WIRED Review: “Sunken Treasure is full of gems”

Sunken Treasure got a really nice review from Geekdad:

Wil Wheaton came up with just the right word to describe his new book, Sunken Treasure.  The subtitle is Wil Wheaton's Hot Cocoa Box Sampler, and sampler
is an excellent metaphor for what this small, sumptuous snack
represents. This is a variety box loaded with the delicious,
hand-crafted geeky confections Wil is so well known for, from sweet
'80s nostalgia filled with video arcades and Star Wars toys, to
affectionately snarky looks back upon his tenure on ST:TNG, and even a
few family stories with gooey centers full of win.

Wow, that's … awesome. Andrew and I thought we'd put together something cool and unique, but I never thought readers would like it this much. I think I did something right in the descriptions, too, because even though it's short — it's supposed to be short — people aren't complaining about that, which was a concern of mine. I wanted to make it very clear that this was a short collection, so people knew exactly what they were getting. So far, it appears that I've successfully done that, which makes me happy, because it was important to me.

If you picked up a copy of Sunken Treasure (thank you!) and you've written a review for your own blog, or you've written a review on its product page at Lulu (US Edition or World Edition), please let me know about it. I'd like to put all the reviews together in one place on my virtual bookshelf.

And now, a question from me to you: who wants a digital version? If enough people ask, I'll go ahead and make an eBook version available.

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62 thoughts on “WIRED Review: “Sunken Treasure is full of gems””

  1. i’d LOVE an eBook version! I am about halfway through the print version right now and would love to be able to listen to it all over again in a couple of months

  5. I’ve never used an eBook, so I’m not sure about that one, but some kind of book-on-tape version (book-on-MP3 version?) would be amazing. I’m more of a paperback kind of guy, and I was ecstatic to receive my copy of “Sunken Treasure” on Tuesday. It is utterly fantastic, and was doubly wonderful due to the serendipitous scheduling of “Datalore” on WGN this week. I watched on my DVR with book in hand yesterday, pausing to soak in your commentary and occasionally to stop from giggling so hard.
    I posted a review on the Lulu US version page, extolling on how great this book is. (The review is titled “Treasure of the Highest Order,” because I couldn’t think of any kind of good title.) I’m writing a longer piece for my blog about the book, and telling all the voracious readers I know to pick up a copy.

  6. [singing] Wil and GeekDad, sittin’ in a tree… [/singing]
    Seriously, though, a short collection is better than no collection, as long as the quality is there. I enjoyed Dancing Barefoot just as much as Just a Geek; length isn’t an issue because the basic unit of both books is the story.
    Just don’t try to get by with a chapbook-length novel and you’ll be OK.
    On an unrelated note but still awesome, are you going to the Caltech Stephen Hawking lecture next month?

  11. If I read for fun, I read on paper, my eyes get enough strain on the computer and webz all day, but I know lots of people are making the switch to eBooks and to maintain that geek cred of yours you should. I mean it is the new techno thang.
    I do however, really want an audio version. Something that is funny on paper is always tripled when it comes from you (and the “touching” stuff too) and it makes for much better trips to the gym when I am laughing all the while.

  12. oh heck yeah i concur with brandilionknits (man that is a long name!) i would love a audio version with you reading it, i go on long runs, it would be like someone talkin with you the whole way, or on a long road trip(i travel to n.dakota a lot)….awesome idea!

  13. I saw your tweet (to someone else) about writing a review on Lulu. I plan to do that, but I’ve been savoring Sunken Treasure by reading 2* excerpts each night before bed.
    *I cheated last night and read 3 or 4 because I couldn’t put it down
    Sooo, once I get through it all I’ll swing by Lulu with a review.
    -mozetti

  14. I’m talking about an eBook version, essentially a downloadable .pdf file that you could put on whatever device supports that sort of thing.
    I guess I could do an audio version, but I doubt there’s enough demand to make it worthwhile, and I don’t know how I’d make the sketch from ACME work without the visuals.
    Hmm. Now I’m interested to know if I could make the sketch from ACME work without the visuals.
    Which is just perfect, because I don’t have enough stuff I want to do already!

  17. I’m trying to go to the lecture, but it hasn’t been finalized, yet.
    OMG Professor Hawking, right?!
    And just to be excessively clear: there are excerpts from Just A Geek (which O’Reilly just put on their Safari eBook service) and Dancing Barefoot in this book. It’s supposed to be an overview of all my work, a “greatest hits” collection, I guess. I just want to make sure everyone understands what they’re getting.

  21. Yes, we know! Really, Wil, with all the amazing writing you give us for free-gratis-no-cash-money already, I doubt anyone is really going to kvetch about seeing the same story under two different covers. If they do, I have one word for them: RAWR.
    But yeah, OMGhawking! And he’s talking about space. And I bet there’ll be ponies. It’ll suck to drive from SD to Pasadena in Monday rush hour, and we’ll need an overnight babysitter, but it’s totally worth it!

  23. I’m cheating and re-requesting an ebook version (can you spot me above?). One good thing to come from wanting to comment here, was that I went and setup an OpenID to do so, and then managed to link it to my own, tiny little blog!
    Awesome!

