what more could you want?

A thicker book. More pages. More stories. ;)

Well, it's a signed copy, if that helps.

This book is great. Indeed typically Neil Gaiman, but still, when reading, a surprise at just how good he is.

what more could you want?

A novel. :-) Generally, I love Gaiman's work, but his short stories usually aren't my thing. And his poetry leaves me completely cold.

No pleasing some people, is there?

More seriously, I love the short stories. They're tiny polished gems of writing.

I love short stories as an art form. The problem is that, per page, they take much more effort than a novel does, so most writers go for the long form. Gaiman is, even among short story writers, really very good.

But I can appreciate that not everyone loves the same things. For example, musicals usually leave me cold (with the exception of 'Once More With Feeling', which actually has a valid reason for everyone to keep bursting out in song).

:-D

I'll probably persevere with Gaiman's short stories, maybe it'll click one day.

I do love short stories in general, though for some reason I haven't really read any since Susanna Clarke's fabulous collection came out. But Starlight 3 made me take it out of the library the other day and showed me the error of my ways.

It may just be that what you (maybe unconsciously) want out of a short story and what Gaiman provides a bit different. For me, I find that whereas I consider a mixed short story collection good if I like 50% of the stories, with Gaiman, it's approaching 100%. You might also like 50% of the mixed collection, but a mostly different 50%.

That might be it. A good point to ponder.

This was the book that converted my wife to Neil Gaiman!

I hadn't realised that Neil was formerly a diplomat's wife.

I'll get my coat.

*laughs out loud*