bune, there was a really good episode of the In Our Time podcast recently that tackled Animal Farm: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wgkz4

Lately I've been reading American Gods out loud to my wife and our yet-to-be-born daughter.

Is that the Neil Gaiman book?

It is. I've read two other Gaiman books, Stardust and Anansi Boys. I enjoyed the former, not so much the latter.

I think it's related to American Gods. Anansi, the god, appears in American Gods, and he dies at the beginning of his titular book to set the plot in motion.

This is the most hilarious book you could read in under two hours. Or you could spread the wealth and read it to your kids. Granted they - and you - have to be OK with (within the first 20 pages) the heroes of the story getting their heads cut off before the story really starts. Once that happens, you're taken through a variety of Grimm stories that are somewhat akimbo to what you remember.

Heck, even the cover lies to you (the book explains why, eventually). The whole thing was a joy. I really wanted to stop reading so I could read it to my son but I couldn't stop. I'd read it again anyway but I talked it up so much he's reading it right now and I can't get it back.

Even if it has YA tags, it's still worth it as it's not your usual YA fare. And as I said - it won't even take that long to read.

I'm not sure what to read next.