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The Equation for Nerdy Book Club World Domination
You + Books
= Nerdy Book Club
The only requirement to be welcomed into the Nerdy Book Club is that you have to love books. It’s wonderful to be part of a community of book lovers but I challenge you to be more than simply a lover of books. If Nerdy Book Club is going to take over the world, we have to spread the word to readers but also recruit non-readers by helping them see the love they can have for books by knowing books to share with them.
You + Books + Others
= Nerdy Book Club World Domination
As Nerdy Book Club members, I adamantly believe we need to be the best role model for reading for every person we come in contact with. As Nerdy Book Club members, we demonstrate reading with passion, sharing books, discussing books, and recommending books. As Nerdy Book Club members, people should interact with us and think, “She/He really knows books!” And if we know books, we can connect books with the right readers, and then we are on the way to Nerdy Book Club world domination!
Kate Messner and I after her presentation at IRA
Last week, at the International Reading Association in Chicago, I attended a session with the fabulous Kate Messner, an energetic teacher and an enthusiastic librarian from St. George’s Independent School in Germantown, Tennessee. They had great ideas for connecting with authors and for promoting reading in a school. They said, “Treat reading promotion like you are the Marketing V.P. of Reading in your school!” I wanted to stand up and cheer. I am a hearing itinerant teacher for my district and I do my best to know books and talk books with kids every time I see them even though I am not a classroom teacher.
Adam Shaffer talked about this on Friday in his post “My Favorite Thing.” He wrote:
“As a teacher, it is hugely important to me that I be able to recommend books to my students. Not recommend like ‘I’ve heard this is good. You should read it.’ More like, ‘I read this book and thought about you. I know you’ll love it.’ I want to be a sharer of stories. To do that, I need to know what stories to share, and who to share them with.” This is exactly what I’m talking about!
A couple of months ago, I read Wonder by RJ Palacio. This book spoke to me in so many ways and I found myself compelled to put it into the hands of everyone I encountered. I realized right away that my student, Michelle, would identify with Auggie, the main character in the book. I immediately called Michelle’s mom and told her I would be sending the book home with Michelle and that I thought it would be a wonderful book for them to read together. The best part was that I was able to invite them to go meet the author with me at a book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois.
A few days before going to meet RJ Palacio, I sat with Michelle, her parents, and at least a dozen school professionals who work with Michelle in a meeting. There was a lull in the conversation and Michelle looked at me and said, “I love the book you gave me!” Of course, everyone wanted to know what book it was and what it was about. Out of all the people in the room, no one else had heard of or read Wonder. I don’t expect everyone to know every book out there, but imagine if I wasn’t in the Nerdy Book Club and if I hadn’t read Wonder. Would it have ever made it into Michelle’s hands?
Me, Michelle, and RJ Palacio at the book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville
The book touched Michelle, her parents, and her sister. Her mom could not believe how expertly RJ Palacio wrote about the feelings and experiences of the characters in the book. It was powerful for them to read and recognize their own feelings in the story. Auggie’s story let’s readers have some insight into their lives. Being there to see Michelle and her family meet the author was inspiring for me. I am proud to know such an amazing family.
Me and Michelle with our signed copies of Wonder by RJ Palacio
The moral of this story is that it’s great to love books and to talk about books and to be in the Nerdy Book Club, but we have to do more than that. Go out there Nerdy Book Club members. Tell people what you are reading. Ask people what they are reading. Recommend books. Give books and tell people the book made you think of them. Let people see how awesome it is to be in Nerdy Book Club and don’t take no for an answer. There is a book for everyone.
Jen is a National Board Certified Teacher in early/middle childhood literacy and teaches students who are deaf and hard of hearing in the suburbs of Chicago. She tries to be kinder than necessary in everything she does.
Nerdy Book Club 
This is such a powerful post. I appreciate the sharing here, and yet another reason why Wonder should be in the hands of many readers. Thanks.
Thanks, Kevin! Send it along, I just e-mailed it to all the principals I work with hoping they’ll share with their staff. 🙂
I thought I was ready before. Now after reading this, I’m really ready. Let’s go. March!
Thanks, Jen. Great post.
Do it! It’s hard sometimes to reach out and ask others to read more to share books with kids but it’s really important. If we believe in doing it, why not urge others to do it, too?
What a nice surprise to see you here at the NBC blog, Jen. I’m especially happy to see you spreading your story of Wonder and your student, Michelle. We do work hard to pass on that wealth around our school. It’s important to get to know our students so well that we just know what they would like to read, & they seem so excited when you say it’s just.for.them! Adults like that too! Thanks for this shout out for doing more about books!
Meeting RJ Palacio with Michelle was quite possibly the best author experience I have ever hard. I’m so glad we were able to do it. Books are powerful but sharing books and building that connection with students and a community of reading is truly important.
Yay! Love this post, Jen! I completely agree, we need to be reading role models. I work hard for our community to associate myself with books, and I know you do too. And I loved meeting Michelle! I’ve thought about her often over the last few weeks.
Thanks, Katherine! So glad you could join us. Michelle is a remarkable kiddo. We do work really hard to be reading role models…but I think everyone should. We shouldn’t be doing it alone. If more people in education did, it would be the norm to love reading and kids would benefit from that tremendously.
Phenomenal post. As most of us are teachers and/or librarians, we’re always in the business of expanding the Nerdy Book Club to world domination status. I love how you admonish us to do just that in this post. And, of course, I love this story. Every time I read it or see it referenced, it makes me smile wider than is normally possible in the morning. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Brian. I know most Nerdy Book Club members get the power of reading but we need to spread the word. I’ve said before that it’s awesome to be in Nerdy Book Club, being a nerd over books is cool. We need to pass this on to everyone we know so they realize this, too!
