I May Have To Start Watching TV Again

The last time I faithfully watched something on TV (or my iPhone for that matter in case it featured cannibals and zombies and I have a kid-friendly house) was Hannibal, Bryan Fuller’s reimagining of Thomas Harris’ The Red Dragon, featuring Hannibal Lecter played by the amazing Mads Mikkelsen.

So, yes, it’s been a long time.

But come April, I just might have to tune in again because one of my all-time favorite books, American Gods, adapted from a novel by Neil Gaiman, is coming to the screen and it’s being produced by none other by the same guy who gave me Hannibal, Bryan Fuller.

I read American Gods almost twenty years ago now, and I remember carrying that thick paperback with me everywhere I went until one day, during one of my many moves, it disappeared. It was one of the first ebooks I bought when I got my first Kindle e-reader and I’ve started reading it off and on again, each time needing to stop and marvel on how amazing the concept of Gaiman’s tale is.

If you’ve never read American Gods, it’s the story of gods, old and new and the battle that is waged between them. The old gods are those we remember – Norse gods interspersed with Egyptian and pagan deities – even religious ones – and then the modern gods of technology. One thing that has stayed with me through the years is the message that the moment we forget certain gods and deities, they basically die. They’re gone – forever.

It reminded me of the power of stories, and how, when stories are passed on from generation to generation, we keep the spirit of the ancients alive, whether it’s their life stories or the lessons they impart. It definitely makes rereading it almost twenty years later an interesting endeavor.

It’s also why I write because I sure as heck can’t write about my life within a non-fiction template. Instead, I need the safety of fiction to write about my thoughts, experiences, fears, and questions.  And like gods that die when their stories are no longer passed on, I hope my stories escape that fate.