So … this is a really big deal for me. I’m in the Humble eBook Bundle with a ton of incredibly talented authors, and their phenomenal books.
The Humble Bundle is really cool: you pay what you want, and you get a bunch of DRM-free things  (in this case, eBooks) that you can download directly, or via Bittorrent. Whatever you choose to pay (from the low low price of free to infinity dollars) goes to charities (in this case EFF, Child’s Play, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America), or you can split it up however you want to give some scratch to the authors and humble developers, too.
If you pay over the average, you get access to super neat stuff (in this case The Last Unicorn and Just A Geek) as well as whatever gets added to the bundle later in the week. If you don’t pay over the average, but decide you want to later, you can always top up your contribution anytime before the bundle is done.
Oh, and look at the top contributors at the time of this screenshot:
I <3 me too, mysterious person, but I’ll share me because there’s enough of me to go around.
The Humble Bundle runs for two weeks, and then it vanishes behind a smoke bomb and echoing laughter, so if you want to get your hands on some really awesome stuff and give money to charities at the very same time, you’d better hurry.
I jumped on the first Humble Bundle I saw because of Neil Gaiman and jumped on this one for you (and The Last Unicorn). Love the concept behind the whole thing and I think it’s amazing that you’re involved in it!
Got the email for this today and happily threw down some money, can’t wait to dig in! I’ve done a couple of the game bundles but I had no idea they did books too. This is one of the reasons I really love the times we live in.
The Humble Bundle is attractive for a number (actually a Mersenne prime) of reasons, but what I reeeeeeeally want is the audiobook version of Just a Geek. Maybe I’m not Googulating correctly, but all I can find are dead, no-longer-valid links… and warez links / torrents. For the coincidentally same number of reasons, I don’t care to mess with those. Can you shut up and take my money?
It may please you to know that I’m working on a brand new, updated, Director’s Cut of that audiobook.
Is there any way to download the original audiobook of Just a Geek? I bought it long ago, but can no longer find the files or the email confirming the purchase…I may not even have the email account that I used back then any more.
e-mail me and I’ll get you a replacement copy.
I don’t know about Cory Tucker, but this does please me. Even though I legally own a copy of the Just a Geek audibook, I will be purchasing this new and improved one. Love the insights , and asides you don’t get with the printed book. Will you be performing it again with David Lawrence as engineer/producer/recorder? Love the chemistry you to had with him in the previous version, and his “I am not going to edit that out” mentality. If you do, tell him to watch the volume levels of any intro music so it doesn’t bust you eardrums like it did on The Happiest Days of Our Lives audiobook.
Just so you know, I would be willing to preorder the audiobook or contribute to a kickstarter project if it would help ensure that this or future projects will be done.
I’d be all over that like whoa! I am excite!
Well that’s good news! I lost my original copy to a disk crash and wasn’t able to find it anywhere when I decided to look a few months back. Any idea when it will be out? And will it be available on Audible?
It’s funny, whenever any Humble Bundle comes around for games, I usually own most of them but I contribute all the same. Always happy to do so. These eBook bundles are new but I did pitch into the previous one…and even if I don’t end up reading the books included, I’ll probably end up contributing to this one as well. I think of it as one way to contribute as directly as I can to people crafting good works and not just making something to bump share prices or popularity. 🙂
For a long time I tried to buy Just a Geek in Argentina, but I could not find it anywhere. Then I realized that Barnes & Noble ships products to South America, so last year I bought the paperback version.
Now I will buy the Humble Bundle because your book is awesome and because I never read the others included in the package. 🙂
I came home from work after reading this on my phone and asked my boyfriend if he knew that humble bundle also did books (my previous experiences were with games). He just grinned at me, walked over to his computer, and forwarded me a link to download my ebooks! He knows me way too well!
I’ve just read ‘Just a Geek’ – My girlfriend purchased it for me as a gift as she knows how much I like you.
The openness with which you wrote the book had me considering emailing you in a weird stalker type way to say not many people are willing to let people see into themselves like you did in that book and for that you have even more respect from me and was it possible to get a lock of your hair (OK, maybe not the last part….)
I guess this could be construed as me emailing in that stalker way… So I will just leave here with – If anyone out there is yet to read ‘Just a Geek’ do so. And now is a good chance to get it!
