Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-14 18:21:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Wil Wheaton
- ISBN：B09HZB3WGP
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Summary
Celebrated actor， personality， and all-around nerd， Wil Wheaton updates his memoir of collected blog posts with all new material and annotations as he reexamines one of the most interesting lives in Hollywood and fandom。
From starring in Stand by Me to playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation to playing himself， in his second （third？） iconic role of Evil Wil Wheaton in The Big Bang Theory， to becoming a social media supernova， Wil Wheaton has charted a career course unlike anyone else， and has emerged as one of the most popular and well respected names in science fiction， fantasy and pop culture。
Back in 2001， Wil began blogging on wilwheaton。net。 Believing himself to have fallen victim to the curse of the child actor， Wil felt relegated to the convention circuit， and didn't expect many would want to read about his random experiences and personal philosophies。
Yet， much to his surprise， people were reading。 He still blogs， and now has an enormous following on social media with well over 3 million followers。
In Still Just a Geek， Wil revisits his 2004 collection of blog posts， Just a Geek， filled with insightful and often laugh-out-loud annotated comments， additional later writings， and all new material written for this publication。 The result is an incredibly raw and honest memoir， in which Wil opens up about his life， about falling in love， about coming to grips with his past work， choices， and family， and finding fulfillment in the new phases of his career。 From his times on the Enterprise to his struggles with depression to his starting a family and finding his passion--writing--Wil Wheaton is someone whose life is both a cautionary tale and a story of finding one's true purpose that should resonate with fans and aspiring artists alike。
From starring in Stand by Me to playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation to playing himself， in his second （third？） iconic role of Evil Wil Wheaton in The Big Bang Theory， to becoming a social media supernova， Wil Wheaton has charted a career course unlike anyone else， and has emerged as one of the most popular and well respected names in science fiction， fantasy and pop culture。
Back in 2001， Wil began blogging on wilwheaton。net。 Believing himself to have fallen victim to the curse of the child actor， Wil felt relegated to the convention circuit， and didn't expect many would want to read about his random experiences and personal philosophies。
Yet， much to his surprise， people were reading。 He still blogs， and now has an enormous following on social media with well over 3 million followers。
In Still Just a Geek， Wil revisits his 2004 collection of blog posts， Just a Geek， filled with insightful and often laugh-out-loud annotated comments， additional later writings， and all new material written for this publication。 The result is an incredibly raw and honest memoir， in which Wil opens up about his life， about falling in love， about coming to grips with his past work， choices， and family， and finding fulfillment in the new phases of his career。 From his times on the Enterprise to his struggles with depression to his starting a family and finding his passion--writing--Wil Wheaton is someone whose life is both a cautionary tale and a story of finding one's true purpose that should resonate with fans and aspiring artists alike。
Reviews
Doreen
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4/13/2022 Full review tk （maybe even later today！） at TheFrumiousConsortium。net。4/13/2022 I make it a habit of avoiding memoirs published by men in their 30s， so never got around to reading Wil Wheaton's Just A Geek， despite it seeming squarely in my wheelhouse。 Reading this annotated version drove home to me how wise that policy continues to be， despite the many interests the author and I share， including but not limited to Star Trek， sci-fi， acting， blogging， tabletop games and parenting。The t 4/13/2022 Full review tk （maybe even later today！） at TheFrumiousConsortium。net。4/13/2022 I make it a habit of avoiding memoirs published by men in their 30s， so never got around to reading Wil Wheaton's Just A Geek， despite it seeming squarely in my wheelhouse。 Reading this annotated version drove home to me how wise that policy continues to be， despite the many interests the author and I share， including but not limited to Star Trek， sci-fi， acting， blogging， tabletop games and parenting。The trouble with the vast， vast majority of autobiographies written by men in their 30s is that the authors cannot properly view the trauma they've undergone -- which is what largely compels men like these to write these books at this stage in their lives -- without managing to sound both trite and obliviously self-important。 The luckiest of these authors at least have an inkling of how much therapy they still need， but almost none of them realize that time （at the very least， and even without the benefit of actively working on your spiritual/emotional well-being） almost always grants a very necessary perspective。 Mr Wheaton was， unfortunately， no different。 