audio version of the happiest days of our lives available at noon pacific on december 20.

UPDATED: Everything you ever wanted to know about the audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives but were afraid to ask can be found right here.

The audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives will go on sale at noon Pacific tomorrow! I will post all the exciting details, as well as a picture of me dressed up as Darth Vader, at that time. Oh, I will also have a link that you can use to buy it, which I guess is kind of important.

David Lawrence and I worked really hard to make something awesome, and David worked long, long hours (when he’s not creeping up on Heroes as Eric Doyle) to get it out in time for a certain gift-giving holiday that’s just six days away.

Like the audio version of Just A Geek, this is a super-annotated version, filled with tons of what I call “audio footnotes” for lack of a less stupid-sounding term. I hope we’ve created something that’s more like sitting down in a room with me while I tell you stories, than it is a typical audio book. I don’t think a traditional publisher would let me get away with doing it this way, which is a big reason I do these things on my own. If you’ve ever heard me perform my work at a show, or listened to any of my podcasts, you should have some idea of what you’re getting into.

Unlike the audio version of Just A Geek, the audio performance of The Happiest Days of Our Lives will only be available as a download. We found that the costs associated with creating and shipping physical media for JAG:tA vastly outweighed the benefits, and most people just rip the CDs to their favorite digital format, anyway.

I don’t make enough to have a marketing budget, and I don’t have a big publishing company behind me get the word out in the traditional media, so I’m counting on those of you who read my blog to help (there’s at least 100K of you, if I can read stats correctly, and boy am I going to be embarrassed and sad if I can’t). I made a media kit for Happiest Days that you can download at Monolith Press and use however you see fit, so if you think my work is worthy, I’d be super grateful for your help.

The audio version of The Happiest Days of Our Lives is about three and-a-half hours long, and will cost just $19.72. “Why $19.72?” you ask? Because that’s the year I was born, and because nobody else is the boss of me, I can do that sort of thing.

42 thoughts on “audio version of the happiest days of our lives available at noon pacific on december 20.”

  7. HIKEEBA!!! This is awesome!!!
    Deity of your choice, I hope this is still selling next week when I get paid! Anna’s gonna get herself a wonderful late Christmas present if it is! 😀

  8. Me want for Christmas!!!
    I will get it for myself on Christmas Eve (with my next paycheck) and listen to it as I setup Santa’s gifts for my son. What a great Christmas gift Wil:)
    ~~TARA~~

  10. w00t! I love the “asides” on Just A Geek. Made me feel like I was being told a secret story no one else was getting to hear.
    Will be downloading and spreading the word 🙂

  13. Just like I said on Twitter: Oh. Em. Gee. I’m totally getting one! Even though I’m one of the 300 & already read it, I *love* your audio stuff!!!!
    I’ll have to spread the word on my Z list blog, even though the dozen or so who read mine already reads yours.

  17. Hm. My Christmas shopping is done, yet there are still some shiny gold rocks – or at least a hopefully accurate number representing shiny gold rocks – left in my bank account. If only there were some way to make that number smaller… wait, what? Problem solved.

  18. Hey! Awesome! Looking forward to hearing it. I loved the “you’re just sitting in the same room, telling some stories” vibe that JAG had and I’m happy that THDOOL will have that, too. I love the download option. I’ll still burn it to disc for posterity but I’m happy you’re doing this. It won’t waste packaging or fossil fuels for shipping. Awesome!
    Happy Holidays! Cheers!

  19. Are there ever going to be ebook versions of your books released? I don’t buy printed books much anymore. Reading on my PDA is much more convenient and takes much less space.

  20. Dr. Horrible arrived via UPS two hours ago, and now this!?!?!
    Must… control… urge… to… do… happy… dance….
    BTW, why all the Pacific coast love? How about a little middle America Central time action? 🙂

  22. @cyeagerLMT: I live in the Pacific time zone. I guess I could do everything in Zulu, like the old Shortwave listening days, but that just makes a lot of complicated math for everyone else.
    And by everyone else, I mean me. Because I am lazy and not so good at the maths.

  23. @wilw – great news! Congratulations and I too will be purchasing one week from today once the direct deposit is cleared.
    @cyeagerLMT – your post could have been mine… Just received my Dr Horrible DVDs (thus putting me in “happy dance” mode) and also live in Central Time. However, since WOOT.com is Central Time all the time, I’m content to allow @wilw to shower his affection on the Pacific time zone.

  24. @wilw LOL… just trying to get them MP3’s out of you two hours earlier. Having to wait till 2 p.m. my time is just criminal, in my book. One could even say you had a Criminal Mind…. Mwahahahahahaaa!
    Pie! NAO! 🙂

  25. WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I am getting this tomorrow (my pay day was today so NEENERS to the others). I am also really excited to see people saying Dr. Horrible arrived today. My roommate got it for me for Christmas so MINE should be there. *gives in to the urge and does the happy dance in the office*.

  26. Sounds spectacular! I definitely will be buying. I unfortunately have not been able to buy any of your book in the past, but just finished some big client projects and the money is on its way! *winks*
    Can’t wait to hear it!
    Oh! Ummm, 1973 was an even better year! *ducks and runzzzzz* 😉

  28. Rock on!
    I’ll be purchasing and downloading it, probably on the 26th. I’ll have time, and I’ll be at the parent-in-law’s who have considerably better download rates than I do at home.
    I will post a link to your announcement post as soon as it goes up in my blog, which might bring in one more person.
    Merry Christmas, everyone!

  31. Heh, that’s the year I was born, too. Which is NOT the only reason Im going to buy it.
    The penultimate chapter in the printed version made me cry. For quite some time. It will probably leave me in tatters in spoken form, too…

  32. I’m currently listening to the audio version of “Just a Geek” and enjoying it very much, so I’ll definitely be downloading this one.

  34. Mr. Wheaton! This is entirely unrelated to your latest blog entry, but I’m sending you an email about being in a new, completely awesome web series called “Coma, Period.” I know you’re a busy busy man, but if you could spare that email 2 minutes of reading time, I would greatly, greatly appreciate it. Happy Holidays!

  39. Hey Wil,
    Cool! I’ll link to it in my blog, as soon as I figure out how.
    Is there a way to do a direct link to the sale post? Like a “permalink” sort of thing? When I look at the page where the sale thing is, all I see for the links are javascript links.
    Thanks!

  41. Hey Wil. emusic.com sells audiobooks as mp3 with no DRM, in case you’re interested. (long time lurker, just an emusic customer — no other connection to them)

  42. I posted an article on my blog on my blog. I know how hard it is to promote stuff. I love to read stories about your childhood. You are a fews older, but I still experienced some of the samethings, such as the toy decisions.
    http://wwww.alageeks.com

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In order to survive, I disassociated for much of my childhood, but I clearly remember the books. That's where I found comfort, companionship, inspiration and validation. It's where the imagination that powers everything I do creatively in my life today was born. And it all started in that library, with that librarian. She was one of the first people I can remember asking me, "What do you like? What's important to you? What do you want to know more about? How can I help you find it?"

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