What I Read -- The Answer Is...

Who doesn't love Alex Trebek?  He's an American treasure! (Except that he's actually Canadian.)

After the recent announcement of his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he decided he would write a book about himself.  Apparently he had been asked to do this several times in the past, but until his diagnosis he had always refused.

What he came up with when he finally agreed to set down his thoughts is a collection of short stories.  They are chronological, so it reads like a classic memoir in that sense, but the stories are often disconnected from what came before and what follows.  This is not intended to be a criticism.  The short story format makes for a very quick and easy read, which was incidentally exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up.

It does get a little heavier towards the end, when he talks about the possible end of his run on Jeopardy! and, of course, his illness.  But he does all this with an overwhelming sense of happiness and satisfaction with the trajectory of his life that keeps it from being depressing.

In short, this book confirmed every wonderful thing I have ever thought about Alex Trebek.