"Nerful Things" *
Thursday, November 13, 2008, posted by Q6 at 5:07 AM
I'm sure the economy and my Fall schedule have a lot to do with it, but I've been kicking myself lately for not getting to the theater more often. There's also not a lot out there that interests me, so that's problematic, too.

Last month, though, my wife discovered quite the treat: Neil Gaiman (of Sandman fame) was touring for his latest, The Graveyard Book (it's a take on Kipling's work, but with the kid raised in a Graveyard instead of a Jungle). At most appearances, an author may read a few pages, then spend hours signing books for people. This time around, however, Gaiman wanted to make the evening more meaningful . . . and it worked. Instead of sitting there signing most of the night, he used each stop on his tour to read a chapter of the new book, and filmed each one. The "video tour" is available online, and if you listen you can hear me laughing around the middle of chapter seven.

That's because I was in Santa Monica that evening. Stood in line (near the front of it) for two hours and everything. During the Q & A, done with index cards while we were in line, Mr. Gaiman was kind enough to answer my question (about whether the Internet is killing off the concept of reading) by using a quote from his dear friend Douglas Adams. It couldn't have been more cool.

And, I got my hands on autographed copies of Coraline and The Graveyard Book. I gotta get to more book signings (Christopher Moore has a new one coming out in February--Fool--so hopefully he'll be in town then).

* My apologies to Stephen King for playing with one of his titles, but Neil Gaiman's signature looks a lot like the word "Nerful." It's now become my and my wife's pet name for Gaiman . . . meant, of course, with all due respect.
 
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