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The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy
Rainn Wilson’s memoir about growing up geeky and finally finding his place in comedy, faith, and life.
For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I'm not on Facebook” is the new “I don't even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers.
Now, he's ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson's achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in.
For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I'm not on Facebook” is the new “I don't even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers.
Now, he's ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson's achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in.
301 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2015
About the author
Rainn Wilson
20 books498 followersRainn Dietrich Wilson is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The Office, for which he earned three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,656 reviews
December 26, 2015
3 1/2 stars -- needed more beets.
April 9, 2021
Rainn Wilson is most famous for his off-the-wall portrayal of Dwight Schrute (The Office) and creation of Soul Pancake (social media company designed to make folks feel good).
The greatest thing ever in the history of the world and of all of human endeavor from time immemorial is stories.
In his memoirs, we tackle his personal take on education (his, others and the reasoning behind (overall)):
Teachers can make such a profound impact on our lives and should be honored as heroes, I believe.This book definitely didn't feel like a typical celebrity memoir.
Sure, we hit the usual topics (unusual childhood, crazy teen years, the hunger-years before he strikes it big, etc) but the way Rainn goes about those topics was utterly unique.
He has a way of interweaving philosophy into his recollections and reflections that really gave the book an extra lift.
A bit surprising to those who don't know the man behind the Schrute, Rainn Wilson has had a strong (and profound) journey through faith throughout his years.
Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof.And while it got a bit preachy at times:
We get inundated with so many messages about belief, about what is true and what is not, from both our families and our culture, and it’s crucial that every single one of us come to our own well-excavated understanding.It was, ultimately, quite an interesting look into his life.
He has such a fun personality and quirky outlook on life that even the mundane events from his memoir were surprisingly entertaining.
I loved learning about his early years (what a WILD childhood) and (of course) the Schrute years (who doesn't love that show?!).
All in all, this was quite an entertaining read!
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September 11, 2017
If for nothing else, this should be heralded for being an almost perfectly constructed autobiography.
But wait, there's more! Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight from The Office, has done a bang-up job at creating a very enjoyable read in The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy. His pacing, timing and storytelling are rock solid. Tangents and digressions are kept at reasonable lengths, are labeled as such and even apologized for, which is unnecessary because they're honestly not that long and generally have some bearing upon the topic at hand.
But here's the important thing: Rainn Wilson is interesting a.f.! His Dwight character is not that far off from reality. I kind of guessed that ahead of time, but it is absolutely fascinating to see the hows, whats, and whys behind the making this delightfully strange individual. Hell, even the wheres are intriguing! Here, I'll give you a taste: Young Rainn was raised for a time in a dirt-poor, secluded Central American former pirate town that still to this day must be approached via boat, and it's not an island! Trust me, that little tidbit is nothing compared to the cuckoo crazy times that made up this man's formative years.
Now, perhaps I'm gushing about Rainn's book, because it struck a chord with me. His tastes, his brand of humor, the fact that he played D&D and was a bit of an outsider, all these things I could relate to. So of course I'm going to enjoy this more than someone else who is his polar opposite. Let's put it like this: If you are repulsed by his Dwight personality, then just steer clear of this book. I don't know why you'd want to read it anyhow. But really, there's no point, even if you're just looking to hear a bit about The Office. Trust me, there's not enough on that topic herein to satisfy that itch and make reading this whole book worthwhile. You should be reading it for the love of Rainn!
Warning. He talks a lot about his personal religion, the Baha'i Faith. I don't know much about it, but it seems like a fairly positive umbrella religion for all the other religions, which means it will likely be attacked by all other religions out of fear that it might supplant them one day. Meh, what do I care, I don't go in for organized religion, so it's no skin off my scrotum.
Final thought: Don't read this book, listen to it! Rainn is a comedic character actor. His talents translate to vocal work. Thankfully, he's a good narrator, and specifically he reads this book with all the inflections and dramatic flair it requires. Unless you know him and his humor intimately, if you read it on your own you're going to miss many of the jokes. Whoosh, right over your head.
But wait, there's more! Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight from The Office, has done a bang-up job at creating a very enjoyable read in The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy. His pacing, timing and storytelling are rock solid. Tangents and digressions are kept at reasonable lengths, are labeled as such and even apologized for, which is unnecessary because they're honestly not that long and generally have some bearing upon the topic at hand.
But here's the important thing: Rainn Wilson is interesting a.f.! His Dwight character is not that far off from reality. I kind of guessed that ahead of time, but it is absolutely fascinating to see the hows, whats, and whys behind the making this delightfully strange individual. Hell, even the wheres are intriguing! Here, I'll give you a taste: Young Rainn was raised for a time in a dirt-poor, secluded Central American former pirate town that still to this day must be approached via boat, and it's not an island! Trust me, that little tidbit is nothing compared to the cuckoo crazy times that made up this man's formative years.
Now, perhaps I'm gushing about Rainn's book, because it struck a chord with me. His tastes, his brand of humor, the fact that he played D&D and was a bit of an outsider, all these things I could relate to. So of course I'm going to enjoy this more than someone else who is his polar opposite. Let's put it like this: If you are repulsed by his Dwight personality, then just steer clear of this book. I don't know why you'd want to read it anyhow. But really, there's no point, even if you're just looking to hear a bit about The Office. Trust me, there's not enough on that topic herein to satisfy that itch and make reading this whole book worthwhile. You should be reading it for the love of Rainn!
Warning. He talks a lot about his personal religion, the Baha'i Faith. I don't know much about it, but it seems like a fairly positive umbrella religion for all the other religions, which means it will likely be attacked by all other religions out of fear that it might supplant them one day. Meh, what do I care, I don't go in for organized religion, so it's no skin off my scrotum.
Final thought: Don't read this book, listen to it! Rainn is a comedic character actor. His talents translate to vocal work. Thankfully, he's a good narrator, and specifically he reads this book with all the inflections and dramatic flair it requires. Unless you know him and his humor intimately, if you read it on your own you're going to miss many of the jokes. Whoosh, right over your head.
May 29, 2018
I was familiar with Rainn Wilson as an actor that absolutely rocked completely quirky characters in Six Feet Under and The Office, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see Mr. Wilson as an author. Again, he excels.
February 19, 2021
If you’re a fan of The Office, this is a good bit of nostalgia for you. ❤️ Rainn talks about his childhood with candor and humor. I mean, the worm bit had me laughing out loud. 😂 The rest felt like a long ‘thank you’ speech to everyone who he worked with before making it big. It ended with some education on his religion. 😖 So, for me, first half of the book was 4 stars, last half was 2 stars... so 3 it is.
September 19, 2018
I loved this book!! When I read celebrity memoirs I go into it only expecting some light entertainment and a fun audiobook, but I was pleasantly surprised by how talented Rainn is at writing and fleshing out his backstory. It felt like we were let into his life in a very authentic style without the arms'-length "i'm famous and here's my success story" tone that other celebrity memoirs tend to have. His voice and humor was very genuine and his rags to riches story was charming without being self-congratulatory. I enjoyed learning new things about Rainn, from his spiritual upbringing, his background in Broadway, and behind the scenes of The Office.
If you enjoy The Office or Rainn's other works, this is a hilarious and worthwhile read, and the audiobook is very enjoyable.
If you enjoy The Office or Rainn's other works, this is a hilarious and worthwhile read, and the audiobook is very enjoyable.
March 28, 2016
This book was quite disappointing, considering that I think highly of Rainn Wilson's acting work, and that this is a genre of book that I often enjoy.
Rainn Wilson is a paradox:
--He seems quite intelligent, yet the writing does not always reflect that. He often relies on "shouting" in all caps to get his point across (and I have seen other authors use this well for comedic effect--this was different). He uses the word "literally" far too often, and in cases where what he is saying is clearly not metaphorical, nor difficult to believe, so it is completely unnecessary.
--He decries snobbery in others, yet reveals his own on a number of occasions. In one example of this, he is venting for several pages about fans of the BBC version of The Office, and their wary reception of the American version. (His sustained vitriol is startling considering both the time that has elapsed, and the eventual success of his show.) Some fans felt that the British version was so good that no one should attempt another. He refers to this "strange snobbery" as "absolutely mystifying" and "nauseating." What is interesting is that, just a couple of paragraphs earlier, he explains that the American version is needed because "most primetime TV watchers in Kansas and Michigan don't really understand English accents and lingo." He expands on his point by asserting that phrases such as "cheers, mate" and "bloody 'ell " go "completely over the heads of most corpulent mid Americans."
--He tries to be self-deprecating about his nerdy proclivities, but he ultimately comes across as believing them to be a mark of superiority. He reminds his readers to treat people such as lowly dishwashers with kindness, but demonstrates a pretentious belief that artists (like actors) are on a higher level of consciousness than non-artists. On several occasions he makes it clear that the worthiness of entertainment should be determined by creative types (like actors) who are on an "artistic journey." In addition to his condescension towards a mass audience, he bitterly dismisses critics as being unqualified to "righteously pass judgment" (aka, have opinions) because they have "never laid out their hearts and minds and souls to an audience attempting to entertain, uplift, and challenge." Likewise, TV executives "have no idea what they are doing," as they "have never been artists or craftsmen, only corporate workers." Those lower on the TV-making ladder are "lackey yes-men who are trying to look busy and important."
--He clearly takes his faith seriously, and he does a good job of outlining it in an appealing way, but he contradicts certain aspects. While thoughtfully extolling the virtues of its inclusive nature, he carelessly dismisses aspects of several major religions, some of which (like his own faith) have helped certain believers behave as better members of society, as "nonsense."
--He seems willing to work hard at examining things, but the book is in many ways superficial, and in some ways, lazy. At times he resorts to lists or bullet-pointed random thoughts, rather than weaving them into a cohesive narrative.
And lastly, he seems funny, but this book is not.
