An Evening with Mr. Gaiman

Last night I hopped the BART on up to Berkley to see Neil Gaiman read. He was absolutely delightful, not to mention hilarious.
As I stood in line outside the theater, I tried to remember why I like Neil Gaiman so much. Partly, yes, it's because everyone else likes him. He's become a sci-fi cultural icon. He got famous for Sandman, which I haven't read enough of to be able to call myself a fan, and then solidified it with American Gods, which I honestly didn't even like all that much. Of course, his writing for TV is brilliant. But what I remember the most is when I finished Wolves in the Walls. I was gasping. I've never read a children's book (at least, not as an adult) that delighted me so much. I loved Coraline too.
The reading was held in a theater, and you had to buy a ticket to get in, though it got you 20% off an already-signed book. Neil explained later that last time he read in Berkley, he was still there at 2 a.m., signing, so they decided to try it this way.
His stories were amazing, and his voice rolls through them in such a way that you have to pay attention. Afterwards, I heard groups of people standing around gushing about his voice. The owner of Comic Relief, who held an after party, said that every time he reads a Gaiman story, he hears Neil's voice inside his head. I think it's also because his stories lend themselves to being read outloud. They are bedtime stories, even the scary ones.
The funniest part of the night, though, was the Q & A. Audience members wrote questions on index cards ahead of time, and then he had intended to go through and pick out the ones he wanted to answer. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to do this, so he just chose from the top and read outloud, answering each question seriously.
My favorite:
"Dear Mr. Gaiman, Number one, you are swell." Neil looks up, smiles and says, "Gee thanks. Number two, if you could chose how you die, what would it be?"
I believe his answer was, "the heat of the universe." Don't quote me on that though. The accent throws me off sometimes.
I went to Comic Relief afterwards for wine and cheese and of course ended up buying a comic book (as though I have money to burn.) But there is a dog, a cat and a bunny on the cover. IN SPACESUITS!!!