You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day Narrator: Felicia Day
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on August 11th 2015
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts, Rich & Famous, Science & Technology, Personal Memoirs
Format: Audiobook
Length: 6 hrs. 17 min.
Source: Library
Goodreads
In the tradition of #Girlboss and Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir from online entertainment mogul, actress, and "queen of the geeks" Felicia Day about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.
The Internet isn't all cat videos - almost.
There's also Felicia Day - violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world - or at least the world of Internet-geek fame and Goodreads book clubs.
Growing up in the South, where she was homeschooled for hippie reasons, Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia's misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an instant Internet star.
Felicia's shortish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now Felicia's strange life is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism - just like her memoir.
Hilarious and inspirational, You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now - even for a digital misfit.
For a Comic-Con nerd such as myself I know surprisingly little about the “Queen of the Geeks” Internet personality Felicia Day. I’ve seen Day on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I’ve never seen an episode of her web series The Guild (or Supernatural for that matter — I’ve lost all my geek cred now.) But I’ve finally made up for lost time by listening to the You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) audiobook, and I learned so many interesting things about Felicia Day!
In You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) Day talks about growing up as a homeschooler, spending time playing video games and violin. She was an early adopter of the Internet and social media and fondly remembers the thrill of accessing an AltaVista search engine the first time. With online gaming she found a place to belong, and later applied that passion to create her dream job. But first she graduated from the University of Texas (at age 19!), a math and music major and class valedictorian.
Day’s story is relatable and has a great message about doing what you love. Some days she escaped into World of Warcraft instead of writing a promised TV script. But when she started writing a show about gamers (The Guild) all the pieces fell into place.
Though gaming gave Day a sense of community, it also caused some emotional turmoil in the form of #Gamergate, which she talks about in this memoir. Day also discusses the stresses of launching her YouTube channel Geek & Sundry and the toll it took on her mental health. She gets personal when talking about her struggles with anxiety and depression and I think it’s so helpful that she is so upfront with her fans that may also be struggling.
Felicia Day narrates the audiobook herself (introduced by Joss Whedon!) and there is a pdf companion where you can see the journal entries and photos referenced in the audiobook. Day makes the book an engaging listen, giving her stories a personal touch. She reads with a lot of personality, even singing when it’s called for. Plus, she talks fast – just the way I like my audiobook narrators. This is an entertaining audiobook for fans of humorous memoirs, and an inspiring story for anyone in the creative field.
I really want to read that and think my son, an avid gamer, might enjoy it too. Thanks for a great review!