Nerd Do Well: A Small Boy’s Journey to Becoming a Big Kid

A friend introduced me to the world of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost a few years back and I became an instant fan of both. In Nerd Do Well, Simon has this way of viewing the world that is slightly askew and innocent at the same time. Love, loved this book. I like that he doesn't take himself too seriously and like that he added a 'sci-fi' story element. I laughed out loud, I smiled, I'm a fan. Excellent book. I definitely recommend this.

Hilarious, touching and non-sequiter.

I truly laughed and my heart felt warm at Pegg's anecdotes about growing up. The most memorable, however, is the story that he interjects between memories.

The part of the book where Canterbury startles Pegg by talking over the intercom unannounced. To which Pegg commands that his robot butler to use a doorbell noise before speaking on the intercom. When Canterbury says on the intercom "Ding-Dong!" and it still startles Pegg. (lol)

I think my favorite was when he met the 4th Doctor. Tom Baker is my Doctor and hearing about Simon meeting him and being offered a Jelly Baby... Oh, it was endearing.

Let's face it. The best part about the book is the fact that Simon narrates it himself. I swear I could listen to that man read the phonebook.

I am a fan of anything read by the author. Especially if it is my favorite witty geeky zombie slaughtering, phantom menace hating, fantastically afraid of everything, fence hoping, (is that enough description?) alien be-friending, Simon Pegg. He adds so much to the book. It mixes some of his crazy imagination, with his real life. It started my year off great to have listened to this.

If you like Simon Pegg, this is probably for you. Having been a fan if his since Shawn of The Dead, I thought it might be interesting, and I wasn't disappointed. In a world where all the cool kids are suddenly trying to prove their geek cred, it's fun to find someone who truly has a love for all things geeky. Someone that becomes succesful simply by treating all the nerdy culture with the reverence it deserves (a la Joss Whedon and Chris Hardwick). Well' another name for that list is Pegg.

Here Pegg interspersies charming, witty, and sometimes sad anecdotes about his life with a cheeky fictional story about him as a billionaire crimefighter with a robot sidekick. each part is entertaining in its own way. The fictional tale is a classic Pegg story filled with homages and jokes about genitalia that you can't help snickering at. But the good stuff is definitely hearing the details that made Pegg who he is. His background in show business, his family relations, awkward times with girls and experiences since becoming famous offer great and entertaining insight into who Pegg is when he's not on set or in front of an audience. And these instances make me more of a fan.

It must also be said that while others probably could have read this book, it was especially rewarding hearing the words with Pegg's own delivery.

Bottom line, if you like Pegg's body of work, you'll enjoy this read.

Definitely a good read! Simon insists on writing himself as a superhero "instead" of telling his story as his publisher requires resulting in a story thats weaves in between the two "slipping the REAL story between the cracks" as Simon states

Simon is very smart and his writing shows.

A narrator always seems to come across in ways I dont see coming, and for Simon himself to read his own book, its nice to see how he intended for it to be perceived.

Yes. its only a few hours long and easy to hold on to.

Canterbury! I would Like a Coke Zero.

This book was even better than I anticipated. I was excited to read about Pegg's life and how he came to do what he loves. I didn't know that he created his own fictional story to go along with the non-fiction. Hysterical laughter ensued.

Even though the narrative jumps between real life and his storybook like, it was still enjoyable

Telling when there was a chapter break so that you can catch on when the switch between real life and the fantasy world a little faster would be nice but not really necessary

His fantasy world is very rich with detail.

I have no idea and I don't know how you would make a movie about this book

Sure. It is a great story if not a bit disjointed at times. My only criticism of the actual structure would be that it jumps around in a way that seems to expect you to know where it is going but overall it was excellent.

Hearing it in his voice is the only way it could be done. He had to read it and you can totally see him performing it. One thing that I really appreciated about it was that it was un-apologetically written with the British reader in mind. So many references and slang that made it more authentic. There was no pandering to other parts of the world and even as an American I appreciated that.

Loved how he threw in bits from his movies and Spaced that referenced things but without noting that he'd referenced them. A nice little extra for those of us that have followed him throughout his career.

One of the best.

It's multiple stories sci-fi and biography mixed together, Amazing.

It's good. A completely new concept in book writing, like everything else he does original ideas.

I'm a Simon Pegg fan, but I had several problems with this audiobook. First, only the unabridged version is available, which I dislike. Then the book itself is short on stories from Simon's life, and rather too long on a fanciful secret agent superspy fantasy of Simon's.

The performance itself is fine, and the non-fiction parts of the book were entertaining and well-done, but overall I found myself disappointed in this book. It was worth spending a subscription credit, but I cannot recommend it to any but the most ardent fans.

Sorry, Simon.