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    The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
    The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
    The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
    Audiobook15 hours

    The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction

    Written by Neil Gaiman

    Narrated by Neil Gaiman

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    About this audiobook

    An enthralling collection of nonfiction essays on a myriad of topics—from art and artists to dreams, myths, and memories—observed in #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman’s probing, amusing, and distinctive style.

    An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator, and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. Now, The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including (but not limited to): authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author’s experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

    Insightful, incisive, witty, and wise, The View from the Cheap Seats explores the issues and subjects that matter most to Neil Gaiman—offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved, and influential artists of our time.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 31, 2016
    ISBN9780062262295
    Author

    Neil Gaiman

    Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling and multi-award winning author and creator of many beloved books, graphic novels, short stories, film, television and theatre for all ages. He is the recipient of the Newbery and Carnegie Medals, and many Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. Neil has adapted many of his works to television series, including Good Omens (co-written with Terry Pratchett) and The Sandman. He is a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and Professor in the Arts at Bard College. For a lot more about his work, please visit: https://www.neilgaiman.com/

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    Reviews for The View from the Cheap Seats

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      I really enjoy Neil Gaiman's works, and I love his thoughts on his works and the works of others. The first essay on books and libraries is phenomenal. That said, since this is a collection of speeches and introductions to the works of others, it was a bit repetitive at times, and I think I'd prefer if he just wrote his thoughts in a book, for a book, rather than collecting thoughts he wrote for other things. This is still excellent and give insight into his work and who he is.
    • 5/5
      I didn’t know what to expect from this book. I really enjoyed it. This is a compilation of speeches at a variety of events, book introductions to other people’s books, and memories from Neil Gaiman at various stages of his life. The book holds such a broad range of topics and information. The audio version read by Neil Gaiman is like having a chat with a friend. I listened and took it in a bit at a time whenever I had a moment. I bookmarked constantly as I listened and later wrote down names of so many authors. Some I have now read. I enjoyed hearing Neil Gaiman’s thoughts about his life and his memories of the various authors. A wee peek into their worlds.
    • 4/5
      This book is very like what I imagine sitting down with Neil and hearing him talk about books and other media that he enjoys and that have affected him. Thoroughly enjoyable as a compilation of his previously-written essays, though I feel like I should have gotten a chance to buy him a coffee for the privilege.
    • 2/5
      The un-essential Neil Gaiman.

      I'm not trying to be mean; this is by the author's own admission a collection of odds and ends. The problem is really that there are few essays or critiques and most of the works therein are the intros to other people's books. Okay, but not particularly engaging. An interesting read for fans, but I doubt you'll take it cover to cover.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of non-fiction, only some of which has been previously published. Included in this volume are speeches and book reviews as well as introductions, articles, interviews, and essays. I had encountered only a few of these before, so most of the book was entirely new to me. Some of the book introductions here were for books I’d never read or even heard of, but quickly added to my To Read list. A couple of the essays moved me to tears and many had me laughing out loud. If you are a fan of Neil Gaiman, you will love this book. I’m not sure it will have much of a wider appeal outside his fan base, but I think everyone can find something to enjoy in this collection. I also highly recommend listening to the audio book because Gaiman himself reads it and it adds an extra layer of intimacy to the essays when they are spoken in his voice.
    • 4/5
      This is taking me a long time to read, because it's so rich and heady. I want to savor the insights and spend time thinking. It's a great collection for the Gaiman enthusiast, if a bit repetitive at times in theme (given how many of the essays are talks or graduation speeches, that's not so surprising, and even those are really interesting in how they develop over time.)

      Finally finished it. Loved it. Particularly love that Neil is so willing to share his life with us -- to open a window on his friendships, on his challenges and his history and his family. It gives me a sense of connection to him that is comforting to me, for all it is not real. I also really enjoyed getting to know the other parts of Neil Gaiman's work -- the journalism, the comics. I'm one of the myth and fairy tale readers. I started to know him as a poet in obscure fairy tale retelling collections, before I ever found his prose.

      I find myself swinging back and forth between wanting to give up my day job and find a way, like Gaiman, to make the art my soul and center, and trying to find a way to channel my everyday fury at the fact of the day job like Pratchett did, into my art. Thank you, Neil, for both of these examples. They are massively inspiring.

      advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.
    • 4/5
      An engaging collection of short essays, introductions, speeches, &c. Uneven as such things tend to be, and a bit repetitive in spots, but still a good volume to enjoy some excellent writing.
    • 5/5
      I'm not sure why I approach every Neil Gaiman book as though I'm not going to like it, but I do. It's quite weird when I look at my bookshelves as see all the Gaiman books and comics I own, knowing I enjoyed each of them, and yet, for some reason, I'm always reluctant to pick up another one.

