Nerd Do Well

A Small Boy's Journey to Becoming a Big Kid

By: Simon Pegg

Narrated by: Simon Pegg

Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The unique life story of one of the most talented and inventive comedians, star of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Star Trek.

Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise: actor, comedian, writer and self-proclaimed supergeek Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows in recent times. Having landed on the U.S. movie scene in the surprise cult hit Shaun of the Dead, his enduring appeal and rise to movie star with a dedicated following has been mercurial, meteoric, megatronic, but mostly just plain great.

From his childhood (and subsequently adult) obsession with science fiction, his enduring friendship with Nick Frost, and his forays into stand-up comedy that began with his regular Monday morning slot in front of his 12-year-old classmates, Simon has always had a severe and dangerous case of the funnies. Whether recounting his experience working as a lifeguard at the city pool, going to Comic-Con for the first time and confessing to Carrie Fisher that he used to kiss her picture every night before he went to sleep, or meeting and working with heroes that include Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Quentin Tarantino, Pegg offers a hilarious look at the journey to becoming an international superstar, dotted with a cast of memorable characters, and you're rooting for him all the way.

©2011 Simon Pegg (P)2011 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"How did a geeky kid with a love of Star Wars end up a cult film hero working with Steven Spielberg? Simon Pegg reveals much more." ( The Observer Magazine (UK)

"Self-confessed geek turned Brit Hollywood hero Simon Pegg opens the book on his nine-to-five." ( GQ (UK)

" Nerd Do Well, does the necessary job of telling Pegg's story, but does so in an intimate manner." ( The Times)

Big Pegg fan, wanted a bit more.

Would you consider the audio edition of Nerd Do Well to be better than the print version?

Don't know, but it was read incredibly well by Pegg.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I wish he had covered more, in more detail. His childhood tales are really engaging, colorfully told, and they are just the right length. However, once we get to more present-day, he doesn't divulge a heck of a lot, it's more broad strokes detail and some anecdotes. The fictional side-story of the book was ambitious and risky, but it mostly pays off.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

You Have Him Pegged

Any additional comments?

Wish this was at least 8 hours! Pegg is a top notch narrator.

Absolutely delightful

Lovely mixture of actual life experiences & nerdy exaggerations of the stories we create for ourselves. Moved along at a great pace. However, I wish it could've gone on & on!

Really enjoyable

A lovely listen.
A mix of quality stories with a brilliantly fun one about the hero that is Simon Pegg and his diamond chiselled chest! Loved it!

Thoroughly entertained it was a true delight

I was thoroughly entertained it was a true delight listening to Simon relate his story my can only imagine how much fun it would be to actually talk to him in a relaxed atmosphere person a person.

Brilliant

Not only very entertaining narration from the talented comedian/character actor, but very well written! His story is actually pretty inspirational as well as heartwarming and hilarious!

Fun

Not really a straight forward bio but entertaining all the same. If you enjoy SP then you should like this one. Lost a star for the short length.

I wanted to love this

What made the experience of listening to Nerd Do Well the most enjoyable?

I love Simon Pegg and I was really excited for this book. He is an excellent reader and actor. His accent is also enjoyable and easy to understand.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wish he had peppered in a few more onset stories. Of course I want to know about him and how he and his robot companion are fairing, but I would also have liked more of his personal accounts with his feature work. I think this was a bit superficial in comparison to the Rob Lowe book I had just finished. I also felt like I was missing out on a greater understanding, as many of the names he dropped were unfamiliar to me, and therefore more difficult to appreciate the experiences he did choose to share.

Abridged?

Only Reason for not giving this five stars is how short it is . I have a massive man crush on Simon Pegg and this definitely left me wanting more!

enjoyable

Simon Pegg is a great storyteller and has a very soothing voice. The story itself was interesting and funny

Nerd did well

Narration was brilliant. Pegg really brought it. It’s almost like he thoroughly knew his subject. Other audio books usually have a monotone or attempting to not be monotone narrator that puts you to sleep. But not Pegg! He did great. He has a lovely personality that you could hear and feel. I felt like I was sitting in the room with him. Now I’m lonely driving to work without him.
The story interwoven into the biography was a great fun touch of adventure as well. I ended up watching the cornetto trilogy as I went along with the book. Movies I love with a newfound appreciation.
Any sci-fi fantasy geek will appreciate this book.