The Happiest Days of Our Lives 149
If you've ever read Wil Wheaton's blog (clevernickname to us), you know he's not afraid to put everything on the table. One of the things I've always admired about his writing is his willingness to talk about his kids. On the internet. With ... people. Despite the obvious problems that could cause, Wil has been sharing anecdotes about his adventures in parenting since the early days of WWDN. His newest book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives, talks about growing up geek and what it means to be a nerd and a father at the same time. Read on for my review.
| The Happiest Days of Our Lives | |
| author | Wil Wheaton |
| pages | 136 |
| publisher | Monolith Press |
| rating | 8/10 |
| reviewer | Zonk |
| ISBN | 0974116017 |
| summary | Wil Wheaton's recollections of growing up, and parenting, as a nerd. |
That the bones of the book's content comes directly from Wil's website shouldn't distract you. Whether you've been a reader all along (and might recognize some of these stories) or not, they've all been expanded and clarified for inclusion in the book. That clarification is something that comes across very strongly in Happiest Days, especially if you have read any of his previous work. Wil has put a great deal of work into the craft of writing over the past few years, and it shows. Some three years have passed since his sophomore effort in Just a Geek, and even more since Dancing Barefoot.
Where once it seemed as though Wil had something to prove in his writing - that he was over showbiz, that he was over Star Trek - Happiest Days is full of simple stories. The day he bought a Lando Calrissian action figure essentially by mistake, a simple outing for ice cream with his sons; they're everyday events but artfully told. In total he has about thirteen short tales in the chapbook-sized novel, ranging from just two pages long to a few dozen.
Some of his most evocative stories (and the reason this review is here) are all about Wil's growth as a nerdling. The most evocative for me was the chapter 'a portrait of the artist as a young geek', which details Wil's introduction to tabletop roleplaying. From his first brush with the infamous 'red box' D&D set at Christmas 1983, to his experience teaching his kids how to roll up characters under the 3.0 rulesset, the story reminds me (and may remind you) of a D6-laden past.
And really, that's what Wil makes this a book about. It's about his own past, his troubles, his triumphs, but in reality this is meant to be a book that reaches out to you as a reader. If you see something of yourself in the kid who agonized in the toy aisle, if you see something of yourself in the dad who argues with his kids over the radio station (and rocks out to 80s synth-pop), then the purpose of the Happiest Days has been fulfilled. Or at least, as I see it.
And, of course, if you like Wil's discussion of Star Trek there's some elements of that there as well. The difference, again, is that instead of pining for Trek itself, Wil reminisces about the impact Trek has had upon him. Great experiences talking like adults with Jonathan Frakes, the chance to speak to Ron Moore backstage at a con, and the recording of a documentary are what makes for stories from Wil in the here and now.
Probably the book's strongest element is also its biggest drawback. Wil's vicious editing and strong prose makes for an incredibly short book. The amount of story and emotion packed into the bare 136 pages is impressive. But ... it's still just 136 pages. And for $20, that seems a bit steep. For me, though, it was worth it to support an author that's been a pleasure to watch grow over the last several years. From blogger to published writer, Wil Wheaton's journey is laid out in miniature in the pages of Happiest Days. With the sour taste of Just a Geek washed out of his mouth, my hope is that we'll see more long-form work from Wheaton in the future. In the meantime this is a worthy 'sequel' to Dancing Barefoot, and well worth a look by fans of the well-placed word.
You can purchase The Happiest Days of Our Lives from Monolith Press. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Really very good (Score:4, Interesting)
The one thing I'm hoping for is a work of fiction next... I know it's an extra-daunting task, but I'm sure it'd kick ass.
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Jeebus! (Score:2)
Yes, Floyd came to mind as well. But if I hear one more story of how he slipped Ashley Judd the tongue...
there will be some thrashings from me, too.
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I hope he sliced it nice and lean.
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Maybe I'm not crazy after all.
Re:Really very good (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know if it counts, but I did a story for the latest TOS manga from TokyoPop, and I'm currently working on a short story that I hope to release in the near future.
(And thank you so much for your kind words about my book. I'm really happy you liked it.)
Re:Really very good (Score:4, Interesting)
For me, I can't write about my life without collapsing into a puddle of trembling self-doubt, but I can make stuff up about invented people without breaking a sweat. I wonder if your talent in that area stems from being an actor, and being more comfortable "putting yourself out there".
Very much looking forward to your short story! Good luck with the 300!
