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Mostly Neil
May. 6th, 2015 11:16 amThe biggest thing I did since my last entry was go to Neil Gaiman’s talk at DAR Constitution Hall. This was fairly pricy for this sort of event, but I got a discounted ticket via Goldstar. And he is one of my favorite authors, so I thought it would be worth it.
I was expecting him to read more of his work, but it turned out to be largely a Q&A. The questions were collected in advance, since it would be too hard to do otherwise in a 1500 or so person hall. Several of his answers did, however, provide opportunities for stories. He told a very interesting one about an aunt who was a Holocaust survivor and what she taught him about the value of story. My favorite of the bits he read was a short piece about a genie encountering an unexpected approach to wishes.
One thing he mentioned that I found particularly relevant was the role of booksellers in recommending books. In fact, I first discovered Gaiman when someone at Powell’s in Portland (one of the great bookstores of the world) pushed Neverwhere on me. The idea of someone literally falling through the cracks was truly original and drew me in.
As for other things I’ve been doing, adulting requires too many errands. I got Neptune serviced. My mechanic recommended new struts, but I opted to hold off until after the next couple of trips up I-95. I rewarded myself by going to a film festival movie on Sunday.
Also, this is now two weeks in a row that I have finished reading the Sunday Washington Post on Sunday. Had I actually matched socks after doing laundry last night, I’d say that I was really getting on top of things.
I was expecting him to read more of his work, but it turned out to be largely a Q&A. The questions were collected in advance, since it would be too hard to do otherwise in a 1500 or so person hall. Several of his answers did, however, provide opportunities for stories. He told a very interesting one about an aunt who was a Holocaust survivor and what she taught him about the value of story. My favorite of the bits he read was a short piece about a genie encountering an unexpected approach to wishes.
One thing he mentioned that I found particularly relevant was the role of booksellers in recommending books. In fact, I first discovered Gaiman when someone at Powell’s in Portland (one of the great bookstores of the world) pushed Neverwhere on me. The idea of someone literally falling through the cracks was truly original and drew me in.
As for other things I’ve been doing, adulting requires too many errands. I got Neptune serviced. My mechanic recommended new struts, but I opted to hold off until after the next couple of trips up I-95. I rewarded myself by going to a film festival movie on Sunday.
Also, this is now two weeks in a row that I have finished reading the Sunday Washington Post on Sunday. Had I actually matched socks after doing laundry last night, I’d say that I was really getting on top of things.
