Summary

It is January. Greg wishes he would have begun keeping a journal earlier in his life so whoever writes his biography one day will have all their questions answered. While Greg’s mom, Susan, is pregnant with him, she reads to him, plays music for him, and speaks to him through a microphone and headphones. Greg remembers how, after being born, almost everything he received was an ill-used hand-me-down from older brother Rodrick. Greg remembers also quickly learning how to handle his parents, such as removing the batteries from the remote so he wouldn’t be forced to watch educational programming. All attempts to jumpstart Greg’s education and intelligence end up backfiring. As a result, Greg’s parents do not follow the same path with Manny, giving Manny greater freedoms.

Manny has many imaginary friends, which enables him to get extra dessert...