      Weird.

      But that's exactly what happened with this one. I saw it in the book store. I read the back cover. I thought, no, I wouldn't enjoy that.

      And then, next thing I know, I'm reading it. And, as usual, enjoying the hell out of it.

      I enjoyed this book so much. Maybe it was the sections where he talks writing. Maybe when he's talking comics. Maybe it's when he's talking about all the cool books he's read, many of which I have as well. Maybe it's all the cool authors and musicians he's talked to, authors and musicians that I enjoy.

      Or maybe it's just that I love Gaiman's outlook on life, on writing, on creativity, on all of it.

      And yet, I guarantee you, regardless of how much I loved this book--and really, I loved it a lot--the next time I see something by him, I'll likely approach it with some trepidation.

      Then, I'll find myself reading and loving it too.

      Weird.
    • 4/5
      An intellectual, witty, and provocative collection of introductions, speeches, and op-eds. The last section is particularly wrenching--especially the essay on his son's namesake and his tribute to Terry Pratchett.
    • 5/5
      Gaiman shines brightest whenever he's writing about stories, and that's pretty much all the time he writes. Here, he reveals his opinions on other writers, musicians, and artists. There's a whole lot of introductions to other books which I found to be less desirable, since most of them were unfamiliar to me. But he often displayed his passion for the craft through this and through the other, more informative, more substantive sections of the book.
    • 5/5
      This book gets five-stars for being exactly what it promises - the best of Neil Gaiman's non-fiction writing.

      The content is well-structured and the essays flow into one another gracefully. For example, a casual reference to the painting "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" in the first essay of the "Stardust and Fairy Tales" section sets-up a final essay that is entirely about "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke." It felt like turning over stones, with bigger rewards under each one.

      The best part of this book was flipping to a new section and letting Neil wax poetic about whatever the hell he wanted--Lou Reed, making MirrorMask, his favorite bookstores, etc. The essays on Bradbury, the necessity of libraries, Dave McKean and Terry Pratchett were all standouts.
    • 5/5
      Up until now, Neil Gaiman has been known as a fiction writer, giving us delights like Neverwhere and American Gods and is the creative force behind the equally amazing and disturbing Sandman series of graphic novels. I first came across him in the collaboration with Terry Pratchett that is Good Omens. When I first read it I hated it as it wasn’t Pratchett enough for me. The second time I came across him was when a book group I am in was reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane. This melancholy story is an adult fairy tale as a man relives the moments of his childhood with the strange happenings that went on. It blew me away. Since then I have read lots and lots of his books. I like the twists he adds to classic fairy tales, his children’s books enthral and scare at the same time. Best of all he has an imagination that literally knows no bounds. His latest book, The View from the Cheap Seats is his first foray into non-fiction, collected from the articles, speeches, obituaries and sometimes just random stuff he has written.

      I did not want to be nailed to the truth; or to be more accurate, I wanted to be able to tell the truth without ever needing to worry about the facts.

      The dedication is to his son Ash – these are some of the things that your father loved and said and cared about and believed a long time ago, and so he sets his agenda of subjects that have formed his opinions, shaped his writing and influenced his life. There are pieces on art and music, books and comics, authors who became friends and collaborators. Tales from his childhood as he read his way through the local library and in the process discovered worlds that existed inside the covers. He celebrates the idea; an element that is invisible and contagious, cannot be supressed and is impossible to control. The introduction to books are great, encouraging you to read before coming back to him to carry on the conversation that he has started and to tell you why that book is important to him and why it should be to you too.

      I learned that we have the right, or the obligation, to tell old stories in our own ways, because they are our stories, and they must be told.

      Gaiman’s mind is like an ocean of infinite width and fathomless depth and in this not insubstantial book he shows us the wealth of ideas he has drawn on and dropped in this ocean. These influences have stretched his imagination and given us, the reader, a series of books and graphic novels that are rich, deep twisted and dark. I liked his fond memories of writers, particularly favourites of mine, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. They were great friends of his, who he misses every day and it brings out happy and sad memories for him. It is full of useful advice too, extolling the virtue of setting your sights high as it is no more effort to produce something cool than it would be to produce something only average and that the only way to do things right is to do them wrong first. Even though he brings all of these things to your attention, persuades you to read and discover the things that made him who he is, there is still something that he does to make his books have that little extra something, that 45 degree skew, that enthrals and scares at the same time.

      Brilliant stuff from a master wordsmith.
    • 3/5
      This audio, read by Neil himself, was interesting-depending upon the subject being discussed.

      For myself, I loved the essays and speeches about Terry Pratchett, (that one was my favorite and it even made me tear up), comics, Fritz Leiber, myths and music, (especially the Lou Reed piece).