I didn’t get on with Boneshaker at all, one of the few books I haven’t even finished. Little Brother and Spin are both well worth a read, and if anyone out there hasn’t read Bujold’s Vorkosigan books they should take this opportunity to get started. All these for the low, low price of pay what you like? By Grabthar’s Hammer, what a savings!
Didn’t mind spending again… although now I own two virtual copies of ‘Just a Geek’ 😉 All for charity and supporting great authors!
… Actually, the PDF has some images not in the ePub I read/bought before. Definetly worth the purchase!
This is why your site is on the top of my RSS feeds. I’ve been following your site for years now and I regret never buying one of your books until now. Half way through “Just a Geek” and I love it.
A couple of days ago the singer /songwriter @malukah mentioned your “Just A Geek” book in a tweet reply to me which made me think about that I have to read that book soon.
Your announcement on Twitter finally made me buy the Humble Bundle mainly because of yor book.
I originally wanted to save “Just A Geek” for my vacation in August but started to read the first chapters… It finally answered a question I asked myself sometimes during the past years, namely your absence from TV / movies.
It was very interessting to read about your struggle with your (as Dexter would call it) Dark Passenger aka Prove To Everyone.
So, I finally want to thank you for sharing the Humble Bundle tip on Twitter and of course thanks for giving your fans such deep insights in your life, be it on Twitter, Youtube, wilwheaton.net or in your books!
I’ve really enjoyed Just a Geek having picked it up in the Bundle and dropped over to say “Thanks for the book.” and two quick thoughts:
1) Too much teenage angst prevents me from being a fan of your ST:TNG alter ego, but I woke up a few years back and realized it was really foolish to associate you with him. It’s interesting that it wasn’t so long after you made it to that place yourself. My short (and much less well written) apology to you is still on my blog.
2) I don’t recall if I noticed in the theater, but watching our widescreen DVD of Nemesis I distinctly recall pausing and rewinding (to my wife’s chagrin) the wedding seen to point you out. I remember thinking “They brought him back just to sit at the end of the table?”
I must admit, back in the 90’s when I had my first encounter with TNG, I was one of THEM, one of those evil watchers laughing out loud and savoring the moment when that ugly pig-soldier puts a bayonet through Wesley’s back. So naturally when seeing Whil Weaton for the first time after ages again in Eureka and BBT, and him still playing an unlikeable character, I just think what the heck, does he like to be that kind of guy?
And then I saw Tabletop. And The Guild. And had a couple of chats with my pal who helped giving birth to Star Trek Catan. And started reading this blog.
And finally Humble Bundle comes along like a virtual “In Your Face” and of course I need to get it.
I don’t remember the last time I read a book like “just A Geek” in less than two days.
Well done Mr. Wheaton, well done indeed. Thank you for sharing all of this with the community!
So now when I watch “Hide and Q” again some time it might still bring a smile to my face, but for completely different reasons.
Thank you 🙂
As like too many others, I too only thought you as Wesley. But in couple of last years I woke up (perhaps after rewatching TNG fron netflix) to see you as talented funny fellow. Also seeing you laugh at yourself in Big Bang Theory and Eureka helped. Also Tabletop, what a great show. And now I got and read Just a Geek from humble bundle and got to see that you are talented writer as well. I enjoyed immensely from this book which is also nice because this was my first ever read ebook. I got to know you a little as fellow geek and through your stories you gained one more weblog reader 🙂 I look forward reading more of your works. Cheers and greetings from fan in Finland.
The boyfriend just sent me a copy of the bundle. I was delighted to have something in my eReader besides Orson Scott Card and Anthony Bourdain. Having poked my noise in at your weblog every so often, I’m glad to have read the book. We (The boyfriend and I, not Tony and Orson!) both enjoyed your book.
We’ll stick around in the loop!
Kate
Hi! Long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to say, I picked up this bundle, and read your book first, uh, because I picked it randomly. To be honest, I was only dimly aware you had a site and wrote so much. Nevertheless, I read Just A Geek over the weekend and loved it. I found it to be an honest read without any trace of pretentiousness. (Not sure if “pretentiousness” is really a word, but whatevs) And the whole bit about becoming a writer when you’re almost 30 really spoke to me, as I’m currently attempting the same thing. (My sci-fi writing is much better than how I write posts like this, I promise). Anywho, basically saying I enjoyed reading it, and I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
I brought this bundle yesterday (Sunday) and your book was the first I started on. I’m about 70% of the way through it – I had to stop myself from reading more when it got to 03:00 in the morning 🙂
Just a Geek and Boneshaker? I bought it just on those !
