Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2024-06-27
Books mentioned on #750: Neil Gaiman and Debbie Millman
This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade.
Neil Gaiman discussed Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Stardust by Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and others. Debbie Millman recommended Revolutionary road by Richard Yates.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Neverwhere
Neverwhere is an urban fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman that explores a secret, magical underworld hidden beneath the streets of London.
Discussed“I did it with the American draft of neverware that was the first one I ever tried and I did the entire sort of American draft which was a big second draft”
Where to get it
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American Gods
American Gods by Neil Gaiman is a fantasy novel published in 2001 that explores the conflict between traditional mythological deities and modern American manifestations of technology and consumerism.
Discussed“those were the ones I wrote Stardust and American Gods in sort of big size but they weren't terribly portable”
Where to get it
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Stardust
Stardust is a whimsical fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman that follows a young man's journey into a magical realm to retrieve a fallen star.
Discussed“those were the ones I wrote Stardust and American Gods in sort of big size but they weren't terribly portable”
Where to get it
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The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is an imaginative fantasy novel that follows a human boy raised by ghosts in a graveyard after his family is murdered.
Discussed“I wrote the graveyard book and I'm writing the current novel in these beautiful books that I bought in a stationary shop in Venice built into a bridge somewhere in Venice”
Where to get it
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The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a slim, deeply atmospheric fantasy novel that explores childhood memories, ancient magic, and the shadows of the past.
Discussed“and you know couple of months later looked up and they had the ocean at the end of the lane which was only meant to have been a short story anyway it just kept going that I think works really really well”
Where to get it
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Good Omens
Good Omens is a humorous fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman that follows the attempts of an angel and a demon to prevent the coming of the Antichrist.
Discussed“so the joy of good Omens really I mean the best thing about good Omens was having Terry pret as an audience cuz if I could make Terry Love laugh it's like hitting the thing in the circus with the hammer”
Where to get it
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Revolutionary road
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates is a powerful and tragic novel that examines the deep disillusionment of a young couple living in the Connecticut suburbs during the 1950s as they struggle against the conformity and suffocating emptiness of mid-century American life.
Recommended“and the last thing I wanted was to end up like the characters in Revolutionary Road that remarkable book where people talk about making these changes their whole lives and then never ever do”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (8) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“I actually recommended ag1 in my 2010 best seller more than a decade ago the 4-Hour Body and I did not get paid to do so”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“Neil Gaiman bestselling author and creator of books graphic novels short stories film and television for all ages including neverware Coraline the graveyard book the ocean at the end of the lane the view from the cheap seats and the Sandman series of graphic novels”
“we were going to give out this little brochure that Armen had put together called called stop being sheep which was a riff on the great typographer Eric speaker's book stop stealing sheep which is about letter spacing”