I wish that these were the kinds of things that went viral on the web.
I kind of hope this does. Keep sharing. 🙂
Let’s make it viral! Send it to everyone you know! Everyone, especially everyone who works with kids, needs to read this and get reading!
Your post brought tears to my eyes Jen. You’re right. This is so much more than a group of people who love books. We need to spread the Good News of their power, importance, and impact on people’s lives.
Aw, thanks, Beth! Books have great power. We just need to get everyone reading!
I love this post! Wonder was one of the books I read on my spring break trip to Death Valley. I have been pushing it ever since. I don’t have a student like Michelle, and I can only imagine what it was like for her. This is an important story. Every fifth grader in the country should be required to read it.
I don’t think I want anyone to miss this book. If it’s that powerful for us as adults, I think my high school students would benefit from reading it also. A book like this could open the door to recommending other books – to our students, friends, parents, colleagues, and random people we meet in the library, book store, lines at amusement parks, grocery stores, the DMV, church, etc.
I agree that every fifth grader should read it…but really everyone should read it. There are a range of ages in the characters in the book that we hear from. Everyone could add a little more kindness to the world. I can’t imagine anyone reading Wonder and not being touched. RJ Palacio has woven together a great story.
Great post, Jen. I, too, make sure to read every book in my classroom library, and often find former students in my building and tell them that I have a book for them. Many stop by weekly to find out what I’ve set aside for them. I try to recommend books for every one of my students, and often read outside my favorite genres in order to do that. Thanks for the encouragement and reminder of how important it is to spread the love of reading to everyone around us. 🙂
First and foremost, we need to be reading what our students are reading…but you are right, we need to be able to recommend books to former students! Or what about to younger siblings of our students? Or students who will be coming to our class in a few years? Or what about their parents? There are so many people we can share books with!
Mr. Hankins hosts two sessions for “Guy Readers” at the local library this summer. I’ve never done these before, but it seemed like the right time to get involved. What really gets me is how excited Noah is about these–for the authors, sure–but that his father is hosting these sessions. Good. I think I have found my “pass down”–lord knows building that pinewood derby car didn’t go quite as well as the box had suggested it would: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3889517599945&set=a.2346143696562.2134976.1339131158&type=1&theater
Awesome! Great way to develop more of a community of reading and in a fun way!
Amazing post about an amazing book. Wonder is one of my new favorites, and I think EVERYONE should read it.
I agree! Great book, everyone should read it. First book I truly wanted to give to everyone I know!
We do all have a responsibility to inculcate new members! I have been surprised by the excitement third graders have been showing about our lunch/recess book club and have now been told I can open our school library once a week in the summer. I love knowing that I am a member of a community of readers! NBC members unite!
I also read Wonder after all of the blog/Twitter press and have passed it on!
I love what you are saying – that you are giving kids more opportunities to read and share books and they love it and are embracing it! You are definitely expanding the Nerdy Book Club community. So great!
Well said, Jen, well said. I still wear my World Book Night pin every day, because it says I am a Book Giver – always. I am reading Wonder aloud to my high school students. Truthfully, Auggie’s story is one everyone needs to hear. And Gary, yes; let the march begin. We are on our way :0)
It was fun to participate in World Book Night this year. Such a great idea to give books just to give books. I’m glad to hear you are reading Wonder with high school students! Her style of writing and switching perspectives and going back a little in the story when she does it really interesting – I can see how that would good for students to analyze. But the story itself is worth anyone reading. March, march, march, march!
The Nerdy Book Club has introduced me to lots of fantastic books -as well as knowledgeable readers. While I haven’t been able to get any of my colleagues to use twitter or got to the NBC blog so far, I’ve shared the books I’ve learned about with all my students and colleagues. The Nerdy Book Club has simultaneously cost me hundreds of dollars (spent on books) and made me richer. Go figure!
I completely understand that it’s not easy to get people on board with Nerdy Book Club let alone our world domination scheme. I run into it all the time and it makes me really sad. Research shows that the biggest correlation between students and high reading scores is that the more kids read the better they are at reading. It just makes complete sense that we (in education) should know kids and know books and foster the community of reading so they are excited to read while at the same time teaching them how to be better readers. I e-mailed this post to administrators I work for and will be sharing it with colleagues, too. Maybe they need to hear it from more than just you. If we keep trying SOMEONE will have to listen, right? Don’t give up. 🙂
Thanks for enthusing me!
This post brought tears to my eyes. I’m definitely sharing it with all my coworkers! Thanks so much for writing this, Jen.
I got all hot around the collar when I read my quote. You made me blush, by myself in front of the computer.
Onward domination!
What a beautiful post, which brought tears to my eyes as well. This is what books are for–sharing the human experience which reminds us we all have common ties, despite all being unique. And having people like yourself to be a liaison between books and the people who will get the most from them, makes all the difference. Sometimes tears in my coffee is okay.
A wonderful and moving post. Reader’s rule! And Nerdy Book Club members rock-n-rule! 🙂
This is beautiful.
Sometimes it takes me longer than I wish to get to things. Sometimes, I miss them altogether. I’m so glad I finally got to this. Doesn’t Jen’s mini-bio say it all? “She tries to be kinder than necessary. . .” Wouldn’t it be amazing if all of us were?
What the heck is my name showing up as?!?!? 😀
omg, having one of those days. So I left a reply. My name showed up all wonky. I left another reply about the wonky name which cancelled my nice reply and only left the wonky one.
Never mind. The gist of it was that I LOVE you Nerdies.
Reading this in class such a a good book cant wait to go to school tomorrow and read more of that book!
im also in 6th grade