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Originally posted by Daniel:

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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.

Yeah, it's definitely become impossible for him to even try to give his fans personal attention. But interestingly, I felt like he was giving more time at the B&N Anansi Boys signing. He actually initiated a tiny bit of conversation with me rather than just politely nodding and smiling in response to things I said. Just nodding and smiling is perfectly acceptable, of course, but I did find it interesting that he seemed to take more time at the signing with two or three times the number of people there were at the 92 St Y. Maybe it's because that was meant to be a signing whereas this time he was kindly sticking around to sign after what was primarily a Discussion/Q&A.

I feel guilty for wanting his fanbase to stay its current size. It's also hypocritical of me, because while I'm hoping his fanbase doesn't grow too much, I'm also doing my best to expose people to his work.