Will by Will Smith (audiobook)

genre: memoir

I'd probably call myself a fan of Will Smith - I like some of his music and I'm a huge fan of a few of his movies.  He seemed like a funny and down to earth guy, so as soon as I saw he had a memoir out, I got on the list.  I chose audio, since he reads it himself and I think he does a great job with verbal word play

Here is the thing.  I was entertained by this book.  I was. I loved learning about how he came up in Philly, his issues, his hardships, how he overcame them.  He screwed up - a lot - and doesn't shy away from at least some of his big mistakes.  He talks about his creative processes, where he was intentional and where he got lucky.  He also talks about his fame.  A LOT.  Like, it almost was like a joke at the end, explaining to me - again- that he's the world's biggest movie star.  By the end I wanted to say, "Will - we get it.  You're super famous.  It's impacting how you see the world.  You don't have to keep telling us."  There is a lot of reflection here but maybe not quite enough, if it made me sorta of want to laugh at him at the end there, for feeling like I had to be reminded of who he is.

I really like behind the scenes trivia, and he definitely delivered that so that part was fun for me.  There were some really tender moments.  There were moments that made me cringe and feel embarrassed for him.  He did come across as a flawed human, which I appreciate, and some parts did make me laugh out loud.  The audio was well performed, I liked the music, especially.  

So, I think my earlier statement just sums it up - it entertained me.  It's not perfect but that's okay.  Will Smith has had a pretty extraordinary life, even it if was a little annoying sometimes to read about it.

content warning: SO MANY SWEARS