Nerd Do Well

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Pegg himself, which was delightful. The interspersed fictional bits were fun but I admit to skipping a couple of those chapters as I was more interested in Pegg's actual life than the crazy antics of femme-fatale Muriel and the robotic butler Canterbury. Not that their story wasn't hilarious or interesting of course.
So interesting to find out that Pegg met his wife on a trip to my hometown, Thessalonika, Greece, and all the other serendipitous events that shaped Pegg's life and career as they did. Quirky, fun narration, guaranteed to give you some pretty big laughs and some really sweet 'awww' moments. I'm glad I picked this as my first autobiography to read/listen to; I thoroughly enjoyed it and show more it only reaffirmed my admiration of this man. show less

This book was a lot of fun. I love the stories of Pegg's nerdy childhood. Of course, my own was fairly nerdy too, as is my adulthood, which is why I dig Pegg and his work so much. It speaks to me and all others nerds in a way that is not pandering, but rather, communicating with like minds.

As Pegg himself notes, he had it fairly easy. His career benefited greatly from good luck and I can only wish I had similar good luck in my career. However, the lack of immense struggle does not cheapen the story told in Nerd Do Well, for it's still full of life and dreams and wonder.

Bonus: there's a fictional story woven throughout in which Pegg, the international hero and raconteur, has a memoir to write but finds himself enmeshed in a Bond-like show more search for a stolen artifact. The robot butler Canterbury is perhaps the best character here.

If you dig Simon Pegg's work, you'll like this book. If you like nerdy things, you'll like this book (and Pegg's work in general, so look it up). show less

It definitely bodes well for a comedian/actor's memoir if they can make you laugh on the first page of the book. And laugh I did, half-way down the first page of Simon Pegg's Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy's Journey To Becoming a Big Kid.

You hopefully know Simon Pegg from his films Shaun of the Dead (a zombie comedy), Hot Fuzz (a small-town murder comedy) and Paul (an alien-visitation comedy) -- or at least his role as Montgomery Scott in the recent Star Trek reboot where he affects the cutest Scottish accent. If you have seen any of these, you should have the gist of Simon's sense of humor. It's the backbone of the novel and his voice comes through quite clearly in his writing. The book is a combination of two parts -- the expected memoir show more of Simon's youth, education and early career interspersed with the story of a handsome super spy named, well, Simon Pegg. These chapters were absolutely hilarious to me but if you don't have the sense of humor of a fifteen-year-old fanboy (or the ability to enjoy that sort of humor), they might not really amuse you. The rest of the book is full of reminiscences of first films seen, childhood theater roles and musings on Star Wars among other things. It was fascinating to read about how Simon turned his youthful obsessions into a dream adulthood.

While the timeline skipped about a bit and sometimes took a little bit of work to follow, the content of this book was fun and I had a great time reading it. I'm sure it didn't hurt that Pegg is only five years older than I am so I was able to relate to some of his childhood experiences of the early 80s.

http://webereading.com/2011/06/new-release-nerd-do-well.html show less

We cannot choose our family but we can choose our friends, and we do, sometimes before we have even met them.

Simon Pegg's autobiography was equal parts funny and moving. Obviously I expected the humor but it was the really personal, tear-jerking moments I didn't expect. My only complaint, if I was forced at blaster rifle point by Boba Fett to complain about something, is I would have liked more stories and anecdotes from his late twenties and on. Pegg shared quite a bit about his childhood and from whence his career inspirations and motivations came. I just wanted more about his career and friendships after Shaun of the Dead.

My biggest takeaway was how far a person's passion (no matter how nerdy it may be) really can take them if they show more remain faithful and open to what they truly want in life.

4 stars show less

Simon Pegg, star of such nerdy classics as Shaun of the Dead and Spaced, gives us a rambling memoir full of youthful anecdotes (an astonishing number of which seem to feature girls he had crushes on), thoughtful digressions about the craft of comedy and the current state of pop culture, deeply silly humor, and a constant sense of gleeful, fanboyish amazement at how many childhood heroes he's been able to meet and work with in the course of his career. Also lots of talk about Star Wars. It all feels a little self-conscious, perhaps, but there's a certain kind of charm in that, and on the whole I found it very entertaining.

