Shout

Shout

by Laurie Halse Anderson

The author of Speak still has so much more to say.
But she won't whisper these words
These words she will Shout!

She will let out all that has been fighting her inside
and outside
Everywhere
and nowhere
It is time to let that voice out
It is time to tell her truth
It is time for her words to be read
and heard
and felt
and taken in
and made a part of
and lived
and loved
and absorbed

By every person who has felt anything
Ever


Final thoughts: This is the first time I have ever wanted to write on the pages of a book. I wanted to note and comment and mark every passage. If I had a highlighter, I would have made this whole book yellow and pink and blue. I actually dog-eared a couple of pages for the first time since high school (oh so many years ago). This is a must-read. And page 243 is now my life-mantra.

Rating: 5/5

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

(A Mostly True Memoir)

by Jenny Lawson (a.k.a. The Bloggess)

Childhood is a time of discovery. It's when you become who you will always be. So what does your future hold if your dad is a man fascinated by dead animals?

Jenny Lawson was raised in an extremely tiny town within the largest state in the Continental United States. She's a Texan through and through, and she has the childhood trauma to back up her own brand of crazy.

From squirrel puppets (made from real squirrel), to crazy turkeys, to baby raccoons, Lawson's life was never a normal childhood in the traditional sense. In addition, she was also cursed with possibly the most physical and mental issues that could be dropped on one person without that person going insane. Or it's possible that she really is insane... 

In this memoir, Lawson shares events from her childhood, her marriage, her motherhood, and her growth into a pretty darn good person. 

Final thoughts: I am a HUGE fan of The Bloggess. I can relate to a number of her issues and I definitely love her sense of humor. I strongly recommend reading a few entries on her blog before buying this book, though. Her humor is not for everyone, though I'm not sure how well I would get along with people who couldn't laugh at many of the things she writes. This book is especially great for those who suffer from depression as Lawson shows that even the deepest moments of depression and anxiety can eventually become fodder for jokes.

Rating: 5/5

Just a Geek

Just a Geek

by Wil Wheaton

Years ago there was a show about the future.  It was a future that had been dreamed up by one man and put together by a cast of thousands in five different versions of one-hour shows spanning decades in our television history.  The show that started it all was Star Trek.

One boy, Wil Wheaton, joined the second version of Star Trek, nicknamed TNG for The Next Generation, and he was supposed to represent the newest generation of Star Fleet hopefuls.  He played the son of the ship's doctor, and he just happened to be extremely smart and often knew the ship better than many of the adults around him.

Many viewers hated him and even created their own fan clubs dedicated to ripping his character apart.  Unfortunately, they often tore down the young actor at the same time.

For years, Wil Wheaton has fought to separate himself from that show and that character.  Just a Geek is a book about his own struggle to come to terms with his Star Trek past while embracing his future as a writer and geek.

Now he's become a well-respected actor and he runs his own site at WWdN: In Exile, which used to be known as Wil Wheaton dot net.  This is his personal autobiography derived from his many online posts, which he has occasionally edited and then commented on in this book.  

Find out the real truth about a child actor's struggle to succeed in the adult acting world while supporting a family and dodging the past.

Final thoughts:  I've been reading Wil Wheaton dot net, WWdN: In Exile, and @wilw on Twitter for a while now and have really enjoyed his insight into conventions, writing, acting, and life.  He's become the guy everyone wants to be buds with to hang out, swap stories, and just be a geek without fear of people staring at you like you're insane.  Many of the stories are ones that he's shared at conventions and, his recent shared creation, W00tstock.  If you're interested in a preview of his amazing writing, just search for him on YouTube and watch his performances at w00tstock and PAX.  Fans of ST:TNG should definitely read this.

Rating: 5/5