      I was not so much interested in the essays, introductions and speeches regarding people that I had no interest in and/or no knowledge of.

      This was a very long collection and I did find my mind drifting quite a bit. I love Neil Gaiman, but I think I love him the most when he's telling fictional stories.
    • 3/5
      I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't grab me. I loved the beginning where he talked about the importance of literature and libraries and reading to children, but after that it was just introductions to books and authors I didn't know.
    • 5/5
      This nonfiction collection reads like Neil Gaiman is sitting down and telling you lots of cool stories about writing and people he knows. The collection is sectioned out with talks about his writing, speeches he has given over the years, introductions he has written for books. The only problem is this really isn’t a complete collection but more of a greatest hits of some of the introductions. After reading this there are some writers I want to track down just from reading Neil talk about how wonderful they are. The nice thing about this collection is it doesn’t need to read in one sitting and it makes for a great book to dip in and out of.

      Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
    • 4/5
      As a note, I listened to this as an audiobook. My commute to and from university was definitely improved by hearing Neil talk to me about art and life and interesting people. Not all of what I heard was new, as I have read and heard a fair amount of his essays and speeches before, and I knew some of the stories like that of the feral child in the library. But I didn't mind hearing them again. There was not necessarily a lot of different stuff being told in here or in many different ways, but then again, I suppose that's because Neil has been trying to bring across the same things, the things that matter the most to him, to many different people again and again.

      There was definitely new stuff for me as well. I learned a lot about comics, about which I knew nearly nothing, for example. And I had to stifle my urge to squeal with delight when the topics of Lord Dunsany, and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell came up, seeing as I was on public transport.

      I think, all in all, that if you are familiar with Neil Gaiman you can guess a lot of what will be said in some essays. But not all of it. Besides, what you won't hear are a lot of introductions to a lot of good authors, illustrators, directors, artists. Even if I don't want to check all of them out, I have certainly heard of some very interesting new stories for me to go and find.
    • 5/5
      I'll be honest here: I can't stand Neil Gaiman's fiction writing style. I'm not saying he doesn't write well, I'm saying it's just not for me. And that's not from lack of trying: I've read three of his books and... no. Just no.HOWEVER, I know he must do some things right because of how renown he is in the writing world. Plus, I believe that even though his style doesn't appeal to me, he has a few things to teach me about writing. So, I decided to give this selected nonfiction book a try.It wasn't entirely what I expected what with very few essays about the writing world. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it greatly! I mean it when I say 500 pages wasn't enough! I read it every night before going to bed and I was always looking forward to what Neil had to say next.As much as his fiction writing style repels me, I admit his nonfiction style is excellent! It's honest, straightforward, vulnerable and funny. It's charming in his own way.It was fun to see what made up this author and he got us close to several celebrities in different fields. It was like a "behind-the-scenes" view.I loved it!Now, I'll be off buying it to put it in my writing books section, even though it's not about writing per se. But I still think this book is important. At least to me.If you love Neil Gaiman: read it!If you don't like his writing style: read it, too! It might show you different sides of things, opinions, people. It might make you fall in love with his nonfiction writing style, just like it did me.
    • 4/5
      Wonderful, Especially the first and last quarters.
    • 4/5
      A nonfiction collection (speeches, essays, and introductions) by a master of fiction. I spent a lot of time boggling at the sheer variety of books he's read and movies he's watched and people he's met. Sometimes I felt like this was not a book to be read straight through, since he does repeat some stories, particularly from his childhood, but all in all there's a decent variety. Certainly worth reading, if only to add some titles to your To-Read list. There's a healthy dose of inspiration to be had as well.
    • 5/5
      This is a collection of miscellaneous non-fiction bits and pieces by Neil Gaiman from the late 90s through about 2016, when the book was published. And when I say "miscellaneous," I mean it. There are speeches given at various venues, a lot of introductions to other people's novels (or short story collections or comics), even things he wrote for the liner notes of albums. It should feel interesting -- because Gaiman is always interesting -- but kind of disjointed and slight. After all, lots of these pieces are very short, most of them are out of their proper context, and, because they were never meant to appear all together like this, there is inevitably a little bit of repetition, as Gaiman tells the same anecdote or makes the same point in more than one place.And yet I found myself strangely engrossed, interested in everything Gaiman had to say, even when he was introducing works I'd never read by people I'd never heard of. 500 pages of this, and, I swear, I never got tired of it. I think that's in large part because it's not as disjointed as you'd expect, since almost all of these pieces involve variations on the same broad subject matter: stories, storytelling, and storytellers of all kinds. And, boy, is this a topic Gaiman can talk about intelligently, compellingly, and eloquently. I could listen to him going on all day. Or, apparently, for the five days or so it took me to read the book.
    • 4/5
      A View from the Cheap Seats is for hardcore Gaiman fans, lovers of introductions and speeches, and aficionados of the inspirational word.
    • 5/5
      A brilliant collection of introductions to other books, speeches written about various events, and discussions on the people important to Neil Gaiman.

