In 2016, I discovered audiobooks.
I’m still working my way into fiction audiobooks, but I have fallen in love with listening to memoirs. It has given me a whole new perspective on autobiographical writing. If you haven’t given it a shot yet, I highly recommend finding an one of your favorite anybody’s audiobooks and trying it out. I’d always thought of them as a short cut or road trip material until I listened to “Bossypants,” by Tina Fey.
The second memoir I listened to was “You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): A Memoir” by Felicia Day.
The intro is also written and read by Joss Whedon. It definitely made me cry.
The unique and charming Felicia Day has been an active force of girl power badassery in the writing, acting, and virtual worlds. You may have seen her in Supernatural, Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also wrote, created, and starred in her own web series called “The Guild,” a process she discusses in her book (VERY informative for those of us wanting to create our own work in the 21st Century). YNWOTI(A) takes us through groundbreaking moments of her life, and spends a considerable amount of time unpacking the ways that dealing with her anxiety both inhibited and strengthened her as an artist. This book is a personal love letter to all things nerdy, and the ways in which those things give us room to grow and find ourselves.
My first exposure to Felicia as Vi in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (2003)
I don’t consider myself a gamer, but I love watching my boyfriend and friends play video games. Felicia Day never made me feel like I was out of the loop for not being privy to all the information needed to know what she was talking about. I worried towards the beginning whether or not I was actually nerdy enough to enjoy the book (imposter syndrome is a bitch). Luckily, the flow of Felicia’s words got me hooked on her personality and narrative style by the time she got into any of the really nerdy stuff. At the same time, she did an excellent job of talking through her personal attachment to the great virtual loves of her life, so I was on the same page, regardless of how much I didn’t know about World of Warcraft. In fact, I felt like I came out of reading Felicia’s book with a greater appreciation for online video game culture as a whole.
Codex from “The Guild.”
I can’t imagine that I would’ve enjoyed this book quite as much as I did if I hadn’t had Felicia’s voice to guide me through all of her pivotal life experiences. I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of memoirs, but there was something specifically powerful about hearing a successful woman open up and pick through some of the nastier moments of her life. I felt her victories and her setbacks quiver in my head as she sketched out the image in my mind. You could easily convince me that Felicia herself had been sitting on my couch rattling all of this off to me while I tidied my kitchen. Her accessibility and honest delivery made the experience for me. The writing was conversational enough, but thoughtful and analytical.
Overall, this book got 5/5 stars from me. It was inspiring to follow someone I look up to work through anxiety and come out stronger on the other side. I found strength in her ability to open up about her own strengthening.
I hope to listen to many other memoirs in 2017. I think my next one will be “In The Country We Love: My Family Divided” by Diane Guerrero
Let me know if you have any suggestions of memorable audiobook memoirs!
Charlie from “Supernatural”
Kat's Kradle 