I got the Marvel Encyclopedia, The Art of Thor, and The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes. Hannah got some art books. We browsed around the mall for awhile after that; the heat wave has subsided, but it was still to warm to want to stay outside. Ate lunch at Wendy’s, got some DVD’s, and came home to relax.

We’re off to Ikea today. I’ve never been to the actual store and I am kind of excited. Then dinner at Fuddruckers and an early evening show of Captain America. We’re totally getting vacation off to the right start…

He started by chatting a bit about the book tour, his recent bad luck with flight delays, and how the limousine driver got a bit lost in Portsmouth, giving Mr. Gaiman an impromptu tour of the city.

“Did you know – well, you must know – you have a submarine.”

He made several quips about The Albacore, remarking that it’s one thing we certainly have on the original Portsmouth. “You’re not a proper town if you don’t have a submarine.” He even joked that it might show up in American Gods 2.

Yes, American Gods 2.

He read a few excerpts from American Gods (“It’s a big book about gods. And America.”) and it turns out the only thing that can make Sam’s “I believe” speech better is Neil Gaiman reading it in the voice of an American teenaged girl. When he squealed, “Oh my god!” I died.

And then he talked with the very nice lady from New Hampshire Public Radio, about everything from Twitter to beards (he has both now). He remarked that among the things he has stored away for American Gods 2 is his interest in way the internet has changed our culture, from shortening attention spans to the phenomena of online communities. He also said that America is no less weird to him now than it was when he first wrote the book, but he seems to have a certain fondness for that weirdness.

Did he mention that we have a submarine?

She asked him a question about libraries and their influence in his life, and he gave a nice little speech about libraries and why librarians are like superheroes, and the whole time the librarian sitting in front of me was honestly and legitimately FLAILING. He talked about spending his entire summer holidays holed up in the town library, and the wonder of discovering that he could read any book in England.

“If you’re ten years old, and you’re me, discovering the magic of Inter-Library Loan is like someone giving you the keys to Fort Knox. Or, not just that: it’s like being the supervillain with an octopus pit and the button to open it. And you’ve got your finger on the button. All power is yours.”

And then he completely and totally geeked out about Doctor Who. Said he’d been watching it since he was three, and that his obsession with The Doctor went back much further than his interest in mythology. Being asked to write an episode for the new series was like a dream come true. “When I wrote the words Interior – TARDIS, I thought: this must be what God feels like.” He also commended the BBC on doing right by the episode, and there was much cheering all around.

Red Sox or Yankees? After waiting for the raucous BOO’s to die down, he quipped: “I’m a Brit, I’m exempt.”

Star Trek or Star Wars? “Trek.”

Gods or aliens? “Gods.”

Favorite book ever? “Don’t. ask. evil. questions.”

And then the last question tied back in to American Gods, specifically Shadow’s speech about the power of belief to help us create and do. So what does Neil Gaiman believe? “I believe stories are important. I believe people are important. And I believe that people deserve stories.”

In conclusion, Neil Gaiman.

Reading:

Watching:

(review here)

Listening to:

chapter 3, ‘The Time of Mission’