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lunarkitten's review
5.0
Jeopardy! has been a big part of my life since I was able to read, and by association, so has Alex Trebek. His death has been one of two celebrity deaths that made me ugly cry. I still have not been able to watch his final episode of Jeopardy!, and it took me until now to read his wonderful memoir. I opted to listen to the audiobook version because I love listening to Alex (and now Ken Jennings) speak, and both of them narrate this book just wonderfully. Ken handles the bulk of the narration, while Alex takes over during some more emotional and poignant chapters. I teared up at the beginning as he discussed his cancer diagnosis and mortality, but it was the end, his goodbye to his fans and readers as he wished for them all to have a good life, that really made the tears flow.
cawleen's review
5.0
Loved this audiobook. It was narrated by Kenning Jennings and Alex Trebek. It was nice to hear all the little stories he had to share, and about is personal life and growing up in my hometown.
scarlet_begonia21's review
5.0
I loved this book! I noticed some negative reviews and I think it just depends what you expect from an autobiography. I personally liked the short chapters- they kept me interested and were comical. I listened to the audiobook that was read mostly by Ken Jennings, with the exception of a few chapters that Alex read (the intro, a section about his wife, a section about Ken Jennings, and the ending). I thought it was very down to earth and sweet, especially the parts talking about his family, his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, and his philosophies about life. I have loved Jeopardy ever since I was a child, and my grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011. So I felt this book to be very touching in various ways.
I don’t read many autobiographies, but I think the main reason why I loved this is because I’ve never really had high expectations about what a person wants THEIR autobiography to be about. I thought Ali Wong’s book was funny but not for me, I fell more in love with Patti Smith in “Just Kids,” I love Carrie Brownstein and her music but her book was just alright, I thought Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” was absolutely phenomenal, and I thought this one by Trebek was perfect. It’s not as inspirational as “Becoming” or as beautifully written, poetic, and deeply emotional as “Just Kids.” But that’s okay. Each were different stories, and each were incredibly different people. What makes a good autobiography? I don’t know. But I learned all about Alex and Jeopardy so it kept me interested and entertained. Also, at the end Alex explains that all profits from the book are donated to various charities to help the poor and less fortunate, so it made me respect him much more just for that. He purposely didn’t mention that prior to publication, and doesn’t even mention it until the last chapter, because he didn’t want that publicity. I don’t feel like publishing this book was a power grab or him taking advantage of the attention he’s receiving from his diagnosis- quite the opposite in fact. The man is a national treasure.
I think Alex Trebek is amazing. And I thought this book would be an awesome insight about the best ever TV quiz show host. I was correct.
I don’t read many autobiographies, but I think the main reason why I loved this is because I’ve never really had high expectations about what a person wants THEIR autobiography to be about. I thought Ali Wong’s book was funny but not for me, I fell more in love with Patti Smith in “Just Kids,” I love Carrie Brownstein and her music but her book was just alright, I thought Michelle Obama’s “Becoming” was absolutely phenomenal, and I thought this one by Trebek was perfect. It’s not as inspirational as “Becoming” or as beautifully written, poetic, and deeply emotional as “Just Kids.” But that’s okay. Each were different stories, and each were incredibly different people. What makes a good autobiography? I don’t know. But I learned all about Alex and Jeopardy so it kept me interested and entertained. Also, at the end Alex explains that all profits from the book are donated to various charities to help the poor and less fortunate, so it made me respect him much more just for that. He purposely didn’t mention that prior to publication, and doesn’t even mention it until the last chapter, because he didn’t want that publicity. I don’t feel like publishing this book was a power grab or him taking advantage of the attention he’s receiving from his diagnosis- quite the opposite in fact. The man is a national treasure.
I think Alex Trebek is amazing. And I thought this book would be an awesome insight about the best ever TV quiz show host. I was correct.
cafo6's review
5.0
I chose the audible version of this book because it seemed so fitting to have Alex's voice in my ear, telling of his life and about the show I've loved so long. Then I realized that he didn't narrate the entire thing, but he did the intro and some of the chapters. He had Ken Jennings read the majority of the book. This...was surprisingly ok. Ken Jennings is so closely associated with Jeopardy, and they so obviously have become friends, that it seemed like an absolutely perfect choice.
This isn't a full autobiography, as Alex explains in the intro. It's a series of snippets, stories, details, and yes trivia, about his life and about the show. He mentions names we recognize (from the show and elsewhere), and we learn about his family and his upbringing.
I've always liked Alex Trebek. I grew up watching the show - first, with my stepdad, who was a police officer and thus absolutely loved Frank Spangenberg (the police officer in the early years who did so well). Then with my mother, who was so proud of herself any time she would get the Final Jeopardy! question - especially if she got it and the contestants did not. She would ask us not to call during the show, and in fact refused to answer the phone if it rang while she was watching. Much as Alex says of other fans, Jeopardy is a part of my life and my history. When my mother died, there was tremendous comfort in the show because it was something we had shared.
There may be some surprises, even for ardent fans, as there were for me. And some opinions readers may or may not share with Alex. Some of the stories are much like his brief chats with contestants - tiny little blurbs of his life. Trivia, you might say. But there are touching parts, and sweet parts, and humor and love and deep respect throughout. There was frank discussion of life and death, even as Alex Trebek faces his own - he's very open about that, and vulnerable in a way few people dare to be.
100% worth the read. Godspeed, Alex - and thank you for sharing your answers.
This isn't a full autobiography, as Alex explains in the intro. It's a series of snippets, stories, details, and yes trivia, about his life and about the show. He mentions names we recognize (from the show and elsewhere), and we learn about his family and his upbringing.
I've always liked Alex Trebek. I grew up watching the show - first, with my stepdad, who was a police officer and thus absolutely loved Frank Spangenberg (the police officer in the early years who did so well). Then with my mother, who was so proud of herself any time she would get the Final Jeopardy! question - especially if she got it and the contestants did not. She would ask us not to call during the show, and in fact refused to answer the phone if it rang while she was watching. Much as Alex says of other fans, Jeopardy is a part of my life and my history. When my mother died, there was tremendous comfort in the show because it was something we had shared.
There may be some surprises, even for ardent fans, as there were for me. And some opinions readers may or may not share with Alex. Some of the stories are much like his brief chats with contestants - tiny little blurbs of his life. Trivia, you might say. But there are touching parts, and sweet parts, and humor and love and deep respect throughout. There was frank discussion of life and death, even as Alex Trebek faces his own - he's very open about that, and vulnerable in a way few people dare to be.
100% worth the read. Godspeed, Alex - and thank you for sharing your answers.
teresa81186's review
5.0
A wonderful memoir. As a mega fan of Alex Trebek and Jeopardy, I found myself laughing out loud as his anecdotes from a long and well-lived life were read by Ken Jennings. I also had tears in my eyes as Alex himself took over to talk about his soul mate in his wife. I love watching Jeopardy every evening with my husband as we eat dinner and it was nice to get to know the real Alex Trebek...who is not far off from his TV personality...just a lovely man living a lovely life.
chickflix's review
2.0
There's not a lot to this book. Trebek includes a little bit of information about his life, but it's mostly about his cancer diagnosis and where he will go from here. I don't think it needed to be a full book. A short TV interview would've covered it all.
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