeper going on than simple FOMO. Shadow might be taking the journey, but what is he getting out of it? He’s sure not particularly interested in the outcome and Wednesday’s joke about him becoming King of America holds no ground, so why is he even bothering to walk the road? For that matter: has Gaiman (through his magic-ladden world) revealed something integral about human nature - that we’re all walking the same roads, towards many of the same goals, but are we asking the right questions of ourselves and of the world along the way?

I would argue that a lot of us aren’t. It’s all too easy to fall into the same patterns of behaviour and ultimate life goals that we’ve been raised with since birth and see endlessly mimicked by society around us: grow up, get a job, start a family, make our mark on the world, ad nauseum until death do us part. But, a lot of us never ask why - mostly because it’s easier not to. If we question too much we end up breaking our relationships and our lives, because most people don’t want to hear the questions being asked, much less contemplate whether making a change and taking a side road is an actual option. 

In fairytales, too, (our childhood guides into the ways of the world) we are told not to stray from the path lest the will-o-the-wisps and goblin market lead us astray into the paths of ever-hungry wolves. Keep to the highways and byways through the woods, and only stop at Grandmother’s house before returning safely home. Even in the stories where the rejected child sets out from home to quest for a better life, they set foot to well-trodden path, walked by millions of unrequited souls before, in the hopes that they will find the (practically expected) glory, riches, or satisfaction. 

What many of these fairytales seem to miss, and what Gaiman hints at, is the fact that some of us are far more than simple questing rejects: by living through life’s challenges we have become wolves. Maybe not in the traditional sense of fur-covered beings, but of wild things that cannot be contained by the walls of civilization and who cannot look on humanity as a simple living organism. Beings that need to run free along the natural paths of the forest, led by pure instinct and internal fire alone. Wolves that howl not just at the moon, but for the sheer joy of freedom and of Self. Like Shadow Moon, we must occasionally run (or maybe saunter, since who’s rushing towards the End) alongside the earthly gods and sacrifice what we thought we held dear to find the way forward through the mists and out the other side of the forests. Along the way we have seen too much of the other side to go back to the paths that came before, and maybe it is in that discovery we find the spark that keeps us questing for ever-new paths and states of being. That spark which keeps us howling at our own Moons.

Modern Day Superheroes

Whenever I pick up a newspaper or turn on the news I am always astounded. Not at what is being said, but at the overly negative focus it takes. Today's headlines read about a plane high-jacked in Ethiopia, the unexpected increase in amateur bodybuilders (and the negative impact on body image), continuing protest riots in Kyev, and of a trade ban on lacy panties in Russia. Of course there was mention of Canadian victory (or close enough) at the Olympics, but the bad news definitely outweighed the good – even if it seems slightly ridiculous from a Canadian perspective (seriously Russia, is there anything you approve of?).

In comic books we have plenty of superheroes to fight for our rights – yes, there is even a Captain Underpants, though I doubt that his motto is along the lines of “panties for all” – but in the real world we are seemingly let down. There are no men in spandex, no women with magical tiaras, and certainly no Bat-beacon lighting up the sky.

But we do have people who are fighting the good fight and taking a stand against the evils of the world. People like Oprah, who open the discussion on the race issues in America and promotes education in Third World countries. People like Ian Somerhalder, who has a foundation that helps prevent cruelty to animals and encourage environmentalism. People like Neil Gaiman, who actively works with the Comic Book Defence League to protect the right of free speech and fight censorship in literature. People like Malala Yousafzai, who had the courage to voice her opinions on the education of Pakistani women and is now an activist championing these rights.

Three of the four people I mentioned may be celebrities, which I am sure helps them with their causes – money goes a long way, as does an widely accessible audience – but none of these people were born into their causes. Gaiman has often mentioned that he feels so strongly about freedom of speech and the work of the CBDL because it’s not something that exists in the United Kingdom where he began his career as a writer, and I highly doubt that Malala knew the events that would be sparked from her blog post. Their goals can also seem a bit lofty to those of us who don’t have a platform or the funds to encourage widespread change for our causes.

Ideally, we should all be donating and protesting and volunteering, but I don’t think that it’s reasonable to expect the same amount of commitment from everyday people to the big causes since we all have bills to pay and have to spend much of our time working to pay said bills.

