You’re Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not a lot of celebrities can get me to read a memoir, but I absolutely heart Felicia Day. No, not in a geeky infatuation way (well, maybe a little), but because I just respect and admire her as an outspoken advocate of geek & female empowerment. She is exactly the type of role model I am thrilled to see my tween daughter look up to, and I thank Ms. Day for that.
So I’m laying out the fact that I’m totally biased and partial and this is not going to be a very critical review. The simple fact is that this is the type of book I would have bought even if I didn’t have any interest in reading it; both to support the author and also to have it available for my kid to pick up.
Honestly, there really isn’t much of anything to be critical about anyway. You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is exactly what it looks like – a memoir from a famous person right in the middle of her success. It reads very much like most other modern mid-career memoirs. Like I noted in my reviews of Questlove’s Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove & Tina Fey’s Bossypants books, the historical part is very interesting, the more current topics less so. Reading about events that more or less just happened holds limited interest with me. Others clearly feel differently, and that’s great.
Day’s writing is very entertaining – it’s pretty much exactly like listening to her talk. I planned on getting the audio version, which she narrates, but frankly the writing is so in character that I sort of heard her reading it in my head as I read anyway. Her unique voice (written or otherwise) made the stories fun and light, and I finished this within a day or two of release (even if the review is only coming now).
I will say that I had rather hoped the book would be a little more geek manifesto than memoir, but I have only myself to blame for that, as it clearly says memoir on the cover. I suppose that knowing how great she is at supporting self-worth and empowerment, and how much we need those types of books for girls, I expected a book that she wasn’t actually writing. I’d love to see her pen something a la Chris Brogan’s It’s Not About the Tights: An Owners Manual on Bravery or Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. Maybe for your next book, Felicia?
The book contains brave and honest depiction of the author’s struggles with depression and anxiety, and would be recommendation worthy on that basis alone. I’m glad Day was willing to bare such personal information and am certain this will be very empowering and helpful to many.
You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is a quick, fun read that will be enjoyable to most anyone, particularly fans. If it isn’t the inspirational geek pride mission statement that I hoped it would be, that’s no slight; it’s an entertaining memoir that certainly celebrates geek pride and is a great insight into how a unique celebrity essentially paved her own road to success. The behind the scenes insights on the creation of The Guild and the message of the reader’s ability to do the same are worth the price of admission. Recommended…
