Top Ten Examples of How Much of a Book Nerd I Am

This week's list will celebrate my own nerdiness! Yay for nerds. Most of them will be book-related, because, well, that's how I roll. I do warn that the list is not actually in any particular order, despite the illusion of order provided by the numbers. I am somewhat tempted to do what one of my college professors did and use nonsense combinations of ordering symbols (e.g. 12, xxx, ii, 3), but it bothers the OCD parts of me a bit too much.

10. I just mentioned being a bit OCD. These odd compulsions impact me most often with regards to reading. Some of the rules are that I have to finish a book if I get 50 or so pages into it (with an exception, sadly, for books that have to be returned to the library. I also have to select books to read or movies to watch from giant lists through particular selection schemes I have devised to keep myself from having to make a large-scale decision. Seriously, these schemes are totally nutso, but I need them. I also am compelled to watch or read series in order, even if the order is not important. Exceptions can be made for hanging out with friends or if a later book in the series is the only one accessible to me, but, if I have control, there is no way I will ever encounter a series out of order.

Shockingly, it appears that there are no photos of me reading,

so here I am crosswording, another nerdy, word-focused pastime.

9. This may come as a surprise, but I have not carried my library card on my person for probably about 10 years now. That's because I don't need it. I've had my library card number memorized since the earliest days of the library system's OPAC. Seriously. I remember when it used to look like a command line interface. This not using a card feat would not be possible without self-checkout machines. (Bonus book nerd fact: I have actually reached the library's cap of items to be checked out a given time; for those curious, that limit is 75 items.)

8. Every Monday, one of the things I regularly check is the new book listing at my local library. They post the newly purchased books every week on Monday. Well, I should say almost every Monday, because sometimes they don't get it up on time. This drives me crazy, causing me to continually check back until the new books appear, so that I can be at the top of the hold list. One time the books didn't post for a week. That sucked.

7. I used to just sit down and read books from cover to cover, sometimes in one sitting. Part of me really misses that, but I don't know if I have the attention span for it anymore. My reading method changed when I was in college, because I developed a barter system where I would earn the right to read some of my book for pleasure by reading some of my school texts. End result of this plan was that I got used to reading books in chunks, because I am consistently working through from 3-8 books at any given time. The current number is seven. Without school. Oy.

6. When I think about the fact that I could, realistically, die at any time (e.g. car crash, plane crash, etc.), the thing I worry about the most is not having gotten to read all the amazing books out there. Yes, this is ridiculous and there are other parts of life that are, arguably, more important and not to be missed. But still, books win.

I am a librarian by training, so most of my friends are librarians too.
We're awesome folks. If you don't believe me, see proof later on in this post.

5. Speaking of how I like books more than most anything else, I often have to force myself to go hang out with friends. There have also been times in the past where I have made excuses to people, but, really, I just wanted to stay in and read. Books are also the reason I am so bad at keeping in touch with distant friends. I could call you and talk on the phone for hours, or I could finish my book, and, honestly, the book(s) will usually win. I know it's a problem, but I seem unable, or unwilling, to fix it. If I have to be addicted to something, though, it's good that it's not harmful to my health (except if you consider the lack of exercise due to me being on the couch reading all the time).

4. You're probably tired about reading about my love affair with novels right about now. So let's take a break and talk about how much I love graphic novels. It's totally different, right? I discovered graphic novels during an Intensive Inquiry (trip for about 12 students funded by the school to study something fun) in college. We read Watchmen, a Punisher comic and an Astro City comic. I loved them all, and also read some other ones that other folks brought on the trip (most notably Scooter Girl). I haven't gotten into them as much as I might like, because point #10's need to read things in order makes most of the DC/Marvel things pretty much impossible.

3. Much as I enjoy .graphic novels, Japanese manga has my deepest love and affection. I discovered manga when I worked at a library that was building a collection of it. I know what you're probably thinking, assuming you know anything about manga at all. The characters are often ridiculous looking, the plots are melodramatic, the women are often weak and the stories vary very little. All generally true. But I love it. Of course, there are a lot of series that I hated (or even whole genres, such as the ones that are essentially just fan service for the male audience). I love the art in most of them, even with the giant eyes for ladies/really cute boys/gay folk and the narrow eyes for dudes/manly ladies. Like with novels, quality can fall anywhere on the spectrum. But it's totally worth it for the very best series.

2. My appreciation for manga (and much later manhwa, which is Korean) led me to a search for additional delightful pop culture. Thus, I discovered anime, kdrama and, to a lesser extent, Japanese dramas. Sure, the plots can be absurd and melodramatic, but, for the most part, they are not that much more ridiculous than something like Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives. (Of course, there was that kdrama I watched where a soccer player got injured falling into a river after rescuing a girl from a car that was hanging half off a bridge. They fish him out of the water and take him to a hospital, where he regains consciousness after having been without heartbeat or oxygen for like a half hour. But, of course, he lost his memory. Then, he wanders onto a van for a shady mental institution. Then, the mental institution falls apart. Literally. And then the plot returns to being about soccer. Yeah.)

1. Here is what I do every time I finish a book:

• Step 1: Write a review on this here blog.
• Step 2: Paste the review into my Word Doc, in which I apply my rating to the book out of 10 (as I feel five does not allow for enough variation of opinion).
• Step 3: Paste the review into Shelfari, Goodreads, and sometimes Amazon
• Step 4: If applicable, put the review into NetGalley, so that the publisher can tell that I'm awesome and read the book to which they gave me access.
• Step 5: Add the link to the review to my Shelfari book challenge group.
• Step 6. Record that I read the book in my Excel document, in which I store stats on pretty much everything I ever do.
• Step 7: Add the book that I will be reading next to my Shelfari and Goodreads Now Reading shelves.
• Step 8: Resume reading.

The 2010 champion Book Cart Drill Team, of which I was a member.
Our routine was The Graveyard Book themed. We are on the YouTubes!