I have a strong distaste for the term “Nerdy Book Club”.
Every time I see people on Twitter using the #nerdybookclub hashtag it makes me wrinkle my brow because, I’m sorry, I so don’t consider myself to be a nerd.
Just to prove my point, I have looked up “nerd” in the American Heritage College dictionary:
“A person regarded as stupid, socially inept, or unattractive.”
Does being a book nerd make me stupid? Nope. By reading I’m learning more about the world – about people and places and the past and the future and…everything.
Does being a book nerd make me socially inept? Since I spend a lot of time interacting with other people, like colleagues and students, who love books themselves, I think this actually makes me more social. Besides the fact that as I read I’m learning about different characters and their personalities and how people interact with each other in general.
Does being a book nerd make me unattractive? You’d have to ask my husband about this, but I don’t think I’m less attractive because I’m holding a book.
The entry also refers to a nerd as someone who is “square”. The definition of a “square” is:
“A person who is regarded as dull, rigidly conventional, and out of touch with current trends.”
Does being a book nerd mean that I am dull? Quite the contrary, I think I’m more interesting because I can tell you about all sorts of books I have read. Plus, this year I’ve read more non-fiction and historical fiction than I have in the past and now I’m full of lots of great facts that can entertain people at parties.
Does being a book nerd mean I am rigidly conventional? By reading so many different books, I am actually more open to new and radical ideas. When I hear about people or groups that want to ban books, it makes me think that they are very rigid and close-minded. In my opinion, banning books is not really about the books, it’s about the people who are banning those books. They aren’t in touch with how controversial stories (that I feel are true life stories) help readers grow and expand their thinking.
Does being a book nerd mean I am out of touch with current trends? I vividly remember telling a friend about the book Twilight before everyone started reading Twilight. I explained that it was about a girl who moves to live with her dad in Oregon and falls in love with a boy…who happens to be a vampire. My friend was with me until I said “vampire” and then she looked at me like I was crazy. Before long Twilight became a phenomenon and vampires were the end all be all to cool. Point proven.
According to these conventional definitions of a nerd or a square, I truly don’t believe myself, or any of my self-proclaimed book-nerd friends, to be nerds. However, I am happy to redefine a nerd as it relates to those who loves books so as to represent this wonderful group of people who deem themselves book nerds. (And to make myself feel better about being a member of the Nerdy Book Club.)
“Book nerd”, as defined by Jen Vincent, this 3rd day of December, 2011:
“A person who loves books beyond all measure insomuch as to be known to read various genres, at any time of day or night, in any location with extreme pride; characterized as being intelligent, social ept, attractive, interesting, fluid thinking, open-minded, and in touch with current trends.”
Now that I’ve redefined what it means to be a book nerd, I’m proud to be a member of the Nerdy Book Club.
I’m a book nerd and I’m cool, thank you very much. I love books and I don’t care who knows it. I’ve said before that I can talk books with any random stranger and in a few minutes we’re BFFs because we’ve bonded over books. I believe in books. Anyone who mistakes us book nerds as the dictionary’s definition of nerds just isn’t up to date on the current trend in book nerdiness. To which I say, get reading! (Maybe you’ll figure it out…)
Jen Vincent
Jen is a National Board Certified Teacher in early/middle childhood literacy and teaches students who are deaf and hard of hearing in a suburb of Chicago.
@mentortexts
Don’t forget to nominate your favorite 2011 books for the first annual Nerdy Book Club Best Books List
Thank you for helping us define what it means to be in the #nerdybookclub.
Huzzah for the newly clarified definition of Book Nerd!!!
I fought our school planning committee when they wanted a Nerd Day during Red Ribbon Week because I embrace the word and think that such events send a negative message about being smart. Perhaps I am overanalyzing it.
Many kids see reading as nerdy and uncool. I work hard every day to change this with my students. I think reading is cool for all of the reasons you describe, Jen. The most interesting people I know are readers!
“Sticks and stones….” But yes, names can hurt us.
As a gifted support teacher, I work hard to help kids embrace and redefine the words that may be used against them in middle and high school. Words like “nerd” and “geek” top that list.
Thankfully, there has been an upswell lately of cool people self-identifying as geeks and nerds. If we own the label, and make it what we want it to be, it’s much harder for those names to hurt us when they are used as weapons later.
The slogan for my 4th-5th grade Guys Read Book Club is “We read because we’re cool. We’re cool because we read.” I don’t know if I heard it somewhere first, but we’ve adopted it as our own.
Not many of the members would be considered “the cool kids.” But we are cool. We’re nerds, and we’re awesome because of it, and we’ll celebrate it. We have a great time, we act like ourselves, and we don’t have to prove anything to anyone. The sad thing about “the cool kids”? I know some of them are interested in Guys Read, deep down. But they’d have to figure out how to justify joining our club to the people–their parents, friends, coaches–who have contributed to and driven their “coolness.” It’s too much pressure to put a kid through.
We’re nerds, and if something is awesome we do it. My justification is that I am awesome, and I like to do awesome things, and I’m not going to avoid something awesome just because somebody else has a different opinion.
I am a nerd.
I love your new definition for “nerd” and am glad you are ready to embrace it. I’m ok with it anyway you define it. I too love books. I’ll randomly recommend books to strangers in bookstores. I know I have found true friends when I see a book sticking out of someone’s purse.
Katherine
Isn’t funny how you don’t even have to know anything about a person but if you have read the same book you can be chatting away in minutes?! I love that Authors can be rock stars and that being a reader can mean so much more. And it is really true that when you take your reading out into places like Twitter, or book clubs then it is social. Thanks Jen for sharing your perspective. It is great.
I’ve always embraced the word nerd -”nerda” where I grew up- Now that I’m a teacher I use it even more. Every chance I get, I refer to myself in front of my kids as a math geek or a book nerd because I want to share with them that there’s nothing wrong with being smart, enjoying school, and loving books. And I tell them how lucky they are that they get to be nerds in the open…that when I went to school, I didn’t get independent reading time like they do…that I would place the novel I was reading on my lap, underneath my catholic school skirt and pull it up just enough to look down and read without my teachers’ noticing. I’ll never forget getting detention for reading A Hundred Years of Solitude during Physics Lab
Nerds of the World Unite.
Thanks for all the comments everyone! I didn’t really realize how much the word had a negative connotation for me until everyone started talking about Nerdy Book Club. When I looked up the definition in the dictionary I thought it was interesting what they qualified as a nerd. It was high time we need a new and improved book nerd definition. And, honestly, i really do believe that we’re cool because we read and read because we are cool.
I guess we should redefine “nerdy.” I always read it as if I was letting “my freak flag fly” courtesy of David Crosby, 1970?
It’s a GOOD thing.
Jen,
Your post got me thinking a little about a basketball cheer I once heard that had the sentiments of the Northwestern Wildcats would be the bosses of the opponents at some point. I always found that idea funny because it was a reminder that the epitome of nerdiness for many kids is taking learning as seriously as other things. What would it be like if people who loved books, math, art, etc were actually considered people worthy of admiration, instead of our society typically lifts up to be admired.
I have wrestled with stereotypical ideas in the past, but I have for a long time embraced my book nerdiness. It’s pretty cool that we have found so many others that are doing the same.