I recently listened to a podcast in which this topic came up: Mircea Cărtărescu A Dat Autografe Timp De Cinci Ore La Madrid! | Libertatea. (perhaps, a different location)
There are places online you can buy books with autographs.
I once read a book by Gala Galaction („La răspântie de veacuri„) (hope I’m not wrong with the reference) in which one character was supposed to meet a famous person, an author.
The character declined, saying something on the line of – „I want to meet this person when I have something similar to show.
I asked for a few autographs, mostly for books that were meant for other people.
But, generally, I avoid asking for autographs. I value the time of the author too much.
I think the author’s time would be better spent doing other things than signing books.
To keep Mircea Cărtărescu for hours just signing books is not how I view a time well spent.
In my opinion, when a famous person signs an autograph, they let you know „look, we are on the same level, you and I are the same, and, by giving an autograph, I testify for this”.
At the end of the day, there’s just a small, tiny, little problem – you are not at the same level as the author.