I can absolutely see why Entertainment Weekly succinctly if harshly called the original book whiny。 There's a lot of unprocessed trauma on display and a lot of attempts at edginess that just come off as douchebaggery。So it's a fascinating enterprise to see Mr Wheaton tackle his book once more almost two decades later。 His annotations are almost all correct， both in exploring the deeper truth behind what he said at the very turn of the 21st century and in apologizing for unfortunate language and narrative choices， with one caveat: I do think that he's actually a little too hard on his younger self， particularly in his adoption of projected optimism as a coping mechanism。 Sure， he says now that the confident pronouncements that he made back then were in service to placating the "Prove Everyone Wrong" voice in his head， but there's still value in making positive affirmations about yourself and your goals， and it seems weird to kick his younger self over what was essentially a helpful， if not outright necessary， way to deal with life's disappointments。That said， wow， it's so much better reading this book from the perspective of a dude who's about to turn fifty。 I mean， the covers alone evoke the wildly differing atmospheres: the original was incredibly emo while the present version is far more self-deprecating and self-aware。 Which isn't at all to say that Mr Wheaton was a bad person when he was younger， or that the angry， self-absorbed essays he wrote at that time have no worth。 As a historical snapshot， they're actually a really great look into that era of celebrity and the Internet; as reading material tho， they are 100% Not My Thing。 And that's fine: not every book is for everybody。 I'm just glad that I came to this version at this age， so I can gain a newfound appreciation for Mr Wheaton instead of being all "JFC， this is what happened to the guy who played Wesley？"Because the Wil Wheaton of recent years can see past the anger and assumptions of his younger self to the scared， sad kid behind the words。 He and I don't necessarily have the same perspectives on everything， but I very much valued his present-day thoughts on abuse and mental health and the importance of education and kindness （and greatly appreciate his commitment to good parenting throughout。） The only thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that no one seems to have pointed out to him that his Dad's bullying likely stemmed from an insecurity at no longer being the family's main breadwinner。 Which doesn't excuse Dad's really shitty behavior， but definitely makes his abuse and his clear preference for the younger brother seem less inexplicable， IMO。Overall， this was the kind of chronicle that rarely makes its way out of nonfiction: honest and thoughtful， if occasionally uncomfortable for everyone involved。 There were parts reading the older version that I thoroughly understood the popularity of the "shut up， Wesley" catchphrase， but I do think that Mr Wheaton has grown to be the kind of good， genuine person that he always thought of himself as being （and hopefully continues to work on being。） It was also really nice to learn that the main cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation get along so well， both then and now。 As fun and salacious as it can be to read about backstabbing primi， it's really so much more affirming to read of nurturing and warmth in action。I do recommend getting this book in physical format tho。 I'm sure the digital versions will be properly formatted， but I was forced to read this as a sideways pdf on my phone， which had me absolutely seething。 Extra irony points for Mr Wheaton being a champion of digital liberty -- not that the formatting was in any way his fault。 Sometimes， profit-focused goons screw all us creatives over。Still Just A Geek: An Annotated Collection Of Musings by Wil Wheaton was published April 12 2022 by William Morrow & Company and is available from all good booksellers， including Bookshop。 。。。more
Non
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Still Just a Geek is like "the Inception of inner child work。" If only we all had the capacity to look back at the past versions of ourselves with such empathy and curiosity。 Listen to my chat with Wil about Still Just a Geek on You， Me， Empathy: https://feelyhuman。co/episodes/wil-wh。。。 Still Just a Geek is like "the Inception of inner child work。" If only we all had the capacity to look back at the past versions of ourselves with such empathy and curiosity。 Listen to my chat with Wil about Still Just a Geek on You， Me， Empathy: https://feelyhuman。co/episodes/wil-wh。。。 。。。more
Jenn