Rainn Wilson is a paradox:
--He seems quite intelligent, yet the writing does not always reflect that. He often relies on "shouting" in all caps to get his point across (and I have seen other authors use this well for comedic effect--this was different). He uses the word "literally" far too often, and in cases where what he is saying is clearly not metaphorical, nor difficult to believe, so it is completely unnecessary.
--He decries snobbery in others, yet reveals his own on a number of occasions. In one example of this, he is venting for several pages about fans of the BBC version of The Office, and their wary reception of the American version. (His sustained vitriol is startling considering both the time that has elapsed, and the eventual success of his show.) Some fans felt that the British version was so good that no one should attempt another. He refers to this "strange snobbery" as "absolutely mystifying" and "nauseating." What is interesting is that, just a couple of paragraphs earlier, he explains that the American version is needed because "most primetime TV watchers in Kansas and Michigan don't really understand English accents and lingo." He expands on his point by asserting that phrases such as "cheers, mate" and "bloody 'ell " go "completely over the heads of most corpulent mid Americans."
--He tries to be self-deprecating about his nerdy proclivities, but he ultimately comes across as believing them to be a mark of superiority. He reminds his readers to treat people such as lowly dishwashers with kindness, but demonstrates a pretentious belief that artists (like actors) are on a higher level of consciousness than non-artists. On several occasions he makes it clear that the worthiness of entertainment should be determined by creative types (like actors) who are on an "artistic journey." In addition to his condescension towards a mass audience, he bitterly dismisses critics as being unqualified to "righteously pass judgment" (aka, have opinions) because they have "never laid out their hearts and minds and souls to an audience attempting to entertain, uplift, and challenge." Likewise, TV executives "have no idea what they are doing," as they "have never been artists or craftsmen, only corporate workers." Those lower on the TV-making ladder are "lackey yes-men who are trying to look busy and important."
--He clearly takes his faith seriously, and he does a good job of outlining it in an appealing way, but he contradicts certain aspects. While thoughtfully extolling the virtues of its inclusive nature, he carelessly dismisses aspects of several major religions, some of which (like his own faith) have helped certain believers behave as better members of society, as "nonsense."
--He seems willing to work hard at examining things, but the book is in many ways superficial, and in some ways, lazy. At times he resorts to lists or bullet-pointed random thoughts, rather than weaving them into a cohesive narrative.
And lastly, he seems funny, but this book is not.
March 14, 2019
*3.5 stars*
Rainn Wilson is a very charming and interesting guy and an excellent narrator. I enjoyed The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy a great deal... until I didn't.
I found his life story and move into acting to be very interesting, but (and yes I know it's in the blurb!) I wasn't a fan of his hard sell of his Bahá'í Faith. I have a friend who converted to the Bahá'í Faith for a time, and though it's a lovely religion (as far as religions go), I didn't know that the last few chapters were going to be all about being Bahá'í and why you should consider it as a solid move.
The energy was gone (for me) from the last part of the book. Also, I could have used WAY more details about Rainn's time on The Office.
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September 12, 2018
3.5 Stars.
This book has been on my To-Read since I realized Rainn wrote a book. I have only seen him in The Office but I loved that show and I loved his acting. His writing skills and story telling is very entertaining. It is similar to a lot of famous people's writing. (Ones that are famous for something besides writing). He jumps around a lot and at times I couldn't tell what happened when. But like I said, I really enjoyed his book. It is light and entertaining. A good, quick book to pick up when you don't want anything deep.
"For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I'm not on Facebook” is the new “I don't even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers.
Now, he's ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson's achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in."
This book has been on my To-Read since I realized Rainn wrote a book. I have only seen him in The Office but I loved that show and I loved his acting. His writing skills and story telling is very entertaining. It is similar to a lot of famous people's writing. (Ones that are famous for something besides writing). He jumps around a lot and at times I couldn't tell what happened when. But like I said, I really enjoyed his book. It is light and entertaining. A good, quick book to pick up when you don't want anything deep.
"For nine seasons Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute, everyone's favorite work nemesis and beet farmer. Viewers of The Office fell in love with the character and grew to love the actor who played him even more. Rainn founded a website and media company, SoulPancake, that eventually became a bestselling book of the same name. He also started a hilarious Twitter feed (sample tweet: “I'm not on Facebook” is the new “I don't even own a TV”) that now has more than four million followers.
Now, he's ready to tell his own story and explain how he came up with his incredibly unique sense of humor and perspective on life. He explains how he grew up “bone-numbingly nerdy before there was even a modicum of cool attached to the word.” The Bassoon King chronicles his journey from nerd to drama geek (“the highest rung on the vast, pimply ladder of high school losers”), his years of mild debauchery and struggles as a young actor in New York, his many adventures and insights about The Office, and finally, Wilson's achievement of success and satisfaction, both in his career and spiritually, reconnecting with the artistic and creative values of the Bahá’í faith he grew up in."
December 3, 2015
I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is a book I probably would have bought regardless, since I love The Office and comedic memoir.
The last three audiobooks I have listened to have had strange connections to each other. The first was The First Bad Man by Miranda July, and in Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Carrie Brownstein mentions Miranda a few times in passing because they are good friends. Carrie grew up in Olympia, which is also where Rainn spent a good portion of his childhood. Bizarre.
One thing I did not expect about Rainn Wilson is how much of a SERIOUS ACTOR he is. You will know it too, by the end of this book, because he will remind you often enough. NYU, Shakespeare, and years of serious, intentional study. On the other hand, the fact that I've never considered it may speak to his ability as a SERIOUS ACTOR because I'm not thinking about Rainn at all, I'm thinking about the characters he plays. It's worth thinking about.
This book covers the acting years but also an interesting childhood (partially in Nicaragua!) and growing up as a nerd before being a nerd was cool. It goes off on tangents sometimes or lists, which keeps the listener going. There are satisfying tidbits in there about behind the scenes, which I'm sure is the reason many will pick this up, but there is equal coverage of his new project Soul Pancake and the Baha'i faith, because surprise! Rainn is Baha'i and actually grew up that way. I definitely had never heard a pasty white guy talk about his Baha'i faith so even when it got a bit preachy, I learned some things.
The audio is definitely the way to go - easy to listen to and will make you laugh from time to time. The forward is written and read by Dwight K. Schrute, and Rainn has a dry, possibly flippant, reading tone that works well for his own life story.
Also he's much older than I thought.
The last three audiobooks I have listened to have had strange connections to each other. The first was The First Bad Man by Miranda July, and in Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Carrie Brownstein mentions Miranda a few times in passing because they are good friends. Carrie grew up in Olympia, which is also where Rainn spent a good portion of his childhood. Bizarre.
One thing I did not expect about Rainn Wilson is how much of a SERIOUS ACTOR he is. You will know it too, by the end of this book, because he will remind you often enough. NYU, Shakespeare, and years of serious, intentional study. On the other hand, the fact that I've never considered it may speak to his ability as a SERIOUS ACTOR because I'm not thinking about Rainn at all, I'm thinking about the characters he plays. It's worth thinking about.
This book covers the acting years but also an interesting childhood (partially in Nicaragua!) and growing up as a nerd before being a nerd was cool. It goes off on tangents sometimes or lists, which keeps the listener going. There are satisfying tidbits in there about behind the scenes, which I'm sure is the reason many will pick this up, but there is equal coverage of his new project Soul Pancake and the Baha'i faith, because surprise! Rainn is Baha'i and actually grew up that way. I definitely had never heard a pasty white guy talk about his Baha'i faith so even when it got a bit preachy, I learned some things.
The audio is definitely the way to go - easy to listen to and will make you laugh from time to time. The forward is written and read by Dwight K. Schrute, and Rainn has a dry, possibly flippant, reading tone that works well for his own life story.
Also he's much older than I thought.
May 14, 2019
The Bassoon King is a fun, and at times quite thoughtful book, that fans of The Office will surely enjoy. There were parts I found really engaging - his reflections on the way he grew up, anecdotes on The Office, and his notes on spirituality - while others didn't really grab my attention so much. All in all, though, I enjoyed reading this book and seeing the elements of Dwight Schrute that are present in Wilson's personality as well:-)
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
July 15, 2018
I’ve got to stop reading junk like this. Rainn Wilson’s The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy imparts nothing of any real interest to the reader. If you’re a fan of The Office and think there will be cool behind-the-scenes stories, you’re going to be disappointed. Wilson is a mediocre writer and his book reveals him to be one of those “theAHter” snobs. He comes across as incredibly immature and intellectually naïve. His chapters dealing with his faith are the worst because he’s so damn self-satisfied. Rainn Wilson poses not very deep questions about faith, then answers them himself. It’s a real intellectual tour de force.
There’s a lot to not like about this book, and most of it’s Rainn Wilson. It’s possible that Rainn Wilson, in person, is a decent man. However, his own prose does him no favors. He shouts at the reader constantly. OH MY GOD LOOK AT ME SHOUTING AT MY READER. SEE ALL MY CAPS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS?????!!!!!!!! He uses the word “literally” literally all the time to mean literally: literally. He is a grown ass man who doesn’t have the balls to use profanity in his own book; he inserts @@!!#$%&* instead. Wanting to keep the book PG is fine with me—I don’t care; it’s not my shitty book. But if he’s too delicate to spell out those bad words he should avoid them entirely. He also shouts GOSH-DARNED at his readers with absolutely no awareness of how silly it is.
Wilson believes he is a person on a “spiritual and artistic journey through life” (282) and because of this, the reader gets the definite sense that he sees himself as more aware, more evolved and certainly more spiritual than the regular slob working a 9-5 office job or the shift worker on a construction crew. Above all, Wilson is SPIRITUAL and an ARTEEST. This memoir is in chronological order, beginning with his birth and ending with his media venture, SoulPancake. The reading is not difficult and one chapter flows effortlessly into another. It’s like meringue for your brain. While living in NYC, Wilson detours into the clichéd “drugs and alcohol” phase of his acting career. I hate to be cynical about this, but it seems as if drug use is an obligatory part of becoming an artist; the more serious of an arteest you are, the worse the habit. The last few chapters detail his relationship with his current wife, the birth of his son, and The Office.