Simon Pegg, British comedian, TV and movie star, recounts his life and the events that ultimately led-up to the nerdy works he is known for - Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Star Trek. Rather than talk excessively about his life now - the one most of us are mostly familiar with - Pegg instead goes through his life as a child and how "[he] is a product of the experiences he has and the decisions he made as [a child]". The idea of "dishing" about other celebrities is something he chooses to avoid, which brings a sigh of relief as many of those "dishing" stories are "had to be there" stories, which leave most people resentful for even having to hear about them.

This personality trait that Pegg identifies with - that celebrities are show more nothing special - is a culmination of his life experiences as an actor. From the get-go he states that it is unfair that actors are pigeon-holed into being actors for fame and glory. There seems to be a resounding unanimity that attention and money are an actor's real goal in life. Pegg, however, chooses to forgo the so-called "fame tax" and instead has chosen to act for the joy of acting. Pegg shares an anecdote of an actor infuriated by the prospect of signing an autograph in a parking lot. Pegg goes on to say that he does not "understand how any artist can reject positive feedback as if it is an annoyance or, worse, a burden." As an actor who frequently attends conventions, he has never been one to shy away from his fans. This seemingly minor reason alone is one of the reasons Pegg has become such an important figure for the nerdy - rather than focus on the money or the fame, Pegg embraces his nerdiness to create and play roles for fun, respect (to fans and creative entities), or homage to those influential to him as a child (eg Shaun of the Dead paying homage to George Romero and his Dead series).

While he is a respectful, popular actor now, his book focuses on his experiences growing up and, interestingly, is intertwined with a science-fiction story about Simon Pegg, a Bond-esque hero with a robot sidekick and an attractive French female love interest. Murielle, the love interest, plays an important part in the science-fiction story, but is also someone with whom Pegg grew close to, fell in love with, pined over, and lost all feelings for in the matter of a summer. Thus is the emotional tale of Pegg growing up - he frequently fell in love, and he always seemed to play the role of funny young "pet" to groups of older people. These two coalesced, hilariously, into a situation into "a group of confident, outgoing women, who...were about to take delivery of a goofy fourteen-year-old boy with a tendency to fall in love and a sense of moral confusion with regard to his carnal desires." These are many of the stories that made up his childhood full of awkwardness, emotions, and the decisions that eventually led him to becoming interested in 'the stage'.

Part of being drawn to the stage meant taking classes while in college. One of those classes led to Pegg analyzing film, which also fills the pages of his book. He frequently discusses many of his favorite films and the impact each one had on his life and why they impacted him so. But not only that, he analyzes why the films were so important to mainstream media, what made them successful (or not), and how they have altered cinema to this day. Interestingly, many of the TV shows or movies that changed his life and made him become an actor are ones he later ended up working with. For example, the interior of one of his schools was used in the Harry Potter series; he was a rabid Star Trek fan and eventually played a large role in the newest movie; or meeting and working with George Romero.

It is these experiences as a child - that we are all familiar with - that has shaped him, combined with his love for film and the fortuitous meetings with influential people in his life that has made Pegg as successful as he is today. This book is a charming, humorous take on his life and, in many ways, the lives of countless nerds all over the world. For added comfort (and in Pegg fashion), he "secretly...ignored his editor's suggestion and wrote about the superhero anyway" by "humoring him with the biographical stuff and sneaking the real book in between the cracks." What you'll get from this book is an entertaining look at a nerd who has come full circle from being influenced to becoming influential. show less

This is certainly one of the most cleverly written autobiographies I've ever read. Actually, I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Pegg. As a geek of similar age, I certainly related to much of Pegg's childhood. What's most interesting to me though, is the fact that it's almost as though he revealed more of himself through the "B" storyline which featured Pegg in a very Bruce Wayne-esque lifestyle, which every nerd and geek has envisioned themselves in at one time or another. Hopping back and forth between his real life and this grandiose vision of a "dream life" is what makes this book so interesting and so much fun. The only risk in this approach is that his real life might seem dull in comparison.