Tag Archives: nerd

Confessions of a Book Nerd

11 Apr

readingThis morning I came into work and set my bag down on a desk to hang up my coat. My bag was open, and the current book I’m reading, “Game of Thrones,” was laying atop my things.

“You’re reading that?” Dr. L asked. “Isn’t there some Dragon mother character?”
“Daenerys Targaryen?” I replied.
“Wow, you are such a nerd.”
“I’ve never claimed to be anything but. If you assumed otherwise, I don’t know what to tell you.”

Truthfully, I am surprised at how much I am loving a Fantasy book. Part of my enjoyment comes from my investment in the television series. I had tried reading “Game of Thrones” two years ago but found it difficult trying to keep all the characters straight. Now that I watch the show, it’s so much easier to visualize who is who and where they all come from. It’s fun to read, and I’m already feeling anxious for him to finish writing the series so I can finish reading it. I started the book on Tuesday after a three week hiatus from reading to study for my semester 2 vet tech finals. So I’ve been indulging myself in all my favorite book nerd behaviors. Not sure how normal or abnormal these are:

  • When I’m reading on the subway, I wear my iPod ear buds. I’m never listening to anything. I just don’t want anyone to interrupt my reading.
  • I HAVE to have a back up book read to go in case I finish the book I’m currently reading.
  • When people send me postcards, my first thought is usually, “That’ll make a lovely bookmark.”
  • Sometimes when I’m bored, I browse through my GoodReads to-read list and fantasize about all the books I’m looking forward to reading.
  • I don’t like to see books touching the floor. It feels disrespectful.
  • I love falling asleep with a book in bed with me and waking up in the morning to find it waiting under my arm.
  • When I’m doing something mind-numbing like inventory at work, the most irritating part to me is thinking about how much reading I could be doing at that moment.
  • I’ve perfected the art of read-walking. When I’m just about to finish a chapter and I’m at my subway stop, I exit the subway, walk up the stairs, and walk to my apartment, still reading.
  • When my train is delayed and everyone around me is pouting and staring at their watches, I feel bliss at how much more time I get to read.

What are your weird book nerd habits?

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28 Before 28: Join a Book Club

7 Apr

In my 28th year of life, I’m attempting to do 28 new things. Full list here.

I’ve had this on my list for three years now. I searched for book clubs I could join online, finding only stay-at-home moms who read books about parenting. I mentioned it to people in passing, a lot of whom responded that Book Clubs are lame and for…stay-at-home moms.

“Preposterous!” I replied to the nay-sayers. So I started a book club myself.

As a bookish person, I have over the years attracted a number of friends with similar book nerd tendencies. All it took was posting a query of interest on my Facebook page to get together a modest group of six to discuss books about once a month.

Yesterday was our first meeting, and it went well! I was so happy to hear other people’s feelings about the book, their favorite parts, their criticisms. As the de facto leader, I was the one who picked the book, “The Poisoner’s Handbook” (link in caption above for purchase). It turned out to be a fitting book about Prohibition. So we sat together, throwing back Bellini’s and Bloody Mary’s, discussing.

For me, the best part about a book club is the widening perspective as a reader. By reading books other people have selected, it causes me to read books that I might shy away from. In the discussion itself, I got to see the book through five other people’s perspectives. The English major in me felt right at home.

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