A brief paragraph about his two short chapters about The Office: Wilson doesn’t say much about the show itself. He probably devotes more words to bashing his critics than discussing his time on the show. The most interesting tidbits he revealed: 1) the opening scenes of Scranton, PA were filmed by Jim Krasinski when he visited the area to do research and 2) because the show is a mock documentary, the actors could be filmed at any time so they had to stay in character the whole time the camera was rolling, even if they weren’t in a scene—so that’s 12 hours a day of pretending to work in an office. Oh, and Steve Carell sweats profusely so the temperature on set was kept at 64 degrees. And that’s it. I didn’t want tales of nastiness between the actors, just what it was like on set, working with the guest actors, goofy pranks, etc. Wilson includes pictures of the last day of filming and the parade in Scranton but doesn’t include details. Office fans: read chapters 14 and 15 and walk away.
Wilson isn’t funny. I skimmed some GR reviews and that was the overwhelming complaint: hey, he’s not funny! He’s not a comedy writer, he’s an actor. Sometimes the two can cross over (see Mindy Kaling’s books; she’s pretty damn funny) but Wilson’s attempts at humor fail every time. My only snicker came at the very end of the book when he’s listing examples of comedy and Fox News is one of them. (Ironically, this section is titled: IF YOU THINK YOU’RE BEING FUNNY, YOU’RE NOT BEING FUNNY.) The book is jammed with examples of Wilson thinking he is being funny, but he’s not. His jokes are juvenile and lame and his attempts at sarcasm…ugh.
Wilson has this air of superiority to him—I’m spiritual! I’m an artist! He seems to think the majority of his readers are drooling idiots who never move from their couches; empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge only Wilson, the spiritual artist, can impart. During one of his long rants defending the idea of an American version of The Office, Wilson says the BBC version wouldn’t work in America:
Wilson alternately uses his book to attack critics and lecture readers. Long passages are devoted to defending his projects, particularly the cancelled Backstrom (he takes the opportunity to make a snarky comment about Breaking Bad fans). In responding to fans of the BBC Office, Wilson, who lacks any sense of irony, calls them “tv snobs” and writes there are worse things to be upset about in the world and shame on these BBC tv snobs for wasting so much energy on being upset by something so incredibly minor. Wilson then continues to waste his energy bitching about them, the tv industry in general, tv executives, and professional critics (who shouldn’t have opinions, write their reviews all wrong and should “suck it”). If you are not an actor (and you must be the right kind of Wilson-approved actor), you are not an artist and thus to be scorned. He doesn’t seem to recognize that all those annoying non-artsy people with the clipboards help make his performances possible. All other regular people (the corpulent readers of this book) will be lectured to by Wilson. The words “you see” signify the beginning of a lecture. “You see, chess team is comprised of…” (60); “You see, New York in 1986 was a very, very different place… (106); “You see, in Haiti, as in many other lower-income countries, women for the most part are treated as work animals” (280); “You see, according to the Baha’i Faith, there is really only one religion…” (295); you see, Wilson thinks his readers are morons who have no knowledge of the world. So glad he’s here to enlighten us.
What I see revealed is an immature person who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. His whole chapter on being in NYC and rejecting his faith and becoming a “bohemian” actor makes me roll my eyes. He’s so caught up playing the part of an artist—or rather his juvenile idea of who an artist is—that he neglects the actual artistry. Dying your hair, wearing certain clothes, taking drugs, being proud of living in the dangerous and poverty-ridden parts of the city (where he describes the homeless as “perky”) doesn’t make you an artist. But Wilson believed he was living the “bohemian,” true artsy life style for a while until he had this huge revelation: he needs to stop pretending to be someone he isn’t and stay true to himself. Wow. When he realized this and recognized his limitations as an actor (he’s better in comedy roles than drama), he miraculously became a better actor and his career improved. Also, God helped him out—because that’s God, always looking to help an actor improve his career; I mean, fuck those starving people, right?—but I will address Wilson’s faith lectures separately.
Throughout the book, there’s an amazing lack of self-awareness. The prose is so bland and full of bad juvenile attempts at humor that it’s possible to miss how immature and intellectually stunted his passages about religion are. He displays a certain kind of chauvinism regarding women. It’s no wonder he views SATC as merely a show that makes women “coo”; he describes his wife as “hot” many times. That’s not a compliment to his wife. That’s Wilson complimenting himself on gaining a possession that’s very attractive and makes him—a self-professed geek with a large, ungainly head—look good. He also bemoans the life of his father, a man unable to devote himself to being an artist because he had a family to support. There’s no bemoaning that lack of artsy time for his stepmother, a woman who basically devoted her entire adult life to Rainn and his father and who was desperately unhappy in the marriage. Did she have dreams of being a writer, a sculptor? Who knows. Wilson didn’t say, but oh, his poor father. He only had the time to write (bad) science fiction novels at work and then come home to paint (terrible) paintings. His birth mother actually left because his father wasn’t supportive of her acting. When he and his wife are invited to Haiti to conduct workshops for teenage girls, he is skeptical: “Why would adolescent girls without jobs, shoes, roofs, or food benefit from doing drama, photography, creative writing, and visual arts? They needed job training and pants and fresh water, not theater games, poetry, and pretty pictures” (279). An actor who doesn’t recognize the importance of creativity and art? Is it because they are too poor? Too uneducated? Too female? How could he, a man who yammers on for pages about the connection between art and spirituality, not get this? My guess is, he didn’t consider them capable of appreciating art. He’s ignorant of the breadth and variety of human existence, and that ignorance shapes his lack of understanding about spirituality—discussions he hammers the reader with, putting his lack of intellectual depth on full display.
The faith of Rainn Wilson
Wilson is not shy about mentioning his Baha’i faith and that didn’t bother me. It was his snarky asides to atheists (or, “materialists” as he called us), his lack of understanding about atheism; his ignorance of the definition of the words “agnostic” and “atheist”; the arrogance of his superiority as a person of faith; his “proof” that god exists; and the overwhelming general stupidity that he displayed whenever he brought up the topic of religion that really pissed me off.
Wilson claims to have read all sorts of book exploring the idea of spirituality. The problem with his research is that it was god-centered. In exploring spirituality, he completely excludes the idea that it is a feeling or state of being that doesn’t need to be god-inspired. He arrogantly assumes atheists cannot experience spirituality, don’t appreciate art and experience life as merely an expression of body chemistry and biological functions. Wilson is telling readers how satisfying it is when he connects with the audience and how good it feels, something he calls “the mysterious, gooey stuff of life.” In parentheses, he offers this: “Translation for atheists and materialists: Your synapses fire, causing a spontaneous behavior, which triggers a pleasant surprise auditory response from the viewers and consequently pleasure endorphins are released into your cerebellum, causing you to want to repeat the action for another release of chemicals in your opiate receptors” (76). Wilson, you’re a jackass. Because of course in the history of the entire world, there’s never been an atheist actor. Or an atheist musician. Or an atheist whatever who had a feeling of joy and pride and satisfaction and happiness at doing something well.
Wilson’s impassioned defense of religion and the “proof” he cites that god exists can be boiled down to this: “Flowers are pretty, humans can contemplate their navel but monkeys can’t, the universe didn’t just come from nothing, everything must happen for a reason, I believe in god, therefore there is a god.” When Wilson tries to summarize the “materialist” belief that morals are “inexplicably” programmed into our biology and human/animal impulses (150), he displays (again) his ignorance of biology, evolution, social biology—basically anything that doesn’t go along with his religious beliefs. He’s so ignorant he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. His discussion of atheism and agnosticism is more of the same—uninformed blathering. There is a difference between knowing/not knowing and believing/not believing, which is why Ricky Gervais calls himself an “agnostic atheist.”
The narcissism of faith is on full display. God, who’d you think is a busy fellow, is always there to lend Wilson a helpful nudge to get his career on track. “I was truly terrified by this crossroads [go to acting school or continue undergrad degree] and quite stumped as to what to do when I had one of the many mystical experiences that seemed as if the universe was folding itself toward me and taking a bow, inviting me onto an exhilarating pathway” (99). How important is Wilson? I mean, the fucking universe is concerned about his life choices! Despite being in the process of bombing his audition for the NYU acting program, the very kind director of the program knew he was talented and coached him through the audition. Because of her efforts, he got into the program. But Wilson puts it down to something that was “meant to happen”: “God reached out a mysterious hand and opened a door to a new room.” However, to the materialist “that mystical feeling is simply the endorphins and electrical impulses of the brain reacting to create emotional meaning in random chance” (103). First of all, you narcissistic religious dipshit, “materialists” wouldn’t have any “mystical feeling.” They don’t think things are “meant to happen.” Shit happens and we assign importance or patterns to it later (because that’s how our brains work, read about it sometime). Our brains hate randomness. Predicable patterns are best for our survival (again, read about it). So all those other times you sucked in plays or at auditions, did you feel the mystical hand of god? How far does god’s interference go? Did he orchestrate your entire fucking life so you could finally land what is (so far and probably) the pinnacle of your professional acting career, playing a weirdo paper salesman? I mean, this is god. Surely he’d want you to go on to do some kind of spiritual acting role. Maybe next time you’ll be a paper salesman who is annoyingly vocal about his Baha’i faith.
Finally, Wilson supplies this last bit of gobsmacking insanity to “prove” that god exists. This is the best example because his atheist friend Phil is involved. They are both at a baseball game and Wilson is telling his buddy all about Wakan Tanka (Lakota Sioux creator god) and how he’s so excited that because of Wakan Tanka, god is starting to make sense to him. (Let’s pause for a moment and wonder at the hubris of that remark. God, the omniscient, the omnipotent, the Alpha and Omega, the all-powerful, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named of mysterious ways, the creator of fucking everything, is starting to make sense to Rainn Wilson. He’s got him figured out.) Phil says, well, pray to Wakan Tanka and if the Yankees win, Wanka Tanka exists. So Wilson prays (out loud) and just as he finished the Yankees won the game: “We were stunned. [Only because you’re both idiots.] Our jaws dropped like oven doors. [Weird description.] We both looked at each other curiously. Hmmmmm. Okay, it most certainly could have been a coincidence. [No, I’m sure Wakan Tanka stopped saving kids from a burning building to help the Yankees win. Sucks for those burned up kids, but hey! The Yankees won! Priorities.] But it sure got my mind spinning [because you are an idiot]. Even skeptical Phil was a bit agog” (194). If Phil was impressed by that, he’s not a skeptic or an atheist.