      The last one is about Sir Terry Pratchett, and will probably make you at least tear up, but don't read it first because then nothing else will be appetizing.

      All entries in this book are quite moving.
    • 4/5
      Reads vert easily, little sweet Neil writing nibbles. He loves comics and movies and libraries and books and music and his people and tells you why.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of Gaiman's non-fiction work, to quote him from the introduction; This book is not "the complete nonfiction of Neil Gaiman." It is, instead, a motley bunch of speeches and articles, introductions and essays. Some of them are serious and some of them are frivolous and some of them are earnest and some of them I wrote to try and make people listen. You are under no obligation to read them all, or to read them in any particular order."To be honest, I didn't read all of them. There was a section where he is writing introduction to graphic novels and comic artistic collections. These aren't really in my wheelhouse and I didn't know who a lot of these folks were, so I moved on. However, the majority I did read are wonderful examples of the mind and voice of Gaiman. In includes introductions to authors I either need to read, or forgot that I read them and need to read again. Reviews of some classic movies, interviews with musicians, several stories about his wife Amanda Palmer, a lovely eulogy of Terry Pratchett and his essay Make Good Art. Well worth your time.From an introduction a Harlen Ellison collection : "It's true of the rest of the tales herein. They remain relevant; the only thing in the anthology that feels dated is the introduction, as Harlan grooves to Jimi Hendrix and points to Piers Anthony as an underground writer. But hell, no one reads introductions anyway. (Admit it. You're not reading this, are you?)""Make good art. I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your trail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art. Somebody on the Internet thinks what you do is stupid or evil or it's all been done before? Make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, and eventually time will take the sting away, but that doesn't matter. Do what only you do best. Make good art."8/10S: 11/2/17 - 11/24/17 (23 Days)
    • 5/5
      The View from the Cheap Seats is an eclectic mix of selected fiction drawn from a wide swathe of Neil Gaiman's career. The works include the transcripts of speeches, introductions to books, memorials to departed writers, liner notes from albums, interviews, and pretty much every other form of writing that one can think of. The topics covered range from libraries to bookstores, from authors to books to music, and from comic books to refugee camps. While this volume is not a complete collection of Gaiman's nonfiction (assembling which would likely be a nigh impossible task), it does contain a broad spectrum of his work, both in terms of style and substance.[More forthcoming]
    • 5/5
      Read via library & despite already owning 25% of these essays in other books, I'll be adding this volume to my shelves for inspiration in years to come.
    • 3/5
      Well written but I found it repetitive and underwhelming.
    • 3/5
      As in many collections of short pieces the quality of the contents varies. The first section of probably of the most general interest since it contains speeches given on a variety of occasions. Other sections contain reviews of authors, comics, books, and music and will accordingly interest some readers more than others.
    • 5/5
      A collection of what must be every speech and book introduction Gaiman has ever written, along with a few interviews and short articles. At just over 500 pages, there are speeches about bookstores, myths and comic books. He visits Stephen King at home and interviews Lou Reed, spends an entire night in Soho looking for something seedy to report on, and discusses Poe, Wells and Bradbury. This is one of those books that needs to be read with a pen and paper nearby. I found myself stopping to rummage my shelves, wondering if I had the books he discussed, had a seen that movie, do I own enough Lou Reed, can I find the podcasts he refers to? I love books like that. I admit to skimming over the comic books introductions because I have little interest and there were so many of them, but nearly all of the writings here have fascinating little asides.
    • 5/5
      The View From the Cheap Seats is a compilation of Neil Gaiman's best non-fiction. Some of these are essays, some are introductions, some are speeches and all of them are thoughtful. In this book, Neil Gaiman shares things he believes, things about the people he is fortunate enough to know, movies, comics, music and more. You might be thinking that Neil Gaiman is best known for stories, fantasy or science fiction works and why would anyone want to read 500 pages of speeches and introductions, who reads introductions anyways? Well, I always read introductions and hopefully you will too. In The View from the Cheap Seats I have learned what I have always known, but have never put into complete thoughts; stories are important, stories have power. I have learned that words are magic that turn into ideas, ideas that can make you change the world. In his essays, speeches and introductions about other authors I learned of the deep respect held for fellow mentors and writers. I also gleamed some insight into how authors work and develop ideas. Most of all, I discovered some authors that I have never had the pleasure of reading and have now been added to my to-be-read pile. With any compilation, you could pick and choose which sections to read or individuals selections. If you do choose to read this, read it however you choose, skip around, devour or meander through, but I do suggest reading it all and letting the power of the words soak in. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.