My Lucky Life In And Out Of Show Business

June: Book written by a celebrity

I grew up on reruns of The Dick Van Dyke Show. It was a good, clean show filled with humor that my mother enjoyed and I would gladly sit down and watch it with her. There are still some scenes, like the nightmare-filled episode about walnuts, that have stuck with me over the years. And of course everyone was at some point drawn to the lively chimney-sweep Bert in Mary Poppins. So when I saw this book sitting on the shelf at the library as I was browsing (despite having my own stack of books to read) I thought, why not throw it onto the list for the month. It went right along with the theme! And what's more, it was the complete opposite of the two books I had read already. While all three celebrities share humor, fame, and very real issues, Van Dyke's story is very different from Felicia and Lindsey's. Jokingly you can see the differences just by looking at the book: it is longer and in large print. Why? Because Dick Van Dyke has a much longer story to tell!

The small similarities between the three books I choose for this month extend to the fact that I greatly enjoyed each and every one of them. Dick Van Dyke tells his story from his youth in Danville all the way up his current plan, which are a little vague since he is so fond of going where the wind take him. Of course the book is filled to the brim with humor and wonderful anecdotes from nearly every project he has worked on in his fifty plus years in showbiz. But also in the narrative are moments of truth. Painful memories of barely making it by, loosing people close to him, his battle with alcoholism. While Dick Van Dyke continues to be the larger than life man I have always thought him to be, after reading this book I am  made to love him a little more because he is merely human. Despite his shortcomings, his weaknesses, his tribulations, Van Dyke has always remained an exceptional man.

Please, if you enjoy any of Van Dyke's work, I think it is completely worth reading this book. See the man that pushed himself to the brink to make these parts come to life because while he has always loved what he does, he did still missed his fourteenth wedding anniversary. There is so much more to the man that sings and dances for children with cancer. And he felt the need to tell people hi story, share with his fans tales of his life in front of and behind the camera. So read this one, listen to what he has to say. Because after 85 years, he has a lot to say.

The Only Pirate At The Party

June - Books written by celebrities.

This was the perfect book to read shortly after reading Felicia Day's You're Never Weird On The Internet (almost), because it is now my firm belief that if these two women have not met they need to. They are so similar in so many aspects, and maybe that is what drew me further into Stirling's book, well that and the fact that there were so many times when it sounded like it was being narrated by one of my closest friends.

Another good friend of mine told me I had to read this book when she found out what my book club's theme was this month. She is a fan of Stirling and had bought this book on Audible and wanted me to read it. I agreed since I needed a second book for the theme, but now I, too, am a fan of Stirling.

If you don't know who Stirling is, let me give you the quickest of updates. Lindsey Stirling was a contestant on America's Got Talent (don't remember the year) but she didn't make it very far, because even though she has a very unique gift on the violin, she may not be everyone's cup of tea. But Lindsey did not let that stop her (for very long) and now she is a big performer where she tours playing hip hop violin. Yeah, you read that right. If you have never seen her work I think Shadows and Elements are incredible places to start.

This book gives us a very deep insight into Stirling's life, from her first forays into violin to her battle with an eating disorder, and she does it in incredibly funny and moving ways. I highly recommend listening to the book since it is narrated by Stirling herself, because it gives you the chance to hear her words in her voice, which packs quiet a punch. I found it incredibly moving as she spoke of the people closest to her and ached to give her a hug as she spoke of Jason Gaviati, a band member who has since passed.

Stirling is filled with life and hope and passion not only for what she does but for life in general. And getting a chance to listen to her story is something I am grateful for. I am so glad I listened to a friend's recommendation and I am passing it on to all of y'all. Read this book! And check out her videos! Which, by the way, while writing this post I found a new incredible video, so go check out Master of Tides.

You're Never Weird On The Internet (almost)

June: Books written by celebrities.

When did I first become aware of Felicia Day? I don't even know. I remember seeing her on Eureka and recognizing her immediately, so I had to have seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog by then. I don't know if I saw the episodes of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer before or after I knew her name. But I know for a fact when I saw her on Supernatural I fangirl squealed and did a jumping dance in the middle of the living room because Felicia Day was so cool and on my new favorite show! I didn't get to watch her show The Guild when it first aired but I have since made up for that by watching it multiple times and mentioning it to all my friends. So basically it's like I've always been aware of Felicia Day, even though she has only been an actress since 2001. Maybe it's like Joss Whedon said in his intro: "She's something more than a self-made woman - I sometimes think she's not a human woman, that she willed herself into existence, before willing the world to make a place for this new, unfathomable creation." Felicia Day willed herself into my life, and it has been glorious ever since.

In her memoir Felicia tells the incredible tale of how she grew up home-schooled, managed to start college at age 16, and obtained two Real Degrees while never getting her GED. Than she moved to LA with the feeling that she was just meant to be an actress. And it seemed that anything she wanted to do, she put her mind to, and rocked it.
Only, it didn't keep happening that way.
While most of the world sees Felicia Day as this incredibly bubbly, happy, bright person who is not only beautiful but is also a gamer, which is just awesome, people don't suspect the underlying anxious, over-worked, neurotic that hides behind the games she played until she had pushed most of the world out.

And this is why I love Felicia Day. On top of the fact that I always love her bigger characters, I started to catch glimpses of the real Day sometime after she stared in Eureka and what I saw fascinated me. I'm not a major gamer, but I love to sit and loose myself in some Zelda when I can. I spent most of my teen years behind a computer screen in RPG chatrooms because I could be better than who I was IRL. I am addicted to stories because they are the easiest way for me to loose myself (and reading is something that people will encourage). And with all the convention panels I was getting to watch on YouTube, I started to see someone that I could relate to. And she was awesome!

Reading this book I got a closer look at Felicia Day than I ever had before. She opens her soul for the readers and welcomes them in to follow her journey through not only her childhood and move to LA, but the tough years including the two she spent literally addicted to WoW and then later when depression and anxiety got a hold of her so bad that her health took a turn for the worse. Day does not sugarcoat how hard things got for her, and I love that, because people that go through the same need to see that other have it just as bad. And her making her way out of it and doing something incredible, gives the rest of us real hope.

When I saw that Felicia Day wrote a memoir I got so excited, because she is awesome and I love to read about peoples' lives, how they got to where they are, and what they take from that experience. I got so much more in this book. I got to see hope that even though I am incredibly anxious and what people think of my work terrifies me, I can still put it out there, because I made a think #LookIt.

I really encourage everyone to read this one. It's full of laughter and sweet stories and awkward moments. And then it's full of truth and honesty. For the gamers, the women, the socially awkward creative people. Everyone feeling like maybe their passion is just too weird. Everyone that overthinks things to the point of insomnia. Here is a book written by a woman that gets it. And says that it is ok to be like that, you can make something of it, you just got to try. So give the book a read, and tell me what you think about it!