Re:Really very good (Score:5, Interesting)
It's the exact opposite for me, or at least it has been to this point. When I write narrative non-fiction, I know the whole story arc and all the characters, because I've experienced it all firsthand already. All I do is try my best to recreate as vividly and simply as possible what's already happened. To be honest, though, I'm starting to get bored telling stories about my own life, and if I'm getting bored with it, the audience can't be far behind (if they haven't gotten there ahead of me.) So now it's time to focus on writing fiction, which is sort of like moving from the outfield to third base for me.
Until recently, when I've sat down to write fiction, I've gotten tremendous performance anxiety about creating something almost entirely out of whole cloth. I've felt like, "Hey, look at me! I. Am. A. Writer. I. Am. Writing. Now." (That works if you say each word out loud and make exaggerated typing motions with your hands, and use a dumb guy voice.) I'm still not entirely over that self-consciousness, but it's getting easier with each attempt. I think the key for me (at least right now -- I'm still at that point where it's easy to level up quickly) is coming up with a beginning and an ending, and using a couple of characters I care about to tie them together. The real trick is not being afraid to suck, because it's easier to fix something that sucks than it is to fill a blank page.
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In my head I just hear it as William Shatner saying it, and I know exactly what you mean.
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Re:Really very good (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.tvsquad.com/bloggers/wil-wheaton/ [tvsquad.com]
The insider references are great, but the writing itself is hilarious. Rarely have I laughed more than when reading your one-liners and non-sequiturs. When are you going to do more of those?
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does it annoy you that you that Zonk posted a review of your book right when it cant be purchased?
I mean 80,000 visitors who are exactly the kind of people who would enjoy your book are getting wasted by poor timing.
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And I was guilty of associating the actor with the character; reading his stuff (primarly through
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Get a close friend (or friends) who is good with listening, or one who does good role playing. Find a campfire story type setting that you both enjoy, and either tell him the story or role play it with him. (Substitute her for him as appropriate) Do
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Agreed, and the main reason I read him. Granted, the Trek/Linux topics he's interested help forge a connection for us
What I'm really waiting for is when he really decides to stretch his wings and starts writing outside his comfort zone. Any novels waiting to burst out, Will?
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What I have always liked about his stories is how they hit home with me, even ones that I can't completely identify with yet. (I have no kids so I can't say I know what it's like to rock out to 80s synth while they disparage my choice in music... but I will someday and will probably tell them to get off my proverbial lawn.) It's to the point where I almost tell the stories to other people like they're mine. "One time, in the late 70s, I was in KMart, and I bought a
Can't buy it today (Score:4, Informative)
Wil just sold through 300 signed hard cover copies and I guess the paperbacks will be available again in the next week or so.
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I'm happy I am one of the 300!
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WW300! (Score:1)
what we really want to know ... (Score:1)
(full disclosure - i've voted about a dozen times for TOS - not that it's helped)
Not buying it. (Score:4, Funny)
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However, just from reading his site and listening to him talk, he's their father all the same. Sounds like a pretty decent one too.
Of course, if you listened to me I'm the most diligent worker ever and Slashdot is entirely work-related, but still...
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Re:Not buying it. (Score:5, Funny)
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As a father, I can tell you that, while you may sometimes get tired of your kids (kids _are_ noisy), there are no moments as precious as those when they are around.
Even those rare moments when you got all the config values just right and, for the first time in months your wireless work flawlessly under WPA2, cannot compare.
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He must have used some kind of phasing.
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Can't work that way either, would have to somehow get to the point of having a possibly positive result, no?
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Quite possible: sperm bank + database hacking + a bit of stalking.
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We all know Picard is a non-parent geek and doesn't like children... and this is probably because when the SO came up all bothered and tried to suggest there probably should be some little ones around, the standard "make it so" probably wasn't the best possible answer... so she did, and switched male
What "obvious problems"? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Because the kids may not like that, either now or in the future. Although I do have a feeling that most parents would not want there children discussing them on the Internet. The idea that you can do something bad just because everybody else does it is a common belief, but that does not make it correct. I would rather have parents discussing how they can protect their children's privacy
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Parents have always talked about there kids, this just happens to be a new medium.
DO you thinking people raise kids in a bubble? do you think parent know everything about raising kids? How do you think parent get advice from more experienced parents?
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talking about does not equal Gossip.
Gossip (from WordWeb):
1 . Light informal conversation for social occasions
2. A report (often malicious) about the behaviour of other people "the divorce caused much gossip"
3. A person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others
Parents have always talked about there kids, this just happens to be a new medium.
