The Happiest Days of Our Lives: Deluxe Audio Edition

The Happiest Days of Our Lives by Wil WheatonI’ve been busy recording audiobooks, including a few of my own. Today, I complete the audio trifecta of Original Wil Wheaton Works Read By Me, Wil Wheaton, with the release of The Happiest Days of Our Lives: The Deluxe Audio Edition.

The text is taken from the special deluxe edition that Subterranean Press published in 2009, and includes several new stories that were not included in the original release, plus introductions to each chapter that provide some additional context and interesting background information.

Here’s how we describe the book, in super-fantastic marketing speak:

Readers of Wil Wheaton’s website know that he is a masterful teller of elegant stories about his life. Building on the critical success of Dancing Barefoot and Just A Geek, he has collected more of his own favorite stories in his third book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives.

These are the stories Wil loves to tell, because they are the closest to his heart: stories about being a huge geek, passing his geeky hobbies and values along to his own children, and vividly painting what it meant to grow up in the ’70s and come of age in the ’80s as part of the video game/D&D/BBS/Star Wars figures generation.

Within the pages of The Happiest Days of Our Lives, you will find:

  • “The Butterfly Tree”: how one Back to School night continues to shape Wil’s sense of social justice, thirty years later;
  •  “Blue Light Special”: the greatest challenge a ten year-old could face in 1982: save his allowance, or buy Star Wars figures?
  • “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Geek”: why fantasy role-playing games are such an important part of Wil’s past – and his present;
  • “The Big Goodbye”: a visit to Paramount gives Wheaton a second chance to say farewell to Star Trek . . . properly, this time;
  •  “Let Go”: a moving eulogy for a beloved friend.

In all of these tales, Wheaton brings the reader into the raw heart of the story, holding nothing back, and you are invited to join him on a journey through The Happiest Days of Our Lives.

Pretty swell, right? Yeeeaahhh.

As with Dancing Barefoot and Just A Geek, you can stream the entire book from the website.

Okay, so here’s the thing that’s kind of cool, I think: Bandcamp makes it very easy for me to sell merchandise, in addition to audio files, and because I have some copies of the Special Deluxe Edition in my home office, I’m going to offer a very limited number of them for sale.

There are 20 signed and numbered copies available, and 30 signed and not numbered copies available, so if that’s something you or someone you know would like, grab whatever you want while it’s there. If you get your order placed in the next 24 hours, it should get to you in time for Christmas (in the US, I don’t know about the rest of the world — which I’ve just realized is one of the most cliche American things I could ever say.)

Happy listening!

 

24 thoughts on “The Happiest Days of Our Lives: Deluxe Audio Edition”

    1. Best of luck finding a copy for under $200, I can not seem find one anywhere. Please reply back if you do.

        1. That is awesome! I will definitely do that. And please excuse the following…oh my god Wil Wheaton just left me a reply!!!

  4. I just bought a signed copy for my wife and I to enjoy Wil, We are both huge fans. I hope it reaches me up here in Canada for Christmas. Thank you so much for the present! Joyeux Noel.

  5. I already have Dancing Barefoot (unsigned), but this post inspired me to re-read it, and I was reminded how much I love your writing voice, and thought I’d tell you.

  7. I grew up with TNG and always loved your acting. My brother introduced me to your writing a few years ago by letting me borrow a copy of your audio book, Just a Geek. I loved it and have become a big fan of your writing thanks to him.
    I just bought one of the signed copies for him for his birthday this Christmas Eve. Thanks for giving me the perfect present for him.

  9. Just listening to the acknowledgments now. Was a very cool listen. Brought me back to being 12 years old with my Dungeon Masters guide writing adventures while watching TNG.
    Have to say I bawled my eyes out while hugging my cat listening to the story about Felix.
    Cool stuff, hope you write more.

  11. I would love to find a hard copy of The Happiest Days of Our Lives but the normal sites are asking $350 or more. Any suggestions on how to obtain one at a reasonable price?

    1. See comments towards the top of replys for directions to order this book from Wil. Thanks again for your help.

  12. Thank you Wil. Thank you for another great book, thank you for replying so fast and so kindly! Thank you for offering us fellow nerds a glimps into your mind and for opening up to us. It has been a true delight to listen to your audio books – and I just had to get a signed and numbered book – after all, as Johnatan said – it’s almost christmas.

    I am looking forward to receiving my copy – if not by christmas then at least before my birthday (sometimes living in Europe is not as great as it sounds – but at least I get to enjoy the warmth of my fireplace in my castle – as we all live in castles here).

    Matt – you can grab a hardcover book from Wil’s bandcamp site at http://wilwheaton.bandcamp.com – either the signed, numbered and personalized one for 100$ or the signed one for 40$ (and the personalized one even includes the audio book!)

    PS: And thanks to Memories of the Future (which, btw is a shame that it only exists as Podcasts so far – I just love listening to you reading!) I started re-watching TNG again – and BOY is Season 1 tough to sit through 😉

    1. Thank you, Wil was kind enough to reply with the information I needed. I think that this is a really great community of people that read and follow Wil’s blog.

  13. I already have all of your books on my Kindle.

    But what I REALLY want is a sequel to “Memories of the Future” – it was just sooooo good.

    It helped me understand how bad the writing was. And how some of the directors… could improve.

    But mostly, its nostalgia + awesome humor. Really funny stuff.

    So please start working on Vol. 2, because that’s the one I really want.

      1. Awesomesauce is awesome! 🙂 So looking forward to this. However – don’t you DARE work on it before new years! Now’s a season to enjoy with family and friends – work will always be here in January waiting for you 🙂

  14. I hereby preorder both audiobooks. And hopefully the other 12 upcoming books as well.

    Although I really love you style of writing as well. Hmmmm. Maybe I should just get a “Wil Wheaton Subscription”(c).

  15. Just got one of the 20 HDoOL and forgot to leave a message :-(. I didn’t seize the opportunity to be one of “the 300” back then, didn’t want to do that again. Thanks for being awesome for so long, Wil.

  16. Wil,

    You’re a real good story-teller! I find it amazing how when I listen to you tell your stories, I can see in my minds-eye a comparable time in my life — and so clearly. I guess that’s why I enjoy listening so much.

    Thanks,
    Doug

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“The library is a safe place.”

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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