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Wil Wheaton is a national treasure。 Not just for being in one of the most popular science-fiction shows of all time。 Not just for being in Stand by Me。 Or Big Bang Theory。 Or The Guild。 Wil Wheaton is a national treasure because he has spoken openly and fearlessly about his experiences of child abuse， depression， and anxiety。 He has made countless survivors， including myself， feel less alone， less afraid， and more hopeful。 And I will always grateful for that。 Thank you， Wil。 This book has a fasc Wil Wheaton is a national treasure。 Not just for being in one of the most popular science-fiction shows of all time。 Not just for being in Stand by Me。 Or Big Bang Theory。 Or The Guild。 Wil Wheaton is a national treasure because he has spoken openly and fearlessly about his experiences of child abuse， depression， and anxiety。 He has made countless survivors， including myself， feel less alone， less afraid， and more hopeful。 And I will always grateful for that。 Thank you， Wil。 This book has a fascinating structure。 Essentially， it is a reprint of his 2004 memoir， JUST A GEEK， which he has annotated in order to reflect upon his experiences with more distance， to demonstrate his growth and changes in perspective， and yes， to tell silly jokes。 Though I am in the library world now I am an academic at heart， and I love a good footnote apparatus。 It's really fun to flip back and forth between the TNG days， the early aughts， and the present。 Wil is an entertaining， thoughtful， and insightful narrator of his own experience， and it is a whole lot of fun to watch him interact with his past selves。 。。。more
Elspeth
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I've always enjoyed Wil Wheaton since I used to see him in L。A。 in the mid 90s （we did not ever interact， but were just in the same room）。 I'm glad to have seen him become even more of a character than just a （child） actor we see on a show here and there。 Everything he does is interesting and different than your standard internet celebrity or standard television actor。 In this collection Wheaton revisits his blog posts from early on in the Internet/blogging world and adds current insight into wh I've always enjoyed Wil Wheaton since I used to see him in L。A。 in the mid 90s （we did not ever interact， but were just in the same room）。 I'm glad to have seen him become even more of a character than just a （child） actor we see on a show here and there。 Everything he does is interesting and different than your standard internet celebrity or standard television actor。 In this collection Wheaton revisits his blog posts from early on in the Internet/blogging world and adds current insight into what was going on in his life at that time and what he would do differently。 It's an interesting snapshot into his life， the life of a potentially working actor， and the life of a former child star。 I enjoyed reading more about Wheaton and am looking forward to seeing where he ends up next。I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley and the publisher and am giving an honest review。 。。。more
Michelle
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I never read "Just a Geek"。 I'm not sure when I was first introduced to Wil， but I think my fangirling for him started around the time I was introduced to "The Guild" and was playing World of Warcraft。 I had the hugest crush on Wil， and then he got the reoccurring role on "The Big Bang Theory" （also a favorite show of mine） and since then I have tried to somewhat follow his career path without being too stalkerish。 It was to my great delight when I was browsing NetGalley the other day that I hap I never read "Just a Geek"。 I'm not sure when I was first introduced to Wil， but I think my fangirling for him started around the time I was introduced to "The Guild" and was playing World of Warcraft。 I had the hugest crush on Wil， and then he got the reoccurring role on "The Big Bang Theory" （also a favorite show of mine） and since then I have tried to somewhat follow his career path without being too stalkerish。 It was to my great delight when I was browsing NetGalley the other day that I happened upon this book and was pleased when I was granted an ARC by NetGalley and William Morrow & Company！ I've listened to enough interviews with Wil via podcasts and on his own blog that I feel like I know what I am in for with this book， but I am still interested in reading it because of the reflection he is going to provide us with。 I can only imagine if I had kept a blog 20 some years ago （I did） and still had access to it today （I don't） and went back over it to annotate it and update it。 Yikes！ I can only imagine how cringe-worthy it might be。 So， I love the premise of this collection of his musings and have high hopes that it will entertain and enlighten fans of Wil even more than the writings did when he first wrote them。 。。。more
Erin
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I never read Just a Geek and I never watched Star Trek， but I became familiar with Wheaton through Big Bang Theory and other geeky endeavors。 I found his original writing touching， funny， and bittersweet， and his annotations made it that much better。 He calls himself out for problematic language and jokes， he explains things in greater detail， he gives insight into who he was and what he was thinking at the time。 I'm oddly proud of him？？ I never read Just a Geek and I never watched Star Trek， but I became familiar with Wheaton through Big Bang Theory and other geeky endeavors。 I found his original writing touching， funny， and bittersweet， and his annotations made it that much better。 He calls himself out for problematic language and jokes， he explains things in greater detail， he gives insight into who he was and what he was thinking at the time。 I'm oddly proud of him？？ 。。。more
Jenn
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