Search in Book Reviews

This is another of those odd books that O'Reilly publish from time to time. It is a collection of five short autobiographical stories from the keyboard of Wil Wheaton. I have to confess to my puzzlement that O'Reilly should be the publisher. The stories are well written and enjoyable but no more so than many of the anecdotes that get shared after hours at many conferences, meetings etc. that I have attended. I am sure that such excellent raconteurs as Andy Koenig could fill ten times as many pages with material of equal quality and authenticity.

Yes, I do believe that books such as this one have their place and that we should make publishing of them easier. There are many people with writing talent who never get published (and there are many with far less talent whose works clutter the shelves of book retailers).

If you want a light read (that may trigger deeper responses in you) for a journey or for a winter evening by the fire this book would be a good candidate. The teacher in me also would use the stories as subjects for discussion among teenagers.