As I've said, popular behaviour does not make it right. (And yes BTW, I expected to be modded down for this rather unpopular statement). But sometimes things need to be said despite the popular consensus.
DO you thinking people raise kids in a bubble? do you think parent know everything about raising kids? How do you think parent get advice from more experienced parents?
Getting advice from people and gossiping are too differ
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So what? You must not be a parent.
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It is irrelevant whether I am a parent or not. One thing that should be obvious though is that I was a child, and I never liked it when my parents gossiped about me. I presume that you are making this statement because you are a parent who likes to gossip about their kids, or perhaps just hear gossip from other parents. It's normal for people who engage in bad behaviour to be defensive about their own actions.
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I write about my kids. Anything I write is a fair and accurate description that does not try to portray them in a poor light. If they dislike it now or later, that's their problem, not mine.
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"Writing about" is not the same as "gossip". What makes you think it is?
The medium is besides the point. It is all verbal communication. The outcome is the same. "Gossip" does not necessarily imply malicious intent, however it can invade people's privacy.
I write about my kids. Anything I write is a fair and accurate description that does not try to portray them in a poor light.
It's certainly good that you do not try to portray your kids in a bad light; however a writer's intentions may not always reflect the opinions of their children. For example, a person may not think that talking about a child's bowel movements may not be malicious, but that child may not think that is "fair" or appropriate. Ta
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I don't need to get my children's permission to talk about
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Real World
First things first. This is the real world. Their is no alternate bizzaro universe to go to, no matter how much television you may watch. People who use "Real World" arguments do so because they don't have any rational arguments to make.
Your points are not unreasonable but they sound a little close to the kinds of attitudes that are turning so many of our children into emotional cripples full of hollow self-esteem that will fall to pieces in the real world and end up living in their parents' basement until they are 40 because they don't know how to deal with competition or legitimate criticism, leave alone the kind of criticism you get in the Real World, especially in places like /.
Having respect for somebody does not turn somebody into an "emotional cripple" who has "hollow self-esteem". I have noticed throughout my life (that children with bad parents) will either be dumb enough to grow up to be like their parents, or smart enough to reject them. A
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What mind games? What in the world are you talking about? Since when does "unconditional approval" equate to "respect". True respect to a child involves teaching right and wrong, not patting them on the head whether they are curing cancer or massacring a village.
I've tried to be patient with you, but this statement
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Expecting to get an emotional response from a child based on a psychological for
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I continue to believe that you have little or no real world experience, or haven't learned from it.
It seems having realized that I'm not the monster you first painted me as, you simply fell back on the last resort of the weak-minded: ad hominem attacks, by claiming out of
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Comparative economics? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Put it this way: if you buy Wil's book how many hours will you read and reread it for? On the other hand how many hours will you spend playing D&D off a set of books?
It's like a Tangram set I bought at Barnes and Nobles a couple years ago... it was just a couple tiles of plastic and a 120 page book that I forked the money over for, it was the hours and hours of activity that I w
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Value is not just a function of time of use.
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Not always no, but you're also mixing apples and oranges. Most people feel better with a 30 dollar meal over the 5 dollar deal-o-the-day at the local taco joint. Most people feel ripped off by a 10 dollar pen because a 45 cent Bic Clic Stic does the same thing and for most people is just as nice. A wedding is a once in a lifetime kind of event. People hate to skimp on those things.
I'd mostly file your post under bad analogy but in someways you'd be correct. Whi
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When buying books, I do look at the font size, spacing and page count, and where books otherwise appear equal in genre and style, I will tend to buy a longer book over a shorter one. If a book has relatively large print, large borders, large spacing and is less than 150 pages long, it will tend to lose out when competing for my money, unless the price is much lo
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Wait... wut?? (Score:4, Funny)
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Wesley Crusher gets the girl? (Score:2)
Geez, that was 20 years ago (Score:2)
The best is yet to come (Score:2)
Having kids who've grown up to be people you like as well as love -- that utterly rocks.
All things considered, the fifties so far have been the best times I can remember. I'm willing to wait for grandchildren, but only in the "do not open before Xmas" sense.
Interesting (Score:4, Insightful)
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I doubt he minds them (Score:1)
I think anybody who's a regular on the Internet knows how silly and meaningless trolls are. As a regular slashdotter, I think he knows that the praise is much higher than the trolling is low. Most everything anti-Wil I've seen consists of pointless, poorly thought out sentences. But the complements are just as consistent: thoughtful appreciation of the warm, emotional relationships that are unique to his writing, yet instantly familiar to us.
