Chabon was ambivalent about his newfound fame. He turned down offers to appear in a Gap ad and to be featured as one of "People"'s "50 Most Beautiful People." He later said of the "People" offer, "I don't give a shit it ... I only take pride in things I've actually done myself. To be praised for something like that is just weird. It just felt like somebody calling and saying, 'We want to put you in a magazine because the weather's so nice where you live.' "