Nerd Do Well (original 2010; edition 2011)

http://www.cozylittlebookjournal.com/2013/03/nerd-do-well-small-boys-journey-to....
Now THIS is how you do a celebrity memoir! Simon Pegg may have been reluctant to pen a memoir (more on that in a minute) but he certainly rose to the occasion. It's a fully fleshed out (get it? like zombies?) account of his early days, his rise to fame, his famous (and less famous) projects, with just the right amount of personal details and lots of humour. AND A TONNE OF PHOTOS! Which, really, is all we ever wanted in the first place, isn't it?

Plus he included an incredibly geeky fictionalized story of "Simon Pegg, Superhero" interspersed throughout the book. I mostly skimmed it.

But back to his initial reluctance to write the book in the first place. Read this opening paragraph and just try not to picture about a million celebrity memoirs (*ahem* Mindy Kaling):

"It was never my intention to write an autobiography. The very notion made me uneasy. You see them congesting the bookshop shelves at Christmas. Rows of needy smiles, sad clowns and serious eyes, proclaiming faux-modest life stories, with tiles such as This is Me, or Why, Me?, or Me, Me, Me. ... And who cares anyway? ... There's something presumptuous in writing an autobiography, as if people's interest in your life is a given."

Well said, Simon Pegg. Well said. ( )

Strange and brilliant! The narrative jumps, but its voice is strong. Great for introspective older teens and adults, alike. ( )

Simon Pegg writes just as I expected him to and reading this books is almost like sitting down and listening to an interview with him. It's funny, has a conversational tone, and a random hard-boiled sci-fi thing thrown in just for kicks. That said, I didn't finish it. I don't know if I'm really just not in the mood for a memoir or if the manic, skipping around simply didn't appeal to me. I read the first 100 pages or so and kind of flipped through the rest. It kind of seems like this conversation might have happened:

Somebody: Simon Pegg, you should write a memoir
Simon: Uhmmm... ok.
Somebody: Great!
Simon: I don't really know what to write about.
Somebody: Well, just write whatever pops into your head. Make sure it's about you and your life, and we'll publish it.
Simon: OK.

In fact, I think he admits several times in the book that he doesn't really know what he's meant to be writing about.

It's worth picking up, I think it's also probably worth putting down again. ( )

One of the best autobiographies I've read. Simon Pegg is a funny, intelligent nerd and his combination of self-mocking fiction with the story of his life is a winning mixture. I would have liked to have read more about his movie career but I believe he is working on a second volume which may cover it. A well-written, interesting book I recommend it to all nerds. ( )

A large bit is about his (normal) childhood and school life, so I ask, is this a nerd's bio or not? Then comes his nerdgasm/treatise on Star Wars, which is such an educational read. But I admit that the parts I enjoyed best was the (disappointingly) smaller bit (Edgar Wright/Spaced/Shaun/Hot Fuzz/etc) chapters.

One can only wonder at what his agent (Ben from Century) thinks about the fiction part.

Downside is: there is little about him and Nick Frost (for which he could pen in a sequel). The events aren't narrated chronologically, so it gets confusing. ( )