The 82-year-old Nobel laureate was the latest, and most literary in memory, of a long line of famous guests – from Stephen Colbert to Lady Gaga – who since 2005 have dropped in on Google in New York and the home offices in Mountain View. After her talk, she stayed on to take questions online, part of Google’s “Hangout” series.

Morrison, battling the flu and sniffling through much of the afternoon, was promoting the paperback edition of her novel “Home,” published last year. But she also chatted about technology, teaching and creativity.

Most of the attendees were young enough to be her grandchildren, and she clearly enjoyed startling them with candid talk about what she likes in literature (please don’t bore her with stories about dating) and about how to use sex in fiction.