  24. eBook please. MP3 would be nice too. I’ll be tossing up a review eventually, and will alert when it’s up.
    Also, “gooey centers full of win” is apt to grow legs. I like that phrase.

  27. Bittersweet for me! I could be in the area that week, but it would be to substitute in the event of a work stoppage within my company, so I’d be working 12 hour days, and in Anaheim to boot. To be in the same city during that event and behind some computer monitor would be torture. 😛

  28. Mememememeeeeeeeee! And not Kindle, please. I love the idea of a reusable electronic book, but $400 is more than I can shell out right now when my Palm T|X handles Word docs and PDFs for nothing.

  29. This would be non-DRM pdf if I did it (so far the reaction is enthusiastic, but 7 by my count isn’t really close to the tipping point) so you could put it on a Kindle or anything else, or even print it out yourself on green construction paper if you wanted.

  30. Add a +1 to the “ebook please” column. I have enough books laying all over my apt right now. I am trying to convert to eBooks just save space…and not kill movers backs every time I have to move. Good job as always Wil!

  31. Wil:
    So here’s a question…
    I own #11 of the original Lo-Fi version of Sunken Treasure which I picked up in San Jose last year. What is new in this version outside of the more Hi-Fi-ness of it? My compulsive need to own the complete works of all authors I respect wants to know (a). if I should purchase another copy and (b). if not if a review of my Lo-Fi version would still be applicable.
    Thanks,
    –Dan

  32. The only thing that’s been added is the Criminal Minds production diary, and it’s got a shiny new cover.
    If you already have the awesome low-fi version, I don’t think you need this one.
    Unless you’re a serious completist, or have an overwhelming urge to give me money. 😀

  33. Wil,
    I totally would’ve bought an e-book version instead of a paper version. I was slightly disgruntled at paying $20 considering the size of the book. The shipping was the real killer since it could’ve shipped in a regular padded envelope for $1.75

  34. Yeah, the shipping is a killer. I don’t know what to do about that, though. I think it’s part of the way Lulu makes money off the whole process.

  35. I understand. Shipped & HANDLING etc. So I think the e-book option is a great option. I’ve only read the first few pages (making it last) but I’m loving it and am glad I bought it. Thanks for the stories.

  36. I’d love an eBook format. When we hit over 3 tons of books that we then had to move, we had to put a stop to buying more. Ebooks are much lighter and store nicely.

  37. Thanks…
    Now I just have to decided if the Subterranean Press version of Happiest Days needs to be added to the copy I got from you at the same time…
    Stop re-releasing things in a shinier format! Shiny things attract my eyes…much like a cat in that respect…
    In any event, would be happy to post a review of the Sunken Treasure I do own, would Lulu be the right location?

  38. I think you have to buy it at lulu, to cut down on abuse from people who would … well, be dicks.
    But if you put it on your own blog, let me know and I’ll add it to the collection.

  41. You might want to look into Stanza if you haven’t already. It handles lots of formats for free.
    I’ve been reading the Hitchhiker’s trilogy for the past couple weeks…

  43. O’Reilly just put Just A Geek on their Safari eBook thing; I don’t know if they have plans for Dancing Barefoot.
    I gave Subterranean Press exclusivity on the Happiest Days for a couple of months, but once that expires, I will very seriously consider doing an eBook version, depending on demand and some other factors.

  44. Wow, I’m desperate for you to do your books as eBooks. I did, however the audio books of earlier stuff since the eBooks weren’t available. Desperate sounds a little like overkill, but all of your books would be on my Kindle in a flash when this becomes reality.

  46. As far as ebooks go, Webscriptions (http://www.webscription.net) rocks pretty hard. It’s Baen’s ebook shop, but they carry stuff from other publishers too, including Subterranean. It might be worth emailing them and seeing if they want to work with you. I suspect they’d be thrilled. They also seem to handle most of the sticky conversion issues – Kindle, Sony, MS Reader, Plain HTML, etc.

  47. Another vote for an ebook version, especially a native Kindle one that I can quickly buy from the Amazon store, though a PDF that has to be converted would be ok, assuming the conversion works ok. I don’t actually have a kindle yet, it was a v-day present so I won’t be getting it until later this month when the Kindle 2 ships so I don’t know how well the pdf conversion works. I think the author gets something like 30% of the price, which doesn’t strike me as a very high number, given the low per-copy costs for Amazon, but I have no idea how much you get out of each lulu sale, so maybe it is a good deal, relatively.

  48. Signed up at Typepad just to add 1 to the requests for an audio version, after getting so much enjoyment listening to Happiest Days 🙂

  49. I received my package from Lulu yesterday and finished reading it last night; I automatically left a five-star rating on Goodreads.com. 🙂 I’m trying to track down your books but the local Barnes & Noble doesn’t have them anywhere on their shelves. (Or maybe they’re just poorly organized.)
    I’ll probably write about “Sunken Treasure” at some point next week and I’ll definitely post a link.
    I’d probably buy an eBook version for my Sony Reader as well but I enjoy having a copy for my bookshelf.

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