American Nerd by Benjamin Nugent

As of this morning, Wikipedia states that "nerd, as a stereotypical or archetypal designation, refers to somebody who pursues intellectual interests at the expense of skills that are useful in a social setting such as communication, fashion, or physical fitness." That sounds about right, but it's wrong.


I didn't expect to love this book as much as I actually did.

Being a nerd myself (both self-proclaimed and generally well-recognized as such), I burst out laughing when I saw the title. American Nerd: The Story of My People, it's a great title and one that had me hooked from the get-go.

From the moment I started reading this book, I haven't been able to stop talking about it. Every one of my friends has already heard a comprehensive synopsis, so this will likely be one of the most easily written book reviews I've ever typed up.

American Nerd is a quintessentially nerdy book in and of itself. It is, in essence, a comprehensive study of the American nerd, covering everything from the psychology behind typically nerdy people, the history of the "nerd", and even the racism inherently involved in the classification of nerds (most tend to be Jewish or Asian and described as being "hyperwhite" in personality).

This is definitely one of those books that makes you feel like you are basically soaking your brain in information, amassing knowledge like a sponge dipped in a glass of water. This is a feeling I have come to love and thus my experience in reading this book was even better because of it.

Nugent, a nerd himself, litters the narrative with real-life examples of those generally considered nerds -- from childhood friends to Renaissance CosPlayers, including the life experiences that lead them to making the choices they did and becoming the sorts of people that attend anime conventions and conduct meetings of sci-fi enthusiasts.

All in all, this was an extremely informative book that had me enthralled from beginning to end. This was so much more than I had expected and Nugent's take on different aspects of nerd culture were both eye-opening and intriguing. I would definitely recommend it.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥


Jack Jenkins and Zack Malitz found in their debate community a way to rebel against what they considered an overly regimented high-school existence. Their nerdy activity was a way out of a cage of false certainties.
Then there are other nerds for whom order is not a cage, but a bright, clean Radisson in the snake-infested wilderness that is their daily life. For them, being a nerd is not a flight from an overly ordered existence; it's a flight from a life of fear and confusion into order.

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR List

Over at The Broke and the Bookish, they have this thing called Top Ten Tuesday. Each Tuesday they give other bloggers a chance to participate in making a top ten list with them. This week the topic at hand is this summer's To Be Read list. This is meant to be each person's top ten books they are excited about this summer. They could be new releases or old favorites that you're planning on rereading: whatever you choose!

I thought this sounded like a lovely blog post idea and couldn't pass up the chance to do it. Seeing as I'm currently incapacitated right now due to some burn wounds I recently sustained, I thought this would be a fun activity to keep me occupied for a couple of minutes. 

Anyway, here's my list, in no particular order. I don't have all of the books I'm going to read planned out, so obviously these are the ones I know I'm pretty certain about reading and that I am intensely excited about. 

Enjoy!:

1) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I saw the movie adaptation of this book a little over a year ago, I believe, and I loved it. I'm a pretty big fan of Greek mythology and any storyline that incorporates that into it is definitely something I want to check out. 

2) A Modern Look at Monsters by Daniel Cohen

Sounds creepy to some, I'm sure, but this book caught my eye at the library and I'm super excited to read it. I like finding out the origins of things and this book will likely prove a good arsenal for creating fictional dangers as an author.

3) American Nerd: The Story of My People by Benjamin Nugent

This is another book I just happened to stumble upon the other day at the library. Being a self-proclaimed nerd, this book immediately appealed to me. Besides the title and cover both put a huge smile on my face. I'm sure the interior will do the same.

4) Those Amazing Ringlings and Their Circus by Gene Plowden

After reading in Vintage Tattooing about how the origins of tattooing in America are closely tied with circus folk, my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to learn more about how circuses used to work in the early nineteenth century and such, so I picked up this book. I can't wait to see what it has in store. 

5) Paper Towns by John Green

To be fair, I've already read this. If you've read blog for a while you'll already know that this happens to be one of my all-time favorite books. Still, it merits rereading and this is the summer to do it.

6) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I adored this book. Like Paper Towns, I've already read it and it is also one of my all-time favorites. That is enough reason to reread it in itself, but the movie adaptation is also coming out later this year, thus it is near imperative. 

7) Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Like Percy Jackson, this is the beginning of a series, but one I've been dying to read for a while now. It looks wonderful and highly original and it's about time I went about reading it.

8, 9, & 10) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

I know, I'm a terrible nerd. . . but I've seen all the movies more times than I can count. That doesn't really help, but I'm going to amend that. I've had this trilogy on my to-read list for a long while now and I'm going to finally buckle down and do so.

What are your top ten or even top five books to read this summer? Are you planning on reading any of the same ones I am? Or have you already read some of them and want to give your input? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!