The Internet isn’t all cat videos. 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 semi-influential in the world of Internet Geeks and Goodreads book clubs.You're Never Weird on the Internet is a book I put off reading for years. Initially, when I started reading Day's story, I thought I would end up DNFing it. Now, I couldn't believe I ever had that thought.
After growing up in the south where she was "home-schooled 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 Internet star.
Felicia’s short-ish 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 world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism—just like her memoir.
The reason I was interested in this memoir was because I really loved Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I know, it's been a minute since that was first released. I've seen Day in random TV shows throughout the years which I admittedly didn't care for. She always seemed out of place, suddenly added in a story. It's also probably because she is so recognizable, that it's weird to see her doing those types of gigs.
Day hit the nail on the head when she either compared herself to Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. Anne is Felicia, Felicia is Anne. The hopeful, intense personality of Day translated well in her story. I actually listened to part of this book and it was narrated by the author herself. That was a brilliant idea since I don't think anyone could capture her more than her own self.
Now let's get to the review shall we? I absolutely loved this book. An unexpected five star read. I loved reading how Day struggled and persevered and struggled some more and persevered again. I also love video games and could relate/enjoy the stories she was telling about them as well as her unconventional childhood. I didn't even know any of the games she talked about but I enjoyed reading/listening to them. She also talked about mental health, how she felt like a failure all the time and overwhelmed herself with worry over topping every project she's done. I enjoyed her personality more than I was expecting. I learned so much about Felicia and noticed some parallels within myself. I'm pretty inspired by her story. It was just a lovely memoir. Highly recommended!
Do you know of Felicia Day? Have you watched The Guild or anything by her?
This was fun for me to listen to. I knew of her, and had seen her in a couple things, but didn't know a ton about her.
ReplyDeleteI'd not heard of Felicia Day before. I don't know if that's because her fame hasn't yet reached the UK or if I'm just hopelessly out of the loop. It's probably the latter!
ReplyDeleteI mostly know her from Dr. Horrible as well. I do have this book though, and I need to finally read it! I'm glad you ended up loving it.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net