Spider 1, Tiger 0

I spent much of the weekend absorbed in Neil Gaiman's new book, Anansi Boys (Fiction G127a). Gaiman invents a kind of sequel to the age-old rivalry between trickster-spider Anansi and his arch-enemy Tiger, who claims to have been the source of all stories before Anansi stole them. Instead of Africa, the action takes place primarily in London and in Florida -- and in a number of places that only exist in the imagination. The guy can really write. His books are so different from one another, at least superficially. But they never fail to transport me to a magical place in my mind. Gaiman also has a wonderful website. Besides all the usual public relations stuff, he maintains a daily journal and links to all manner of fan sites and other useful resources. Here's a banner for Anansi Boys. [Only problem is, it's a bit too wide for Blogger, so the sidebar is getting squashed at the bottom of the screen. And when I downsize the image, it loses that lovely animation. I will Seek Help tomorrow. Sigh.] (Mega-thanks to student Ellen Rockett for teaching me how to tame this image!! Now I know the real reason I log into IM at night...)