The last chapter, Soul Pancakes, reads like a glossy write-up from a PR pamphlet to sell his media venture to gullible readers of this crappy book. He mentions how many “hits” his videos get, how touching and beautiful and spiritually uplifting they are…hurrah.
I regret reading this book. I hadn’t wanted to spend hours writing this review, but I was so disgusted by Rainn Wilson’s arrogance, snobbery and lack of intelligence that I was compelled to shred it. His half-assed ignorant religious discussions were the worst part of the book and I am offended for atheists everywhere when Wilson describes himself (even temporarily) as being an atheist. His idea of god was a scolding old man, so he rejected the faith of his parents because he wanted to live a carefree artsy life. Wilson, none of this makes you an atheist. It makes you an immature child rebelling against your parents (in your twenties, btw), insecure, and shallow. Atheism is not about rebelling. It is not about dying your hair “midnight black” and being artsy and listening to Patti Smith and Blondie and Lou Reed or reading artsy poetry and books. You’re a faker, you confuse style with substance and I don’t see that by the end of the book (at the age of almost 50) that you’ve progressed much.
There’s a lot to not like about this book, and most of it’s Rainn Wilson. It’s possible that Rainn Wilson, in person, is a decent man. However, his own prose does him no favors. He shouts at the reader constantly. OH MY GOD LOOK AT ME SHOUTING AT MY READER. SEE ALL MY CAPS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS?????!!!!!!!! He uses the word “literally” literally all the time to mean literally: literally. He is a grown ass man who doesn’t have the balls to use profanity in his own book; he inserts @@!!#$%&* instead. Wanting to keep the book PG is fine with me—I don’t care; it’s not my shitty book. But if he’s too delicate to spell out those bad words he should avoid them entirely. He also shouts GOSH-DARNED at his readers with absolutely no awareness of how silly it is.
Wilson believes he is a person on a “spiritual and artistic journey through life” (282) and because of this, the reader gets the definite sense that he sees himself as more aware, more evolved and certainly more spiritual than the regular slob working a 9-5 office job or the shift worker on a construction crew. Above all, Wilson is SPIRITUAL and an ARTEEST. This memoir is in chronological order, beginning with his birth and ending with his media venture, SoulPancake. The reading is not difficult and one chapter flows effortlessly into another. It’s like meringue for your brain. While living in NYC, Wilson detours into the clichéd “drugs and alcohol” phase of his acting career. I hate to be cynical about this, but it seems as if drug use is an obligatory part of becoming an artist; the more serious of an arteest you are, the worse the habit. The last few chapters detail his relationship with his current wife, the birth of his son, and The Office.
A brief paragraph about his two short chapters about The Office: Wilson doesn’t say much about the show itself. He probably devotes more words to bashing his critics than discussing his time on the show. The most interesting tidbits he revealed: 1) the opening scenes of Scranton, PA were filmed by Jim Krasinski when he visited the area to do research and 2) because the show is a mock documentary, the actors could be filmed at any time so they had to stay in character the whole time the camera was rolling, even if they weren’t in a scene—so that’s 12 hours a day of pretending to work in an office. Oh, and Steve Carell sweats profusely so the temperature on set was kept at 64 degrees. And that’s it. I didn’t want tales of nastiness between the actors, just what it was like on set, working with the guest actors, goofy pranks, etc. Wilson includes pictures of the last day of filming and the parade in Scranton but doesn’t include details. Office fans: read chapters 14 and 15 and walk away.
Wilson isn’t funny. I skimmed some GR reviews and that was the overwhelming complaint: hey, he’s not funny! He’s not a comedy writer, he’s an actor. Sometimes the two can cross over (see Mindy Kaling’s books; she’s pretty damn funny) but Wilson’s attempts at humor fail every time. My only snicker came at the very end of the book when he’s listing examples of comedy and Fox News is one of them. (Ironically, this section is titled: IF YOU THINK YOU’RE BEING FUNNY, YOU’RE NOT BEING FUNNY.) The book is jammed with examples of Wilson thinking he is being funny, but he’s not. His jokes are juvenile and lame and his attempts at sarcasm…ugh.
Wilson has this air of superiority to him—I’m spiritual! I’m an artist! He seems to think the majority of his readers are drooling idiots who never move from their couches; empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge only Wilson, the spiritual artist, can impart. During one of his long rants defending the idea of an American version of The Office, Wilson says the BBC version wouldn’t work in America:
…most prime-time TV watchers in Kansas and Michigan don’t really understand English accents and lingo. All that talk of “the boot of your lorry,” “cheers, mate,” “bloody ’ell,” and “bollocks” goes completely over the heads of most corpulent mid-Americans who have grown up watching The Brady Bunch, Dr. Phil, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch (234).First of all, smartypants, a “lorry” is a long haul truck. It doesn’t have a “boot,” which is what us corpulent mouth-breathing non-artists call the trunk. Another note on Wilson’s faux intelligence—he uses “England,” “English,” and “Britain,” “British” interchangeably. There’s a difference, numbnuts. Wilson is the arbiter of good taste, sneering at tv shows he doesn’t like and championing what he does (Game of Thrones is the “greatest TV show in the history of everything,” 288). He takes a potshot at Dennis Franz, an actor I happen to think is genius (humor, drama, he does it all) and could wipe the floor with Rainn Wilson any day of the week. He lists a bunch of HBO shows but calls Six Feet Under (the only one he worked on) as “one of the most influential projects going” (214). Really? The Wire, The Sopranos, and Curb Your Enthusiasm weren’t “influential” as well? He singles out Sex and the City as a show that makes women “coo” and boyfriends “nauseated.” Rainn Wilson, you know nothing. You’re ignorant and dismissive of any project you yourself didn’t have a part in.
Wilson alternately uses his book to attack critics and lecture readers. Long passages are devoted to defending his projects, particularly the cancelled Backstrom (he takes the opportunity to make a snarky comment about Breaking Bad fans). In responding to fans of the BBC Office, Wilson, who lacks any sense of irony, calls them “tv snobs” and writes there are worse things to be upset about in the world and shame on these BBC tv snobs for wasting so much energy on being upset by something so incredibly minor. Wilson then continues to waste his energy bitching about them, the tv industry in general, tv executives, and professional critics (who shouldn’t have opinions, write their reviews all wrong and should “suck it”). If you are not an actor (and you must be the right kind of Wilson-approved actor), you are not an artist and thus to be scorned. He doesn’t seem to recognize that all those annoying non-artsy people with the clipboards help make his performances possible. All other regular people (the corpulent readers of this book) will be lectured to by Wilson. The words “you see” signify the beginning of a lecture. “You see, chess team is comprised of…” (60); “You see, New York in 1986 was a very, very different place… (106); “You see, in Haiti, as in many other lower-income countries, women for the most part are treated as work animals” (280); “You see, according to the Baha’i Faith, there is really only one religion…” (295); you see, Wilson thinks his readers are morons who have no knowledge of the world. So glad he’s here to enlighten us.
What I see revealed is an immature person who thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. His whole chapter on being in NYC and rejecting his faith and becoming a “bohemian” actor makes me roll my eyes. He’s so caught up playing the part of an artist—or rather his juvenile idea of who an artist is—that he neglects the actual artistry. Dying your hair, wearing certain clothes, taking drugs, being proud of living in the dangerous and poverty-ridden parts of the city (where he describes the homeless as “perky”) doesn’t make you an artist. But Wilson believed he was living the “bohemian,” true artsy life style for a while until he had this huge revelation: he needs to stop pretending to be someone he isn’t and stay true to himself. Wow. When he realized this and recognized his limitations as an actor (he’s better in comedy roles than drama), he miraculously became a better actor and his career improved. Also, God helped him out—because that’s God, always looking to help an actor improve his career; I mean, fuck those starving people, right?—but I will address Wilson’s faith lectures separately.
Throughout the book, there’s an amazing lack of self-awareness. The prose is so bland and full of bad juvenile attempts at humor that it’s possible to miss how immature and intellectually stunted his passages about religion are. He displays a certain kind of chauvinism regarding women. It’s no wonder he views SATC as merely a show that makes women “coo”; he describes his wife as “hot” many times. That’s not a compliment to his wife. That’s Wilson complimenting himself on gaining a possession that’s very attractive and makes him—a self-professed geek with a large, ungainly head—look good. He also bemoans the life of his father, a man unable to devote himself to being an artist because he had a family to support. There’s no bemoaning that lack of artsy time for his stepmother, a woman who basically devoted her entire adult life to Rainn and his father and who was desperately unhappy in the marriage. Did she have dreams of being a writer, a sculptor? Who knows. Wilson didn’t say, but oh, his poor father. He only had the time to write (bad) science fiction novels at work and then come home to paint (terrible) paintings. His birth mother actually left because his father wasn’t supportive of her acting. When he and his wife are invited to Haiti to conduct workshops for teenage girls, he is skeptical: “Why would adolescent girls without jobs, shoes, roofs, or food benefit from doing drama, photography, creative writing, and visual arts? They needed job training and pants and fresh water, not theater games, poetry, and pretty pictures” (279). An actor who doesn’t recognize the importance of creativity and art? Is it because they are too poor? Too uneducated? Too female? How could he, a man who yammers on for pages about the connection between art and spirituality, not get this? My guess is, he didn’t consider them capable of appreciating art. He’s ignorant of the breadth and variety of human existence, and that ignorance shapes his lack of understanding about spirituality—discussions he hammers the reader with, putting his lack of intellectual depth on full display.
