Dancing Barefoot

Last week, I started an account with Amazon.com. I’ve waited this long because that place is dangerous for a person who like books and movies as much as I do, very dangerous. But I had to so I could get the books that I wanted.

What were they? Well, I’m glad I asked. I got Dancing Barefoot and Just a Geek, both by Wil Wheaton.

Why did I do this? I did it to support someone I haven’t met, but like. I buy comics that Stuart Immonen draws, he’s one of the few artists I pick up a book because of. I buy almost everything that Warren Ellis (or Big Ethel, as Mr. Immonen calls him) writes. The day I get the courage to buy a bitpass is the day I’ll join in on Scott McCloud’s crazy experiment and send him money, of course he’s got some of my cash because of Understanding Comics. And I’m sure I’ll be buying Lore Sjöberg book, after my next credit card bill.

What the hell is the reason for this post? To tell you how much I enjoyed reading Dancing Barefoot. And because I finished the book at 12:15 and couldn’t sleep.

I got in from class at 9:40ish this evening and was directed to a package on the couch. My books had arrived. I broke them open and read the front, back, and inside of the covers. I then put them down and screwed around on the Internet for a while, playing some games and writing a post at other blog. 11ish, I turned off the computer, grabbed Dancing Barefoot and started reading and couldn’t stop reading.

The cover says that it’s five stories that span 30 years, but I don’t think it’s that simple. These five stories are things that could happen to any of us, if things had gone just a little bit differently.

Brief summary:

Story 1: "Houses in Motion": Wil visits the house of his dead aunt and revisits his memories.

Story 2: "Ready Or Not Hear I Come": Playing with his stepkids and learning who’s lucky.

Story 3: "Inferno": Love found and lost in the middle of a street.

Story 4: "We Close Our Eyes": Walking in the rain.

Story 5: "The Saga of SpongeBob VegasPants": Learning to let go and love the Trek.

The first four are short, very short. The longest is only seven pages, but that’s part of their charm. Being so short, they have no time for a slow build up, they have to start with the steep climb to the top. Each one does in it’s own way. Each one is it’s own kind of wonderful.

The fifth, takes up most of the book and is so much fun to read. I’ve only been to one Star Trek convention, and it was small compared to most, but he captures everything I saw and more. He has a different view of the Trek mania than I do, I’m part of that mania. I may not be one of those fans who wants would ask how the warp core works, but I think about it. Wil paints a picture of the types he meets, one fan at a time. The One-Who-Dresses-Normal. The Klingons. The Wesley Haters. The One-Who-Claims-To-Not-Be-A-Geek-But-Is. The Detail Seekers. The "Battlefield" Experience. And even when it comes to the insane fans, I never got the feeling that he was making fun of them because he didn’t like them, but because he knows that what they are is a part of him as well, that he appreciates what these people have done to give him the whole Trek experience.

The fifth story also explores how Wil has thought about the whole Trek thing. What it’s meant for him. How it’s controlled him. How it’s hurt him. How it’s helped him. And in the end, how much he’s always enjoyed it.

In the end, my favorite story wasn’t "SpongeBob," but "Inferno." My brief description doesn’t do any justice to specialness this story has. Maybe it’s just me and my need to be a hopeless romantic, but that one made me melt.

In the end, Dancing Barefoot was amazing. Short, sweet, full of fun. Just the sort of thing I needed to end my day on.