Anyone else gonna be there? I am

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aitapata,

Well, duh, me too. Huzzah. Perhaps Neil will do an interpretive dance to describe his creative process.

Oooh, that would ROCK.

D'oh!

That was going to be my question for him at the Dreamhaven signing.

quote:

Originally posted by parrotslave:
D'oh!

That was going to be my question for him at the Dreamhaven signing.

You should ask! Then when he says no, he won't do an interpretive dance to describe his creative process, we can ask him again in January!

damnation! it's during winter break, but no, i've got to be in israel. damn damn damn.

I know this isn't a signing per se but if I brought a book with me do you think Neil would sign it?

Yes! I've been told there *should* be a signing going on that night as well.

Wonder what Neil's reaction will be when the Amii appear before him and announce their cohabitation?

*bouncebounce*

So, umm, Amy told me about this thing the other night, because I've been out of the loop, and on top of that, I just realized I can make it!

Do I need a ticket or something?

Who's bringing the red balloon?

quote:

Originally posted by Dread Captain Psyko:
So, umm, Amy told me about this thing the other night, because I've been out of the loop, and on top of that, I just realized I can make it!

Do I need a ticket or something?

Apparently
info

did you see the thread just below this one? someone's trying to sell his ticket

we've had a request to know how the Y was. Any comments?

quote:

Originally posted by GMZoe:
we've had a request to know how the Y was. Any comments?

It was great. Some of the same old stuff was talked about, but Neil is always entertaining anyway. And there was plenty of new stuff too--or new to me, anyway. He spoke about how he originally came up with the idea for The Graveyard Book (from watching 2- or 3-year-old Mike tricycling around the graveyard back when they lived next to a small graveyeard). He also announced what he was doing in New York: he's recording the Stardust audiobook. Hurrah!

He also spoke about his writing process and routine and how it's changed over the years,due in great part to his quitting smoking and coffee (it didn't really hit me until the following morning that he said he quite COFFEE. With his tour schedules, how the hell does he function without coffee? And I wonder if he drinks only decaffeinated tea.).

In response to a somewhat personal question about his own religious beliefs, he spoke a little about his bar mitzva lessons with an old "more orthodox than the orthodox" cantor, which I found entertaining because I'm orthodox myself, and hearing words like "maftir" and "haftora" coming out of his mouth was weird and amusing.

He was his usual polite and friendly self by the signing after the discussion, though I wasn't there for much of it since I was close to the beginning of the line. During the time I was there he seemed to be signing only one or two items per person, but I think that's because people were giving him only one item, not because he'd placed a limit on signing. People also weren't engaging him in much conversation during the signing, but again, that may have changed after I left. I had a couple of things I wanted to mention to him or ask about Anansi Boys but I only said one quick thing because it seemed like the tone of the signing was Get One Item Signed and Move On. If anyone was closer to the back of the line, can you give us an idea of how late Neil had to stay and whether he seemed worn out by the end?

I really enjoyed the evening but noticed fewer familiar faces than usual. Maybe it was the high ticket price.

I got stuck near the very end of the signing line because, like an idiot, I decided that using the toilet directly after the event would be a Good Thing.

It didn't seem like he was involved in too much conversation at the end. He seemed to be in a reasonably good mood, but understandably exhausted and ready to get out of there by the end.

quote:

Originally posted by Circus:
I got stuck near the very end of the signing line because, like an idiot, I decided that using the toilet directly after the event would be a Good Thing.

Aw. So did I, but not until I'd first established my place in line. There were a few minutes between the line forming and Neil sitting down at the table, and I'm a fast peeer, so I got back in time. 'Course, I nearly ran right into him in my rush to get to the bathroom quickly; he and a couple of others were standing and talking in the hallway a couple of feet away from the ladies room. That would have been embarrassing.

My favorite part was realizing that, yes, that really WAS Richard Dreyfus sitting in the back row and hearing his distinctive laugh during Neil's reading describing the Hollywood guests in the Fat Charlie dream sequence who all believe they'd be safer if they could just climb up one more rung on the social ladder.

Even better than the reading was the huge German Shepard outside the Y who let us play slobbery frisbee with him. Riley. That was his name. He was awesome.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by aitapata:
My favorite part was realizing that, yes, that really WAS Richard Dreyfus sitting in the back row and hearing his distinctive laugh during Neil's reading describing the Hollywood guests in the Fat Charlie dream sequence who all believe they'd be safer if they could just climb up one more rung on the social ladder.
[QUOTE]

Whuh?? I totally did not notice Richard Dreyfus there. I was all the way in the front row. I do remember laughter in response to that line, but I remember it as a number of people laughing, not just one guy. Too bad I missed him.

quote:

It didn't seem like he was involved in too much conversation at the end. He seemed to be in a reasonably good mood, but understandably exhausted and ready to get out of there by the end.

That seemed to be true at his NYC Anansi Boys signing as well. I suspect that the size of his audience is becoming uncomfortably large, now that he's a "New York Times bestselling author." I vaguely remember him making a comment last year about giving up signings in favor of some other type of event.

I also remember something he said to Tori Amos, when she'd just started to become really famous. She mentioned that she liked to hug fans who came up to her after a show, even though it was becoming impractical to hug everyone. Neil asked, What are you going to do when you start playing stadiums?

I think Neil is playing stadiums. It's a shame, though, in a way, because I go to his signings partly for the several seconds of meaningful personal connection with Neil.