The faith of Rainn Wilson
Wilson is not shy about mentioning his Baha’i faith and that didn’t bother me. It was his snarky asides to atheists (or, “materialists” as he called us), his lack of understanding about atheism; his ignorance of the definition of the words “agnostic” and “atheist”; the arrogance of his superiority as a person of faith; his “proof” that god exists; and the overwhelming general stupidity that he displayed whenever he brought up the topic of religion that really pissed me off.
Wilson claims to have read all sorts of book exploring the idea of spirituality. The problem with his research is that it was god-centered. In exploring spirituality, he completely excludes the idea that it is a feeling or state of being that doesn’t need to be god-inspired. He arrogantly assumes atheists cannot experience spirituality, don’t appreciate art and experience life as merely an expression of body chemistry and biological functions. Wilson is telling readers how satisfying it is when he connects with the audience and how good it feels, something he calls “the mysterious, gooey stuff of life.” In parentheses, he offers this: “Translation for atheists and materialists: Your synapses fire, causing a spontaneous behavior, which triggers a pleasant surprise auditory response from the viewers and consequently pleasure endorphins are released into your cerebellum, causing you to want to repeat the action for another release of chemicals in your opiate receptors” (76). Wilson, you’re a jackass. Because of course in the history of the entire world, there’s never been an atheist actor. Or an atheist musician. Or an atheist whatever who had a feeling of joy and pride and satisfaction and happiness at doing something well.
Wilson’s impassioned defense of religion and the “proof” he cites that god exists can be boiled down to this: “Flowers are pretty, humans can contemplate their navel but monkeys can’t, the universe didn’t just come from nothing, everything must happen for a reason, I believe in god, therefore there is a god.” When Wilson tries to summarize the “materialist” belief that morals are “inexplicably” programmed into our biology and human/animal impulses (150), he displays (again) his ignorance of biology, evolution, social biology—basically anything that doesn’t go along with his religious beliefs. He’s so ignorant he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. His discussion of atheism and agnosticism is more of the same—uninformed blathering. There is a difference between knowing/not knowing and believing/not believing, which is why Ricky Gervais calls himself an “agnostic atheist.”
The narcissism of faith is on full display. God, who’d you think is a busy fellow, is always there to lend Wilson a helpful nudge to get his career on track. “I was truly terrified by this crossroads [go to acting school or continue undergrad degree] and quite stumped as to what to do when I had one of the many mystical experiences that seemed as if the universe was folding itself toward me and taking a bow, inviting me onto an exhilarating pathway” (99). How important is Wilson? I mean, the fucking universe is concerned about his life choices! Despite being in the process of bombing his audition for the NYU acting program, the very kind director of the program knew he was talented and coached him through the audition. Because of her efforts, he got into the program. But Wilson puts it down to something that was “meant to happen”: “God reached out a mysterious hand and opened a door to a new room.” However, to the materialist “that mystical feeling is simply the endorphins and electrical impulses of the brain reacting to create emotional meaning in random chance” (103). First of all, you narcissistic religious dipshit, “materialists” wouldn’t have any “mystical feeling.” They don’t think things are “meant to happen.” Shit happens and we assign importance or patterns to it later (because that’s how our brains work, read about it sometime). Our brains hate randomness. Predicable patterns are best for our survival (again, read about it). So all those other times you sucked in plays or at auditions, did you feel the mystical hand of god? How far does god’s interference go? Did he orchestrate your entire fucking life so you could finally land what is (so far and probably) the pinnacle of your professional acting career, playing a weirdo paper salesman? I mean, this is god. Surely he’d want you to go on to do some kind of spiritual acting role. Maybe next time you’ll be a paper salesman who is annoyingly vocal about his Baha’i faith.
Finally, Wilson supplies this last bit of gobsmacking insanity to “prove” that god exists. This is the best example because his atheist friend Phil is involved. They are both at a baseball game and Wilson is telling his buddy all about Wakan Tanka (Lakota Sioux creator god) and how he’s so excited that because of Wakan Tanka, god is starting to make sense to him. (Let’s pause for a moment and wonder at the hubris of that remark. God, the omniscient, the omnipotent, the Alpha and Omega, the all-powerful, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named of mysterious ways, the creator of fucking everything, is starting to make sense to Rainn Wilson. He’s got him figured out.) Phil says, well, pray to Wakan Tanka and if the Yankees win, Wanka Tanka exists. So Wilson prays (out loud) and just as he finished the Yankees won the game: “We were stunned. [Only because you’re both idiots.] Our jaws dropped like oven doors. [Weird description.] We both looked at each other curiously. Hmmmmm. Okay, it most certainly could have been a coincidence. [No, I’m sure Wakan Tanka stopped saving kids from a burning building to help the Yankees win. Sucks for those burned up kids, but hey! The Yankees won! Priorities.] But it sure got my mind spinning [because you are an idiot]. Even skeptical Phil was a bit agog” (194). If Phil was impressed by that, he’s not a skeptic or an atheist.
The last chapter, Soul Pancakes, reads like a glossy write-up from a PR pamphlet to sell his media venture to gullible readers of this crappy book. He mentions how many “hits” his videos get, how touching and beautiful and spiritually uplifting they are…hurrah.
I regret reading this book. I hadn’t wanted to spend hours writing this review, but I was so disgusted by Rainn Wilson’s arrogance, snobbery and lack of intelligence that I was compelled to shred it. His half-assed ignorant religious discussions were the worst part of the book and I am offended for atheists everywhere when Wilson describes himself (even temporarily) as being an atheist. His idea of god was a scolding old man, so he rejected the faith of his parents because he wanted to live a carefree artsy life. Wilson, none of this makes you an atheist. It makes you an immature child rebelling against your parents (in your twenties, btw), insecure, and shallow. Atheism is not about rebelling. It is not about dying your hair “midnight black” and being artsy and listening to Patti Smith and Blondie and Lou Reed or reading artsy poetry and books. You’re a faker, you confuse style with substance and I don’t see that by the end of the book (at the age of almost 50) that you’ve progressed much.
May 12, 2020
Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) talks about his unconventional childhood and his journey to acting in this non-linear memoir. While humorous, he also talks about more serious topics, like his religion(Baha'i) and how he arrived (back) at it, morality, happiness, and the nature of entertainment. He also writes a little bit about his and his wife's work with at-risk girls in Haiti (and notes that "almost all girls in rural Haiti are 'at risk'" (p 281)) and how education of girls is one of the most effective ways of fighting poverty in the developing world.
We had the opportunity to hear Wilson speak at the Dallas Baha'i Center in 2009 when he was in Louisiana shooting the movie Super. That was the first time I had ever heard of the Baha'i faith. I am not religious, but the ideas of this denomination make sense to me. Especially the idea of the individual's investigation of the truth. From the very little I know, it feels really similar to Unitarian Universalists. I feel a little bit called out when he talks about agnostics: "people often use being an agnostic as a convenient, unevolved fallback position. For instance, they simply say 'I'm an agnostic,' and then don't do any soul searching or spiritual questing. OR they say that because you simply 'can't ever really know' that this excuses one from a committed examination." (p 192). I can't say that doesn't apply to me. While Wilson was raised in the Baha'i faith, he kind of fell away from it as a young adult, but then went back to it.
A funny and engaging memoir with some serious thoughts threaded through it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
We had the opportunity to hear Wilson speak at the Dallas Baha'i Center in 2009 when he was in Louisiana shooting the movie Super. That was the first time I had ever heard of the Baha'i faith. I am not religious, but the ideas of this denomination make sense to me. Especially the idea of the individual's investigation of the truth. From the very little I know, it feels really similar to Unitarian Universalists. I feel a little bit called out when he talks about agnostics: "people often use being an agnostic as a convenient, unevolved fallback position. For instance, they simply say 'I'm an agnostic,' and then don't do any soul searching or spiritual questing. OR they say that because you simply 'can't ever really know' that this excuses one from a committed examination." (p 192). I can't say that doesn't apply to me. While Wilson was raised in the Baha'i faith, he kind of fell away from it as a young adult, but then went back to it.
A funny and engaging memoir with some serious thoughts threaded through it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
March 26, 2016
Ugh, it took me FOREVER to get through this book. I was listening to it as an audiobook, which always takes longer than reading the regular book, but still. I also considered blaming the fact that I've been super busy, but that doesn't really account for it either. The fact of the matter is, I just wasn't that into this book.
For starters, my only knowledge of Rainn Wilson is from the Office, and this seems to appeal to people who are more into his Soul Pancake stuff. I'm not so much with the spirituality, so all the stuff about religion, spirituality, etc. seemed to drag on a bit for me. Plus, he even says at one point, "I'm going to talk about the Office for a while now, so if you're not interested in that, feel free to skip ahead." Who are these people who read this for all the other content and wanted to skip the Office segment? And on that note, the stuff about the Office is tragically short. I was really hoping for some more insider information about working on that great show, because what we did get was pretty fun! Definitely the highlight of the book.
Also, there are a lot of lists, and they're super specific lists. For instance, there's a list of all the great funny supporting characters from 1970s and 80s sitcoms with descriptions about why they're funny. Not having watched any of these shows and having only peripheral knowledge of them, this wasn't particularly interesting to me. Similarly, there is a long list of punk bands that Rainn Wilson was into as a teenager, something else that didn't really land for me. Lots of little compendiums like that, and none of them were particularly fascinating.
There are redeeming qualities to be found here, though. For instance, Rainn Wilson uses the term "grateful" more times than anyone ever has before, I daresay. He really comes across as appreciating everything he has in life, and that was nice to see. Also, he does say things about spirituality and the work he has done in this area that are very moving and noteworthy. And he writes about all of it with real passion and beauty. This good stuff just didn't outweigh the parts I wasn't that interested in.
