The fangirl in me has been reading Wil Weaton's blog for years, enjoying his conversations about everything from Star Trek to D&D. What has really kept my attention though is his entries about family and writing and how he has navigated the world since child actor status of a near iconic nature. (If you're a regular on Star Trek you get the icon tag I think, whether you want it or not.) (It also doesn't hurt if you starred in one of the greatest coming-of-age movies of all time.) (And when that is based on one of the greatest coming-of-age stories of all time it makes you even cooler.)

But I digress.

I am sure a lot of people think Wheaton is just another former child star and write him off as such without taking any time to actually see what he is doing now. For those of us who follow his work this is crazy talk however as although Wheaton still acts (and does a great job) it is his writing that has really taken off. His latest essay collection, The Happiest Days of Our Lives recently came out from Subterranean and iIt's classic Wheaton - funny, nostalgic, ironic and if you are of a certain age (late 30s/early 40s) a dead on sentimental look back at certain times and places from your own childhood. But, more than all of that, Happiest Days is also yet another example of what I think Wheaton does just about better than anybody these days and that's write about what it's like to be father.

Wheaton has two stepsons who live him with him and his wife and they figure prominently in his essays. Sometimes they are used as a foil for his own geekiness - responding in mock horror to his musical taste or nostalgia for gaming, SF, etc. But mostly there are really sweet moments such as the book's brief opening piece when he asks Ryan the formula for the circumference of a circle and in the exchange that follows reveals he "has been riding this planet for almost twenty billion miles." Ryan thinks it's pretty cool and it is, although the conversation between the two is even better: casual, a little to the geek left of ordinary, and comfortable. It's Wheaton being who he is with this kid and Ryan being cool with that. From those first two pages I realized this book is not about being an actor but about being a father and in small ways or large all the pages that followed just reaffirmed that first assessment.

There are essays here about saying goodbye to the Star Trek TNG set, a funny memory of what it is like as a kid to choose between saving your allowance or buying a much longed for action figure (at Kmart no less) and a look at Star Trek conventions from a perspective most of will never know. But there are also numerous asides about music shared between the generations and playing frisbee with the boys and the first time he plays D&D with Ryan (which prompts all sorts of memories about his own storied past with the game) and driving with Nolan on the freeway for the first time. These are small idea essays mostly - meaning they are narrowly focused on one man's experiences. But by reaching beyond his fame and into aspects of his life that are so easy to relate to (something he does daily on his blog), Wheaton largely removes his fame from the narrative (which is odd as clearly he does write about Star Trek). Every time he mentioned Nolan or Ryan it made me smile - I recognized those parental feelings and I appreciated how he was sharing them. By the time I finished reading Wheaton had cemented himself in my mind as a writer first, which is no small thing for someone who has seen every blessed episode of Star Trek (in ALL its incarnations) a zillion times.

In other words, if I could remove Wesley Crusher from this book than trust me, anyone could.

I remember when Bill Cosby basically owned the fatherhood genre, and Dave Barry has made some fun contributions and I know Michael Chabon is sort of weighing in there. But Wil Wheaton is the author that this subject has been waiting for - he's witty and smart and can write as effectively on everything from poker to computers to cartoons to a whole wealth of SF subjects. He's a geek, no doubt, but more importantly he's able to convey his interest in a variety of geeky subjects in a way that reminds readers how much they used to mean to us. That he can do this while simultaneously bringing his stepsons into the narrative proves clear writerly talent. That he makes me identify with him as a parent, in spite of Hollywood, I see as a real coup and a reason to recommend his book to any parent or adult child (of a certain age) who will share the same pop culture history as he does.

ETA: Forgot to mention the publisher provided me with an ARC of this one.