I’m a big Wil Wheaton fan. Probably the first time I ever saw him was when I went with my brother to watch Stand by Me at the movie theater. My next exposure, was of course, when Wil played Wesley Crusher on STNG. After that I mostly lost track of what Wil was doing. It wasn’t until a number of years later that I bumped into a post by Wil on slashdot, did some googling, and discovered his blog (currently though he blogs at WWdN in exile).

I quickly made Wil’s blog a normal part of my regular reading. He had some very interesting stories to share that included memories of his days at Trek, interesting to any geek like me. I also found that our lives had a lot of overlap. Wil has had some very unique experiences, but underneath it all he’s very much like a lot of us geek guys - now middle age dads - that grew up in the 80’s. He has many of the same struggles and triumphs and when it comes to adolescence, many of the same memories.

I’ve already and read and enjoyed Wil’s first two published works, Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek. They are both solid efforts and really left me with a strong sense of Wil’s being just a regular guy in many ways and his high level of skill in communicating through the written word. Ordering The Happiest Days of Our Lives was a bit of a no-brainer. I already knew I would like it, in some ways I had already read it.

Happiest Days is a collection of work from Wil’s blog. It is not just a cut and paste job though. The stories have been edited and polished for this publication. Even though I had already read all the stories in the book, they were still fresh and touching. It has more impact knowing that this was a real person’s life. I think also there is the fact that I could so strongly relate. Reading about Wil’s early days of gaming with friends at school gave me flashbacks to my days of sitting around a table with class-mates playing D&D, Top Secret, Gurps, or Car Wars. And what kid didn’t spend as much time as mom would give him looking over Star Wars figures at K-Mart? And while I didn’t ever work filming a television show as a teen, I have those places that I can go back to today and just soak up the memories of a very special time that wont be coming around again.

Happiest Days is not a long book. The type is relatively large and a determined reader could blow through it pretty quickly, 136 pages wouldn’t be tough even with smaller print. But I don’t think this is the kind of book that one wants to rush. I found it to be an excellent read in the evening before I went to bed. I would relax, read through a chapter and just let it soak in until the next chapter on the next night. Wheaton really is a good writer and transports the reader back to sunny southern California some 20 years ago. Not all of the book is memories from the past, but they are so powerful and memorable that it may feel that way to some extent. There are more current stories, including one of Wil’s great recollections centered around poker.

There is a story about one of Wil’s pets. I’ve got to tell the truth, here and on his blog, I skim over those. Pets are obviously very import to Wil and his wife. He loves them and goes to great lengths to give them the best care. I’m just not a pet person myself and here the disconnect is too large for me to really put in the effort. They are probably great stories to just about anyone else.

I think it is safe to say that anyone who regularly reads and enjoys Wil’s blog already knows they will really enjoy this book. For those who haven’t read any of Wil’s stuff, in print or on-line, this is a great introduction with some truly touching sharing.

Title: The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Author: Wil Wheaton
Publisher: Monolith Press
Pages: 136
ISBN: 0974116025
Rating: 9/10