For starters, my only knowledge of Rainn Wilson is from the Office, and this seems to appeal to people who are more into his Soul Pancake stuff. I'm not so much with the spirituality, so all the stuff about religion, spirituality, etc. seemed to drag on a bit for me. Plus, he even says at one point, "I'm going to talk about the Office for a while now, so if you're not interested in that, feel free to skip ahead." Who are these people who read this for all the other content and wanted to skip the Office segment? And on that note, the stuff about the Office is tragically short. I was really hoping for some more insider information about working on that great show, because what we did get was pretty fun! Definitely the highlight of the book.
Also, there are a lot of lists, and they're super specific lists. For instance, there's a list of all the great funny supporting characters from 1970s and 80s sitcoms with descriptions about why they're funny. Not having watched any of these shows and having only peripheral knowledge of them, this wasn't particularly interesting to me. Similarly, there is a long list of punk bands that Rainn Wilson was into as a teenager, something else that didn't really land for me. Lots of little compendiums like that, and none of them were particularly fascinating.
There are redeeming qualities to be found here, though. For instance, Rainn Wilson uses the term "grateful" more times than anyone ever has before, I daresay. He really comes across as appreciating everything he has in life, and that was nice to see. Also, he does say things about spirituality and the work he has done in this area that are very moving and noteworthy. And he writes about all of it with real passion and beauty. This good stuff just didn't outweigh the parts I wasn't that interested in.
November 21, 2015
In "The Bassoon King," Rainn Wilson points out how much easier and more fun it is to write scathing reviews than it is to write thoughtful well-balanced ones, and this is absolutely correct. So I will try to be well-balanced here. I liked parts of this book. I did not like other parts. I changed my mind about my rating every other chapter.
So, here are some things I liked:
-That he read his own audiobook. That was cool.
-The stories about Rainn growing up, especially the parts in Costa Rica and high school (Model UN, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.)
-The parts about working on the Office.
-The basics of the Bahá'í faith, which I did not know much about and was interested in learning about.
Here are some things I did not like:
-Rainn's reaction to any work he did which got bad reviews. I think it was supposed to be funny but it came off as bitter and defensive and poor-sportsman-like.
-On the same note, he spends a lot of time railing against the people who didn't think the USA should put out a different version of the BBC Office. At this point, who cares? You made a great show. Those people were clearly wrong and probably feel dumb already. Move on. Again, such defensive.
-The chapters about the THE-AH-TAH and his training and his teachers. Personal preference, I just felt it was kind of zzzzzzzz.
Overall, many ups-and-downs but a pretty ok read.
So, here are some things I liked:
-That he read his own audiobook. That was cool.
-The stories about Rainn growing up, especially the parts in Costa Rica and high school (Model UN, Dungeons & Dragons, etc.)
-The parts about working on the Office.
-The basics of the Bahá'í faith, which I did not know much about and was interested in learning about.
Here are some things I did not like:
-Rainn's reaction to any work he did which got bad reviews. I think it was supposed to be funny but it came off as bitter and defensive and poor-sportsman-like.
-On the same note, he spends a lot of time railing against the people who didn't think the USA should put out a different version of the BBC Office. At this point, who cares? You made a great show. Those people were clearly wrong and probably feel dumb already. Move on. Again, such defensive.
-The chapters about the THE-AH-TAH and his training and his teachers. Personal preference, I just felt it was kind of zzzzzzzz.
Overall, many ups-and-downs but a pretty ok read.
May 14, 2016
Rainn Wilson is best known for his role as eccentric but likable Dwight Schrute on the American-version of, “The Office”. Wilson is, surprisingly, a lot like Dwight so perhaps his entire life was preparation for the role. Wilson reveals his climb to fame in, “The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy”.
Although “The Bassoon King” is, in its simplest form, a Hollywood memoir attempting to either show how a celebrity is “one of us” or has been through hell and back; Rainn Wilson strays from this formula and pens quite a unique piece. Rather than telling his life story in a straight memoir form, Wilson infuses the pages with humor, lists, photos, and creative narrative themes which still present his story in a chronological way but much more creatively than other memoirs. This allows the material to be truly memorable and readers will not only learn a lot about Wilson but truly ���feel” him.
Speaking of being memorable, “The Bassoon King” uses humor to captivate the reader but this isn’t overly done or forced. It is natural and dry but also unexpected in many moments which results in laugh-out-loud action. Wilson is genuinely funny and quite charming in his own way. Plus, the prose and writing is wonderful. Wilson doesn’t just try to be funny and dummy down the text; but instead is a great writer all while having a strong pace. “The Bassoon King” is a joy to read and light years better than so many other Hollywood memoirs.
Also making “The Bassoon King” stand-out is the fact that Wilson never over-exaggerates problems, doesn’t beg for pity with a “woe is me”-attitude”, never blames other for any drawbacks, and doesn’t romanticize substance abuse which is what 99% of celebs do in memoirs. A standing ovation is deserved by Wilson for being a mature and strong individual while also being entertaining.
Wilson is not only good at not overdoing comedy or tonality; but his timing is also on point. Meaning, that Wilson executes the storytelling with proper pace and doesn’t linger long on a single subject. Other celebrity authors tend to drag on with unimportant details. On the other hand though, “The Bassoon King” doesn’t dive deep enough into Wilson’s personal depth of emotions—he clearly holds back.
Halfway through, the pages begin to be filled with more philosophical meanderings which some may find insightful while other may think are off-track from the memoir itself and that it offers more of Wilson’s views versus his background/experiences (personally, I find this to exemplify Wilson’s intelligence and spirituality which is much more interesting than a simple life-recall).
Naturally, “The Bassoon King” contains a chunk discussing Wilson’s climb to fame with “The Office”. Don’t expect a raunchy gossip fest, though. Wilson keeps it classy by simply exploring his favorite memories and tidbits from the show.
Wilson concludes “The Bassoon King” on a perfect note with equal parts of wit, humor, and personality that really sum him up as a person leaving the reader with adequate insight. Readers will certainly close the book with happy contentment.
“The Bassoon King” offers up details which readers and Wilson fans will appreciate such as a foreword from Rainn’s character of Dwight Schrute, a section of color plate photos, and even a comedic note on the font used (all readers of NF books are used to the page disclosing the font used…Well, Wilson even took that to another level!). An appendix is also available briefly describing Wilson’s faith of Baha’i.
Wilson’s “The Bassoon King” is a terrifically well-written memoir both in prose and content: truly standing out in the celebrity memoir crowd. Wilson informs, humors, and educates all while revealing his own life, background, and career. Although the door could have been open more with his internal feelings; “The Bassoon King” is recommended for fans of Rainn Wilson and readers of celebrity memoirs whom prefer less trash and more class.
Although “The Bassoon King” is, in its simplest form, a Hollywood memoir attempting to either show how a celebrity is “one of us” or has been through hell and back; Rainn Wilson strays from this formula and pens quite a unique piece. Rather than telling his life story in a straight memoir form, Wilson infuses the pages with humor, lists, photos, and creative narrative themes which still present his story in a chronological way but much more creatively than other memoirs. This allows the material to be truly memorable and readers will not only learn a lot about Wilson but truly ���feel” him.
Speaking of being memorable, “The Bassoon King” uses humor to captivate the reader but this isn’t overly done or forced. It is natural and dry but also unexpected in many moments which results in laugh-out-loud action. Wilson is genuinely funny and quite charming in his own way. Plus, the prose and writing is wonderful. Wilson doesn’t just try to be funny and dummy down the text; but instead is a great writer all while having a strong pace. “The Bassoon King” is a joy to read and light years better than so many other Hollywood memoirs.
Also making “The Bassoon King” stand-out is the fact that Wilson never over-exaggerates problems, doesn’t beg for pity with a “woe is me”-attitude”, never blames other for any drawbacks, and doesn’t romanticize substance abuse which is what 99% of celebs do in memoirs. A standing ovation is deserved by Wilson for being a mature and strong individual while also being entertaining.
Wilson is not only good at not overdoing comedy or tonality; but his timing is also on point. Meaning, that Wilson executes the storytelling with proper pace and doesn’t linger long on a single subject. Other celebrity authors tend to drag on with unimportant details. On the other hand though, “The Bassoon King” doesn’t dive deep enough into Wilson’s personal depth of emotions—he clearly holds back.
Halfway through, the pages begin to be filled with more philosophical meanderings which some may find insightful while other may think are off-track from the memoir itself and that it offers more of Wilson’s views versus his background/experiences (personally, I find this to exemplify Wilson’s intelligence and spirituality which is much more interesting than a simple life-recall).
Naturally, “The Bassoon King” contains a chunk discussing Wilson’s climb to fame with “The Office”. Don’t expect a raunchy gossip fest, though. Wilson keeps it classy by simply exploring his favorite memories and tidbits from the show.
Wilson concludes “The Bassoon King” on a perfect note with equal parts of wit, humor, and personality that really sum him up as a person leaving the reader with adequate insight. Readers will certainly close the book with happy contentment.
“The Bassoon King” offers up details which readers and Wilson fans will appreciate such as a foreword from Rainn’s character of Dwight Schrute, a section of color plate photos, and even a comedic note on the font used (all readers of NF books are used to the page disclosing the font used…Well, Wilson even took that to another level!). An appendix is also available briefly describing Wilson’s faith of Baha’i.
Wilson’s “The Bassoon King” is a terrifically well-written memoir both in prose and content: truly standing out in the celebrity memoir crowd. Wilson informs, humors, and educates all while revealing his own life, background, and career. Although the door could have been open more with his internal feelings; “The Bassoon King” is recommended for fans of Rainn Wilson and readers of celebrity memoirs whom prefer less trash and more class.
November 12, 2018
"You couldn't handle my undivided attention." - Dwight Shrute in 'The Office'
Rainn Wilson, however - best known for his 'assistant to the regional manager' role on NBC's long-running workplace ensemble sitcom The Office (2005-2013) - succeeded in keeping my attention throughout his lively autobiography. And, true to the subtitle, he talks in-depth about his theater training and experience during his college and pre-stardom years, his deep connection and spirituality with the Baha'i religion, and those random, unique things - growing up in Nicaragua, Dungeons & Dragons, playing the bassoon, assorted early non-acting jobs - at various points in his life. (***I'd also like to thank GR member/friend Izza for putting this book on my radar.***)
It should be noted that the chapters focusing on The Office comprise only about 10% of the book -- he loved the job (he was outstanding as Dwight) and he has some good anecdotes, but The Bassoon King is a really a reflection on his entire life that he wrote on the eve of his 50th birthday.