Dude, he played Wesley Crusher!!! (Score:5, Funny)
You think a few lame-o trolls on Slashdot are going to affect him? At one point in time he had almost all of nerddom hating him. Usenet groups dedicated to his destruction. People at cons screaming at him. In Klingon. You name it.
Wil probably has thicker skin than a rhino at this point.
That being said - I'm a fan. Of both Wil and Wesley. Suck it, haters.
Re:Dude, he played Wesley Crusher!!! (Score:5, Funny)
regarding Klingon (Score:5, Funny)
Well, you can, but nobody is going to understand you. And trust me, Klingon is not a language where you want to risk being misunderstood.
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--
Toro
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I hadn't really looked at it that way, but I suppose you're right. It is a little recursive, isn't it?
Sure, what the hell. It's yours.
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It could happen. I've seen it happen to Bruce Perens, The Linus, and one or two others. It may have even happened to RMS.
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I, for one, welcome our new "Just an Overload"
Picture Wil Wheaton with Natalie Portman and hot grits down his pants.
etc.
Re:Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)
oblig The Wall reference (Score:1)
A Great Geek Read (Score:2, Interesting)
I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps this was partly because I grew up in the town neighboring his so those stories had extra meaning to me. However, I think any geek will enjoy it, as someone else said in the comments, he's "one of us".
My formal review is on my blog: http://ww [offlinetshirts.com]
Wil's ST:TNG Reviews (Score:2)
If you were/are a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation, go and read Wil's own TNG episode reviews at TV Squad [tvsquad.com].
I guarantee you - you will almost die laughing.
D6? Oh please. (Score:2, Interesting)
D6?? I associate D6 with Monopoly and Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy [wikipedia.org] books, not D&D. I think I still have my d20 (if I can still call it that without getting permission from Hasbro ;P) from my first edition of D&D.
...+1 Pedantic nerd?
OMFG I'll never get laid again (Score:2)
Damn, and I thought I was in trouble a few years ago when K5's Rusty put me on his watch list [kuro5hin.org]. My reaction was "Holy cow! I'm on Rusty's watchlist! Now I'll never be able to get laid
But here I am with Zonk saying this and
Re:Why do people like Wheaton? (Score:5, Insightful)
I did too, until I read some of his stuff. And then I learned that I just wanted to kick Wesley Crusher in the nuts repeatedly, and bore no ill will whatsoever to his doppleganger Wil Wheaton.
Its not really Wil's fault he played the most annoying kid in Star Trek (and most other franchises for that matter). And if he hadn't done it someone else would have played the part, and we would have hated it just as much.
In other words: blame Roddenberry and his writers for inflicting us with Wesley Crusher, not Wil Wheaton.
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Re:Why do people like Wheaton? (Score:4, Insightful)
. . . I suspect this is the root of the ire coming from nerd guys. . . .
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Ahh, but STNG would not be what is was without the sum of its parts. For better or for worse, Wesley Crusher was a core element of the series even if he was only a minor character (no pun intended). Poor writers = Kobayashi Maru.
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I can't recall seeing anything in the past few months. In any case I think that with WW you have a combination of someone with a lot of recognition that many many of us used to hate but then found out that he was very much like us. If you have wronged someone it's nice to be extra nice to them later.
I suspect that if he had played a more mudane, more likable minor ST character (say Odo on DS9 or O'brien on TNG) he wouldn't be held in such high regard today.
That said, I really like his work and can't t
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That said, I really like his work and can't think of any other ST actor I'd more like to hang out with.
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Perhaps you'd care to have your book reviewed here also?
Re:Honestly (Score:4, Insightful)
How many of the true slashdot long term readers, posters and contributors have had his experiences? While he may never have such artful tales to tell like the one time where Bill Joy asked me what my favourite text editor was (without me knowing who he was, thank goodness for knowing emacs was shit even back then) he has many tales that involve that whole scary black box of hollywood and the sycophants involved. More importantly he can spin a good tale about being a modern day grown up geek in America with kids. Where's the harm in enjoying that?
Slashdot is as much about being a place for geeks as it is about rehashing the geeky news on a daily basis. Here's to you Goatboy (from Y irc circa 92? 93?) for continuing to be who you are even with far too many people watching and caring.
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Largely, to the various peoples that broke free of the Roman state as it fell.
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Verbing (Score:2)
"It's not the verbing that weirds language, it's the renounification." -- Unknown