Thanks again Wil!
When I saw this I grabbed it as I had been wanting to read your book for years now. You wrecked my weekend! I couldn’t put it down, and got virtually nothing done on Sunday 😉 It really is a great read, and having heard several pieces of your story from friends and some of your posts it was great to read first hand. I grew up watching TNG, and have really enjoyed your appearances on Big Bang Theory and Eureka. I am really looking forward to reading more of your work, and hope you keep getting cool spots on TV.
You, and Star Trek in general, are at least partially responsible for the poor life choices I made in pursuing a career in science instead of something with money in it 🙂 I am glad there was a happy ending and things are working out well.
Just read “Just a Geek” and I wanted to thank you for a real gem of a memoir!
Bought it mainly for just a geek, hope there are some other gems in there as well.
I’m alrrady half through just a geek, and have to say it is is great. I’m normally not so much in to memoires and more into fiction, but i am kind of devouring it right now.
On a totaly unrelated note: i’m really looking forward to new episodes of tabletop!
I’m one of the TNG fans who never really had an opinion about Mr Crusher one way or the other and recently I’ve seen a few re-tweets and G+ Shares from you and had some chuckles, so when I saw your book was part of the Humble Bundle I was quite interested. Even with highish expectations I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s a odd book, if you don’t mind me saying so, but I was strangely compelled to read it through to the end as quickly as possible, which doesn’t happen to me often these days (I think the Saga of the Exiles and the Fionavar Tapestry were the last books I read like that).
Thanks, it’s a great book 🙂
Chris
I was late and thus missed the “Wil Wheaton Fan Bus” that started to fill up in the early 2000’s. I grew up watching ST:TNG, and while Wesley was one of my favorite characters at the time (due in no small part to the fact that we are almost the exact same age and he allowed me to vicariously live my Star Trek dreams through him) I will admit that I fell victim to the “Wil Wheaton is a Douche” trolls. I know now that these trolls were born of the rampant jealousy and stupidity that exists on the internet. They were fueled by the anonymity that the internet grants and while I never posted or said anything mean spirited myself, it shames me to know that I allowed my opinions to be swayed by these people.
Your recurring roles on Big Bang Theory and The Guild, coupled with the pure joy I feel with each new installment of Table Top have allowed me to finally catch up with the “Wil Wheaton Fan Bus” and from here on out you’ll find me in the front seat.
I purchased the Humble eBook Bundle 2 primarily for your book and haven’t been able to put it down since. Your naked honesty and openness are refreshing and when I’m done with it, I’ll be handing it over to my wife to read. She too spent some time in her teens acting in Hollywood and I know for a fact that she’ll get a kick out of your descriptions of the audition process and douche-baggy producers.
Keep doing what you’re doing Wil and keep the memory of Wesley alive for all of us former 16 year old geeks who dreamed of piloting a starship one day. Fame is fleeting, but the effect it has on self-worth endures. You have fought the fight well and I thank you for sharing that piece of yourself with us.
As good as this bundle is, I will say I purchased it JUST for your book alone. (Great bonus getting the rest, though!)
You are truly a gifted writer, and I have a newly found respect for you as and artist that, quite honestly, I had no idea was in there waiting to emerge! You’ve got a new fan, and I’ll be annoyingly pushing your books (and WWdN) to all of my friends and family.
Having just finished “Just a Geek” (which I bought though the Humble Bundle) I wanted to drop by WWdN and say hello. I read the book in a day and a half, I simply could not put it down. While I’m no actor I was 16 in 1987 and reading about your experiences, with fame and with being a teenager all at once, really struck a chord. That time of life is brutal in many ways. The journey from there to here was clearly not easy, but here and now your web presence is just flat cool and your writing is awesome (Hella awesome in fact).
Mostly I wanted to say thank you for sharing “Just a geek” with us.
I have wanted to buy one of your books for a while and just haven’t gotten around to it…. When I saw this post, my paypal fingers went all clicky and now I have 10 new books thanks to Humble eBooks!