What was also interesting was his non-preachy discussion and explanation of the Baha'i religion. I had never heard of this faith before it was mentioned in an Entertainment Weekly article on Wilson about ten or so years ago. Pleasingly, it seems to be a very positive, guiding force in his life.
4.5 stars
Rainn Wilson, however - best known for his 'assistant to the regional manager' role on NBC's long-running workplace ensemble sitcom The Office (2005-2013) - succeeded in keeping my attention throughout his lively autobiography. And, true to the subtitle, he talks in-depth about his theater training and experience during his college and pre-stardom years, his deep connection and spirituality with the Baha'i religion, and those random, unique things - growing up in Nicaragua, Dungeons & Dragons, playing the bassoon, assorted early non-acting jobs - at various points in his life. (***I'd also like to thank GR member/friend Izza for putting this book on my radar.***)
It should be noted that the chapters focusing on The Office comprise only about 10% of the book -- he loved the job (he was outstanding as Dwight) and he has some good anecdotes, but The Bassoon King is a really a reflection on his entire life that he wrote on the eve of his 50th birthday.
What was also interesting was his non-preachy discussion and explanation of the Baha'i religion. I had never heard of this faith before it was mentioned in an Entertainment Weekly article on Wilson about ten or so years ago. Pleasingly, it seems to be a very positive, guiding force in his life.
4.5 stars
December 17, 2015
Rainn is insightful, funny, witty, and interesting. Also an insecure, elitist, snob. So there's the dilemma. His story has definitely been interesting, but sometimes he a little prone to the name drop. I don't need to hear about every single acting teacher you've ever had and how their brilliance transformed you. I don't care who they are, or what they did (starting to sound a little boy band-ish there oops). Their inclusion turns whole chapters into a really long awards show speech. But then, he tells a funny story, or shares a bit of sarcasm and I laugh. He's not afraid to express his opinion of pop culture and that is refreshing.
I think some readers will be very put off by how much he writes about his religion. I was thinking about it though; if I wrote a book about my life, it would be impossible without discussing my faith. Choices I've made, personality traits, they make no sense if people don't know the framework of my mind that has been formed by my faith. So I understand that. What I don't like? As I mentioned in one of my post updates- Rainn is very defensive of his faith and pleads with the reader to not Wikipedia it. I totally get that. What I don't get is why then a couple pages over he gives my religion a 'cutesy' nickname. Give respect to get respect right? Anyway. He can think what he likes, I can think what I like. Neither of us believe the same. Fantastic. Don't care. But see, I didn't then write a book including a plea for religious tolerance, and then act ignorant, did I.
I think the juicy bits have been withheld. Understandably. I'm less curious about how some Eastern European acting weirdo changed him as an actor, and more interested in why he and his wife were separated for a while. I totally get why he wouldn't write about that, but I'm still curious. Glad they're together now.
The Office got one chapter. If you're reading because you love the office, you'll be disappointed.
I like that Rainn didn't shy away from heavy topics- his mother abandoning the family, his heavy drug use, his turning to atheism and subsequent struggle back to faith. It makes who he is more understandable. His craving for love, and validation that drives him. Way better than the last biography I read (also about a comedic actor).
I think some readers will be very put off by how much he writes about his religion. I was thinking about it though; if I wrote a book about my life, it would be impossible without discussing my faith. Choices I've made, personality traits, they make no sense if people don't know the framework of my mind that has been formed by my faith. So I understand that. What I don't like? As I mentioned in one of my post updates- Rainn is very defensive of his faith and pleads with the reader to not Wikipedia it. I totally get that. What I don't get is why then a couple pages over he gives my religion a 'cutesy' nickname. Give respect to get respect right? Anyway. He can think what he likes, I can think what I like. Neither of us believe the same. Fantastic. Don't care. But see, I didn't then write a book including a plea for religious tolerance, and then act ignorant, did I.
I think the juicy bits have been withheld. Understandably. I'm less curious about how some Eastern European acting weirdo changed him as an actor, and more interested in why he and his wife were separated for a while. I totally get why he wouldn't write about that, but I'm still curious. Glad they're together now.
The Office got one chapter. If you're reading because you love the office, you'll be disappointed.
I like that Rainn didn't shy away from heavy topics- his mother abandoning the family, his heavy drug use, his turning to atheism and subsequent struggle back to faith. It makes who he is more understandable. His craving for love, and validation that drives him. Way better than the last biography I read (also about a comedic actor).
November 16, 2015
I love Rainn Wilson. He is a hilarious, spiritual, and down to earth individual. I have been quoting The Office and Dwight Shrute since I first starting watching the show in high school. I have, to date, watched every episode over 20 times. Needless to say, I'm a fan.
Rainn uses much of his book to cover the turmoils and delights he experienced trying to find his voice in acting. From high school to college to auditioning for his famous and not so famous roles. While I didn't find these histories all that interesting, Rainn has a humorous voice. I especially enjoyed his section on his past jobs.
He is also a very spiritual, philosophical person (as those of you familiar with Soul Pancake know) and spends much of his book digging into his faith and discussing the Baha'i religion. This may or may not be your thing.
What I most wanted to read about was snippets from his time on the set of The Office. Unfortunately, those didn't come until the last two chapters of his memoir. I may be wrong to base my review on that alone, but that is what I wanted to read about. Not that everything previously wasn't pleasant to read; it was. I just felt slightly gipped.
All in all, Rainn penned a well written and hilarious memoir, albeit, not with enough The Office references. Guess I will have to watch the extras on DVD for that.
Rainn uses much of his book to cover the turmoils and delights he experienced trying to find his voice in acting. From high school to college to auditioning for his famous and not so famous roles. While I didn't find these histories all that interesting, Rainn has a humorous voice. I especially enjoyed his section on his past jobs.
He is also a very spiritual, philosophical person (as those of you familiar with Soul Pancake know) and spends much of his book digging into his faith and discussing the Baha'i religion. This may or may not be your thing.
What I most wanted to read about was snippets from his time on the set of The Office. Unfortunately, those didn't come until the last two chapters of his memoir. I may be wrong to base my review on that alone, but that is what I wanted to read about. Not that everything previously wasn't pleasant to read; it was. I just felt slightly gipped.
All in all, Rainn penned a well written and hilarious memoir, albeit, not with enough The Office references. Guess I will have to watch the extras on DVD for that.
December 26, 2019
The best writer in the world told me that you can tell an interesting story about a boring person or a boring story about an interesting person, but you can't tell a boring story about a boring person.
I'm not a huge fan of celebrity/comedy memoirs. Mostly because they violate that important rule. Many a comedian is hilarious and interesting now, but if they had a fairly typical upbringing, and if the way they write about it is somewhat matter-of-fact, there's not a lot to be interested in.
Rainn Wilson had a very unusual life. I think he still does, but his childhood was unusual, as were his teenage years, his parents, his college, and so on. He's definitely not a boring person.
And his story isn't boring, either.
AND, he's a good writer. He makes some really good jokes, usually at his own expense, throughout the book. Things are clear an organized even though the life story is chaotic and hard to follow, he does a great job laying things out in a way that makes sense and emphasizes what's important, which keeps the book from becoming flat.
I think some readers are freaked out because of the stuff about the Bahá’í faith, but don't let that turn you away. I didn't know anything about it, and its presentation in the book is pretty light until an appendix at the end, which you can just take or leave if it's not to your taste.
This is a celebrity memoir that would be pretty damn good and interesting even if the celebrity writing it wasn't famous. I think that's going to be my new benchmark for these: Would I like this book if this person was completely not famous?
I did listen on audio, and I'd recommend it.
I'm not a huge fan of celebrity/comedy memoirs. Mostly because they violate that important rule. Many a comedian is hilarious and interesting now, but if they had a fairly typical upbringing, and if the way they write about it is somewhat matter-of-fact, there's not a lot to be interested in.
Rainn Wilson had a very unusual life. I think he still does, but his childhood was unusual, as were his teenage years, his parents, his college, and so on. He's definitely not a boring person.
And his story isn't boring, either.
AND, he's a good writer. He makes some really good jokes, usually at his own expense, throughout the book. Things are clear an organized even though the life story is chaotic and hard to follow, he does a great job laying things out in a way that makes sense and emphasizes what's important, which keeps the book from becoming flat.
I think some readers are freaked out because of the stuff about the Bahá’í faith, but don't let that turn you away. I didn't know anything about it, and its presentation in the book is pretty light until an appendix at the end, which you can just take or leave if it's not to your taste.
This is a celebrity memoir that would be pretty damn good and interesting even if the celebrity writing it wasn't famous. I think that's going to be my new benchmark for these: Would I like this book if this person was completely not famous?
I did listen on audio, and I'd recommend it.
February 26, 2024
Just like it says on the tin, Rainn covers his life from exotic Nicaragua to suburban Washington to the mean and magical streets of NYC, his eclectic resume, interspersed with very light brushes of spiritual talk, although his thoughts on acting was especially interesting to me, you can tell he feels very protective over and really believes in the power of the medium, there's a reason why it draws so many misfits and sensitive people to its flame. I would've liked to hear more on the art of acting through his life experience, but this memoir is written by a comedian, so it's kept pretty light in tone the whole time.
January 26, 2022
I surprisingly really enjoyed this book! I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. Rainn is exceedingly candid about his life and it's quite refreshing. I *love* The Office and I also enjoyed Backstrom, for the short time it was on. If you at all squeamish, read this book instead of listening. It's easier to skip nasty parts (butt worm, ear mold, giving birth) that way. But it was a joy to listen to Rainn narrate. And Dwight Kurt Schrute. lol.
