[Michelle Muto]

It's a close call, but my favorite Neil Gaiman book is probably Neverwhere. Coraline is second. I love the way Gaiman plays with words - I swear, it's like he paints them on the page.

 

[NogDog]

I'm not a big fan, so my vote probably shouldn't count. By far my favorite is Good Omens, which may be one of my top 10 by any authors, but that's only half his. Of the other few books of his I've read, I'd probably go with Neverwhere. Amercian Gods wasn't bad, but never really clicked for me (plus I kept thinking of Douglas Adams' The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul while reading it). I never got around to finishing Stardust, as I found I couldn't care much less what happened to any of the characters.

I agree that his writing is very good, but his themes and characters seem not to resonate well with me, so generally I come away from his stuff with a fairly luke-warm response.

 

[Michelle Muto]

The one book of his I thought I'd love based on the opening alone was The Anansi Boys. But, Neverwhere was better.

 

[SJCress]

Neverwhere, definitely. The others are great but...

The first one of his I read was Stardust. I thought, this is pretty good. Then I read American Gods and Anansi Boys and I thought, hot damn, even better! Then I read Neverwhere... It's like they just kept getting better and better

 

[tim290280]

Good Omens.

/thread.

 

[R. M. Reed]

American Gods is reportedly being made into an HBO series.

 

[backthatelfup]

While it's a short story and not a book, 'A Study in Emerald' is brilliant and one of my favorite Gaiman reads. A Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft mashup? Lovely.

 

[Ben White]

Neverwhere, with Stardust a close second.  Neverwhere just had better characters.

 

[Ben Dobson]

The Graveyard Book!

 

[JRainey]

Even though it's not 100% Gaiman, I have to say Good Omens, because it's probably my favorite book ever. Neverwhere is great, though, and I have a soft spot for Smoke & Mirrors because I read it on a ghost hunting trip once so it reminds me of ghost hunting in northern Ohio.

American Gods is reportedly being made into an HBO series.

Good Omens is being made into a mini-series, too, I believe, but I don't know for who. And I think Pratchett is a little more involved than Gaiman is.

 

[Jamie Case]

The Graveyard Book!

Seconded. So, so deserving of the Newbery.

 

[SJCress]

While it's a short story and not a book, 'A Study in Emerald' is brilliant and one of my favorite Gaiman reads. A Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft mashup? Lovely.

I just got this via Fragile Things on my Kindle recently and I must say, I agree. I even read it out loud to my husband on a car trip right after I'd read it to myself. I said to him, "A Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft cross...you wouldn't think it was possible!" But then, Mr. Gaiman is brilliant

 

[arshield]

American Gods is my favorite. I like Neverwhere and Ansi Boys, but not as much as American Gods. 

 

[MariaESchneider]

I've tried two.  The ghost story one and a short story of his.  Gotta say, I won't be trying anymore.  Both were DNF.

 

[James Everington]

Smoke And Mirrors for me... the range of his writing displayed in the stories and poems in that book is amazing.

If you think the Sherlock/Lovecraft cross is brilliant, wait till you read the Lovecraft/Peter Cook & Dudley Moore hybrid in S&M...

James

 

[RachelAstor]

I adore The Graveyard Book. If you haven't 'read' it on audiobook yet, I highly recommend doing it, it's read by Mr. Gaiman himself and is wonderful.

 

[Jamie Case]

I adore The Graveyard Book. If you haven't 'read' it on audiobook yet, I highly recommend doing it, it's read by Mr. Gaiman himself and is wonderful.

You can also have him read it to you on video (for free) and pretend he's your Dad reading you a bedtime story. http://mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx

 

[Coral Moore]

The only one I've read so far is American Gods. I enjoyed it a lot and do plan to read more from him, but a girl only has so much time in a day. I think Smoke and Mirrors is the one that's hanging around in my wishlist at the moment.

 

[balaspa]

American Gods is easily one of my favorite books of all time.  He writes a passage, near the beginning, where the hero thinks about when and why he first fell in love with his wife that is one of may all-time favorite passages explaning WHY you fall in love with someone...ever.

 

[John Hartness]

love,love,love me some American Gods. It's the only ebook I've ever spent $10 on, and I already own the paperback. It's one of my favorites of all time. A writing group once compared one of my books to Gaiman, and I was embarrassed at the praise. He's flippin' amazing.

But I've been a fanboy since way back in the Sandman days.

And Death: The High Cost of Living and Sandman: A Game of You and Season of Mists are also amazing. They elevated the comic book form.