I’ve not even finished the “Just A Geek” what I got with the Humble Bundle, and I’ve already been to the Kindle Store to purchase more of your stuff. “Here’s a few bucks, kid – go buy yourself something nice.” 😉
Also, is it weird that I’m having a conversation with you through your book…um, kinda? For example, when you wrote about getting hate for Wesley when you could only play him how he was written, I said, aloud, “What?! You mean it wasn’t obvious to everybody else that the writers didn’t know (or didn’t care) how to write a teen character?” Of course, you didn’t answer – it’s only a book, not a two-way radio or what-not…. but, I suppose that while it might be obvious to anyone who’s done any acting before (I used to be involved with community theatre) that the writing was lacking, not the actor; it might not be obvious to everyone else. Still, I’ll keep conversing with you…er, with your book(s)…. and you keep on being the cool dude that you are. <3
I finished reading Just A Geek moments ago. And because of it, I am writing to tell you I am sorry.
I grew up watching TNG. I loved it then and still do today. And yes, I was one of those dicks who hated Wesley. I guess I never really examined why, really. But because I was annoyed by The Kid, I just assumed I didn’t like Wil Wheaton either. And I’m sorry. That wasn’t very cool of me.
I think it is so brave and so amazing and beautiful that you are who you are. It took a long time for me to see that. BBT helped. And then I stumbled across you on Twitter, and you are just so real and so funny and intelligent and informed and anti-establishment and you love actual good beer. And then I read an account of your interaction at a con with a woman who re-learned to walk while watching Wesley Crusher. And then I saw a video of you at another con describing why it is awesome to be a nerd. (Since I saw that video, I can’t tell you how many times I have quoted you to others in explaining why I love being a nerd, that “it is not about what you love, it’s how about you love it”. I work with at risk kids, and being able to use your words has helped me to connect with some of them. So that’s pretty awesome.) And after watching that video, I read your book. And somewhere in there, I’m not sure exactly where, I fell in love with you. I stopped seeing you as someone who played a role I never took the time to understand, and started seeing you as a really fucking amazing human being.
In your book, Just A Geek, you talk about your past struggles and doubts about being so transparent online, and about going to cons when you didn’t know if you wanted to be continuously defined in relation to TNG. I just wanted to tell you that if you hadn’t done those things, I would never have realized how interesting and complex and hilarious and caring of a person you are. You made me re-evaluate an ignorant knee-jerk reaction that I made 20 years ago and never revisited until I started encountering YOU. Wil Wheaton. The person.
I am very grateful to you for that. You’ve brought humor and heart to my life in a way that is uniquely your contribution to the world. Because of that contribution, haters aren’t just gonna hate, Wil. I’m so sorry that I used to be one of them, but I’m not any more. I think you are the shit, because you helped me to see a bit of who you really are and understand you to be someone I genuinely like and admire. As a result of decisions you made, hard decisions, hate in my life was replaced with love. My life is literally better because of your book, because of you just being who you are.
Thank you.
P.S. I love your beard.
P.S.S. Since I’m just a fangirl who’ll never get the chance in person, can you tell Anne from me “Thanks for loving Wil”? Thanks again. <3
Bought the Humble Bundle a little over a week ago, and Just a Geek was the first thing I read (yeah, in about two days…I’m a bit incurable when it comes to my reading addiction). Thanks so much for your honesty, Wil. The book was funny and painful and really inspiring. It’s not only great writing and a great read, but as someone dealing with my own issues with my talent and ability. I have a degree in English, but I still completely identify with your insecurities about your own writing ability. I’m totally there now as I edit my first novel (I waver between “I LOVE this book!” to “This fucking SUCKS!” so regularly). So it made me feel much better to know I’m not alone in that insecurity (though I’m probably stupid for it, being, ya know, all “qualified” and all…suuuuure).
You came across as a regular guy (“just a geek”…go figure!) that I’d throw back a beer with and talk about The Martian Chronicles and the virtues of the new Saga comic. And that was a pretty cool thing to discover. I think that, even more than forgetting that you’re not Wesley or Gordie, people tend to forget that the characters they see are real people with real struggles and problems and families. It’s kinda sad that stars tend to get dehumanized because it makes people so much more cruel to celebrities…the same type of dangerous distancing that can happen when you talk to people on the internet (they’re just a cute or obnoxious avatar, right?).
And reading about your reunions with the TNG cast made me all teary. Dammit.
So, anyway…thanks, man. Great book. Very encouraging.