Sandman : 8 of 10.

For several small reasons that politely compiled and presented themselves all at once, I didn't make it over to St Louis last night like I really wanted. Instead, I ended up staying in and, along with some visitors, whiled the night away with drink and games. I woke at 10:30 this morning to the sound of thunder and rain, which I adore, and was disappointed to see clear up almost immediately after I became a functioning person. 

The day was filled with activities which were, in their own ways, crucial to my happiness in the state that I've found myself in lately. I've been restless, nervous, and feeling nostalgic. In order to put that to rest, I really needed this weekend to restore to me a sense of perspective. The only must do item on my agenda was to have my hair cut. Having achieved this shortly after 3, I spent my time going to a fro; looking for Persona 4 or Fatal Frames at GameStops and Best Buy, going to the book store. I bought another copy of Sandman. I am on 8 of 10.

I  think I've talked about this before. About how I started reading this thing back in high school and I'm just now on number 8. I could very easily just buy 9 and 10, read them in the space of a few hours, and just be done with it. Such a thing would be as easy as it would be reasonable, but I don't, and I'm writing this to say why.

It's because I love this story. I love it to bits. And I like the whole process. When I'm feeling down, or I'm in hangover mode, or I'm feeling a bit adrift, I like to go to the book store. And among those aisles and shelves full of thousands of books, I pick up a Murakami novel, Sandman, or maybe something by Gibson that I haven't read. Maybe I get something totally new, like a cookbook or something for a game, or just an author I've never read. It's a process.

I take it home. I sit on our beat up red sofa, and sprawl out. I take exactly as much time as I feel I need, and with Gaiman, it's the duration of the comic.

And I love Sandman. I really do. I feel like Gaiman loved it, too, though he may be growing a bit tired of its legacy - I don't know. I feel like it takes me somewhere else, and when it's done, that it's come a full circle. Self-contained and while possessing a continuous narrative. And I feel like the characters are treated with a respect that isn't common in a lot of work. 
I don't know how other people do things. I know I've fallen into the trap where I'm doing something, not because I love it, but because I don't know what else to do and this is just something that I've become accustomed to. That doesn't happen with that ritual. It's always a genuine experience.

I'm at 8 of 10. I've been spoiler-ed a bit, of course, accidentally over a period of time. That's something that you can't really avoid. Eventually I'll be at 10, and I'll read it, and that'll be it. I'll have read the whole thing, and my first read through will be over forever, and all that's left is 2 and 3 and 4...