So instead of feeling bad that we can’t commit ourselves to being superheroes on a grand scale, we should pick a cause and do what we can. Even if it’s only the adoption of an endangered animal from the WWF, a day a week volunteering at your local SPCA or animal shelter, or raising money during Mo-vember for prostate cancer research a little bit at a time still helps.

So here’s my challenge to you: do something good this month for one of your causes. You might not get to save New York from an alien invasion alongside RDJ, but you can still feel like a modern-day superhero. And if you pick the right cause (*cough*animalshelter*cough*) you might even get something back!

(Seriously, everyone can use a little puppy/kitty-love in February)

The Year of Gaiman: a Sunday Shoe Story

The return of the Sandman comic, 25 years after its inaugural issue, and a relatively well substantiated rumour that the first story arc will be made into a film.  

A new novel is published, the Ocean at the End of the Lane, which debuts at #1 on the NYT books list.

A new children’s book, adorable sneezing panda included.

Two different illustrated versions of Fortunately, the Milk.

Six fantastic episodes of the Neverwhere radio play aired on the BBC.

A last world signing tour (which I am still pouting about missing).

New York Public Library reading of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, in full costume.

A road named after the Ocean at the End of the Lane (I’m wondering when the bronze statue replica  - uncooperative hair and all – will be cast).

Keynote speech at Digital Minds conference.

 The 10 year anniversary of Coraline’s publication.

 Gaiman returns to writing for Dr. Who with Nightmare in Silver.

 A Calendar of Tales becomes a digital book.

Clearly it's the Year of Neil Gaiman!

(I'm reading Hanging with the Dream King, which collects interviews speaking about collaborating with Gaiman. Wearing jeans and tank top by Seductions, shoes by Le Chateau.)

Hi, my Name is Jaimie, and I'm a Book Addict

I may be known to the wider world as a shopaholic & a shoe girl, but my first love was (and always will be) books. My idea of a perfect Friday night is spending it with a 2 foot stack of library books, and I often refer to my social life as “cutting into my reading time.” Clearly I have a problem. Then again, as addictions go, it’s a pretty tolerable one because my substance of choice is free (woohoo libraries), I’m kept out of trouble, and it increases brain cells instead of destroys them. If you want to see how deep my affection for books goes take a look at my Goodreads account (there’s a link under the socialize page), but I’ll start you off with an example of my 5 top books this year!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

No top 5 book list is complete without an entry from the ever-popular Neil Gaiman, and I was super glad that his latest adult publication stands up to his past reputation of awesomeness. The Ocean draws themes from a lot of his other novels, but the story still stands up well on its own. Many have called him a modern-day myth maker, and this book proves once again that his stories are ones for the ages.

Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown

I knew before I even picked up this book that it was going to be hilarious. Darth Vader with a teenage daughter is an alternate universe that really should have come to fruition in a sit com. Then again, the single page sketches perfectly contain Brown’s witty and satirical prose, so this format was perfect as a dose of laughs.

            Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible by Tim Gunn

I read a lot of fashion books this year (thanks to the inter-library loans at Dalhousie and the surprisingly robust fashion collection at the Regina Public Library), but the most amusing, well-written, and helpful of the lot was penned by style guru Tim Gunn. The pages may not be filled with beautiful fashion photography – I got my fix of that elsewhere – but Gunn’s knowledge of fashion history and the development of trends lends itself to extremely well placed advice. Plus it’s organized into easily referenced chapters for each kind of clothing – and you know I love me some organization!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky

I shall confess: I was badly behaved and watched the movie before I read the book. Thankfully Chobosky had a lot of influence on the film, so I found myself remembering parts of the film as I read the book because they were so similar. Even when the two formats differed (translating speech from books to film is tricky) I found that they both evoked similar feelings, whether they were laughter or tears, and was very glad for this synergy.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

There has been a lot of drivel published in the teen fantasy genre in recent years (I blame the advent of Twilight entirely), so I was utterly surprised when I found myself spellbound by this novel. Taylor’s lush mythlogy and well-written prose redeems the entire genre, and goes to prove that there are decent urban fantasy books out there – they’re just a little bit hidden. Considering how well this book seems to be faring on the ratings charts it would not surprise me if it was the beginning of a new supernatural being popularity change. Get on the band wagon now, or you’ll definitely regret it!

all images from Goodreads.