Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans (Updated Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining, but could have been even better.
Review: This is, fundamentally, a smart and funny book about being in love with Star Wars. But Brooker walks a difficult line between being a fan (which he most assuredly is) and being a scholar. Some of the time this works, some of the time his analysis seems slightly skimpy to me. Ultimately, I think the book would have worked better if Brooker had cast aside his academic pretensions (and that's not supposed to sound mean) and concentrated on writing a clever, witty, well-researched fanbook. Because, damn, he can write so well! Parts of this book had me doubled over with laughter - although he's very careful not to laugh at any of the fans he's in contact with. In fact, you probably have to be a fan to find this amusing, it's all about laughing at yourself. I didn't come away from this book with any huge insights, I'll admit. But I did get a very warm sense that this level of fandom is a positive thing, and that a life of following Star Wars is just as valid as a life of sports-watching, novel-reading or religious devotion. Definitely worth reading!