Rainn's early childhood was in Nicaragua, how cool (and scary) is that?! Around 5 years old his father and stepmother moved to Washington state and he resided thereabouts and Illinois (or Indiana?) until after high school. He was the nerdiest of the nerds growing up (D&D, chess, pep band, marching band, bassoonist, tall, awkward, gawky, etc) and luckily had nerdy friends to commiserate with.
He headed east to NYC for the theater dream and it took him a long time to achieve it. Through poverty, drugs, alcohol, low lows, travelling Shakespeare troupes, and hey, getting married! Then he traveled a LOT with his wife, which is amazing that they got to do that. He's had a pretty topsy-turvy life and has luckily come out of it fairly well.
The book is pretty chronological and easy to follow and when it's not, he mentions that he'll be jumping forward and then going back. The audiobook felt like having a one-sided conversation with him. And I loved when he talked about The Office! :)
I learned a lot about the Baha'i faith from Rainn Wilson. I had never heard of it before this book. It seems to be a very good, spiritual, equality-driven faith. Way better than Scientology! haha! I had no idea that Rainn was such a spiritual person.
I look forward to seeing him on Utopia (another British remake) on Amazon Prime Video (produced by Gillian Flynn)!
Rainn's early childhood was in Nicaragua, how cool (and scary) is that?! Around 5 years old his father and stepmother moved to Washington state and he resided thereabouts and Illinois (or Indiana?) until after high school. He was the nerdiest of the nerds growing up (D&D, chess, pep band, marching band, bassoonist, tall, awkward, gawky, etc) and luckily had nerdy friends to commiserate with.
He headed east to NYC for the theater dream and it took him a long time to achieve it. Through poverty, drugs, alcohol, low lows, travelling Shakespeare troupes, and hey, getting married! Then he traveled a LOT with his wife, which is amazing that they got to do that. He's had a pretty topsy-turvy life and has luckily come out of it fairly well.
The book is pretty chronological and easy to follow and when it's not, he mentions that he'll be jumping forward and then going back. The audiobook felt like having a one-sided conversation with him. And I loved when he talked about The Office! :)
I learned a lot about the Baha'i faith from Rainn Wilson. I had never heard of it before this book. It seems to be a very good, spiritual, equality-driven faith. Way better than Scientology! haha! I had no idea that Rainn was such a spiritual person.
I look forward to seeing him on Utopia (another British remake) on Amazon Prime Video (produced by Gillian Flynn)!
November 24, 2015
I am a huge fan of The Office and so I would've read this book even without the fact that the introduction is written by one Dwight K. Schrute. (If you love that show as much as I do, I absolutely dare you not to read it and not laugh out loud at least three times on every page. AT LEAST.)
So yeah, come for the parts by Dwight and the Office anecdotes, but you'll stay for the rest of it. It's clever and sweet and just good.
I always forget just how many things Rainn Wilson has done that I've loved (including, God help me, House of 1,000 Corpses). Obviously I think of The Office first, but he's also in Galaxy Quest! Almost Famous! The Rocker (one of the most underrated comedies ever, according to me).
Also, he just sounds like a great human, and we need more of those.
Recommended.
So yeah, come for the parts by Dwight and the Office anecdotes, but you'll stay for the rest of it. It's clever and sweet and just good.
I always forget just how many things Rainn Wilson has done that I've loved (including, God help me, House of 1,000 Corpses). Obviously I think of The Office first, but he's also in Galaxy Quest! Almost Famous! The Rocker (one of the most underrated comedies ever, according to me).
Also, he just sounds like a great human, and we need more of those.
Recommended.
September 9, 2018
Won in the First Reads giveaway.
It was a funny and interesting memoir. I feel like certain racial terms could have been tweaked and there were moments of "get off my lawn"-ness. All in all, it was a very readable book.
It was a funny and interesting memoir. I feel like certain racial terms could have been tweaked and there were moments of "get off my lawn"-ness. All in all, it was a very readable book.
October 9, 2018
3.5 stars | I had no intention of picking this up, but it was available on OverDrive and I thought 'why not? I love The Office, I love Dwight. Might as well learn more about Rainn Wilson.' I had no expectation and I was pleasantly surprised :)
November 17, 2024
NOTE TO SELF: Have to remember — just because I enjoy watching someone on TV, that doesn’t mean their life story is going to be equally entertaining, (am looking at Colin Jost here as well).
Wilson is a "trained thespian" more than a natural comedian (despite being known mainly for comic roles), and it shows in his largely dry (or at least deadpan) and only sporadically amusing writing style. And while I enjoyed the too-few chapters on "The Office," his far lengthier sections on his professional training as an actor in New York — circus skills, mask work, clowning, a lot of that avant-garde "lie on the floor and act like a piece of bacon frying" nonsense — does a great job making "a career in the theatre" sound like just about the stupidest job in the world. That said, his post-"Office" focus on charitable work is certainly well-intentioned, and his "SoulPancake"…website? media empire? thing?...sounds (or sounded; looks like they shut down around 2019) pretty interesting; I may look for what remains of it on YouTube or wherever. Also, I learned more than I'd known before about the Baha'i faith, which also sounds kind of interesting, especially since "evangelical Christianity" ain't doing it for me at the moment…
So just 2+ stars for the book itself, but am rounding up since I listened to this throughout the week following Donald Trump's reelection, and it was just distracting enough and distant enough from anything political or current events-y that it helped me get through what would otherwise have probably been a pretty tough time. So never thought I'd say this, but "thanks, Dwight!"
Wilson is a "trained thespian" more than a natural comedian (despite being known mainly for comic roles), and it shows in his largely dry (or at least deadpan) and only sporadically amusing writing style. And while I enjoyed the too-few chapters on "The Office," his far lengthier sections on his professional training as an actor in New York — circus skills, mask work, clowning, a lot of that avant-garde "lie on the floor and act like a piece of bacon frying" nonsense — does a great job making "a career in the theatre" sound like just about the stupidest job in the world. That said, his post-"Office" focus on charitable work is certainly well-intentioned, and his "SoulPancake"…website? media empire? thing?...sounds (or sounded; looks like they shut down around 2019) pretty interesting; I may look for what remains of it on YouTube or wherever. Also, I learned more than I'd known before about the Baha'i faith, which also sounds kind of interesting, especially since "evangelical Christianity" ain't doing it for me at the moment…
So just 2+ stars for the book itself, but am rounding up since I listened to this throughout the week following Donald Trump's reelection, and it was just distracting enough and distant enough from anything political or current events-y that it helped me get through what would otherwise have probably been a pretty tough time. So never thought I'd say this, but "thanks, Dwight!"
July 18, 2022
☺FINALLY we can see Dwight ACTUALLY using paper.
🟥NOTE-THIS BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN FROM THE POV OF - DWIGHT K. SCHRUTE -ASSISTANT to THE REGIONAL MANAGER.
💋The sweetest photo from the book-
CAPTION-CAMEROO LOVE🥺
🔅Man , I can't even review this without breaking intro tears.
🔅I know that MANY books have been written , giving us the insight of the legendary sitcom THE OFFICE , but , I think this one here is THE BEST.
🔅It LITERALLY describes step-by-step making of this show , and it ALSO describes the difficulties ,the failures that the cast and crew faced.
🔅The other books and autobiographies aren't that detailed , but , this book is ......... it's REALLY something , if you wanna re-live THE OFFICE , please read this autobiography.
🔅An entire chapter has been dedicated to the sitcom .
🔅You won't BELIEVE what they are actually like in real life. PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!
🟥NOTE-THIS BOOK HAS BEEN WRITTEN FROM THE POV OF - DWIGHT K. SCHRUTE -ASSISTANT to THE REGIONAL MANAGER.
💋The sweetest photo from the book-
CAPTION-CAMEROO LOVE🥺
🔅Man , I can't even review this without breaking intro tears.
🔅I know that MANY books have been written , giving us the insight of the legendary sitcom THE OFFICE , but , I think this one here is THE BEST.
🔅It LITERALLY describes step-by-step making of this show , and it ALSO describes the difficulties ,the failures that the cast and crew faced.
🔅The other books and autobiographies aren't that detailed , but , this book is ......... it's REALLY something , if you wanna re-live THE OFFICE , please read this autobiography.
🔅An entire chapter has been dedicated to the sitcom .
🔅You won't BELIEVE what they are actually like in real life. PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!
October 29, 2018
The book became unbearable. Wilson just complains a lot. You have to hear all of his gripes in multiple asides (ie a long complaint about tv snobbery, how tv reviews compare unlike pieces of media all the time, etc). It makes whatever story he’s telling lose steam and it’s also like...WHO CARES!!!! Even his chapters about The Office got hard to listen to because he’d pepper it with complaints about something only barely related.
The book was funny sometimes and I really wanted to like it, but there were just ceaseless tangents where he’d complain for a looooong time. A lot of his jokes also felt forced in and he reveled and reminisced about being a nerdy outcast (while talking about how nerds nowadays have it soooo easy). Idk. It just felt very negative and not substantial.
The book was funny sometimes and I really wanted to like it, but there were just ceaseless tangents where he’d complain for a looooong time. A lot of his jokes also felt forced in and he reveled and reminisced about being a nerdy outcast (while talking about how nerds nowadays have it soooo easy). Idk. It just felt very negative and not substantial.
February 15, 2016
I'm a big Rainn Wilson fan and find him weird but funny. I wasn't crazy about this book - frankly it was kind of a slog to get through it. Though it's occasionally interesting to understand what life events shape a famous person, his life was just kind of weird.
My favorite part was his behind-the-scenes stories from the set of The Office.
At the end of the day, perhaps what disappointed me the most was that an autobiography written by the man who played one of the greatest comedic characters of all time made me chuckle out loud perhaps three times in almost 300 pages.
My favorite part was his behind-the-scenes stories from the set of The Office.
At the end of the day, perhaps what disappointed me the most was that an autobiography written by the man who played one of the greatest comedic characters of all time made me chuckle out loud perhaps three times in almost 300 pages.
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