Intro

nerd: an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit

I suppose I have always been a book nerd.

All through my youth and long before I learned how to read, my mother read my sister and me books every night before bedtime. This was a sacred event, and I remember looking forward to it gleefully; it was our special time together. Even though I may not be able to remember all of the specifics, I know that books have positively benefited me my whole life and were a large part of my upbringing. The written word is celebrated in my family, and we all strive to fill our lives with newspapers, magazines and books.

Once I was old enough to read, my grandma started taking us to the library every week. My love of books developed naturally, and I attribute it to both nature and nurture. Over time, I habitually started reading a chapter or two before bed, every night. EVERY night. This has stayed constant and no matter where I may be, I have a book nearby when I lay down and need to release the day. I’d say there might be a handful of days a year I can’t read before bed, for whatever reason, and then I find myself struggling to fall asleep. I am quite simply addicted to reading.

As a kid, I found a solace and comfort in books that I couldn’t find elsewhere. It was a cheap way to escape and learn, and because it’s a wonderful thing to do for yourself (and given their own tendencies) my family encouraged me along the way. Throughout my youth I won every elementary prize associated with number of pages read. I dominated library contests. I won spelling bees. I devoured books during road trips. I stole books from friends and family members before they could finish them. It took me until I reached high school to realize that reading as voraciously as I do is not the norm, and I realized I was a huge nerd. It is a label that I wore (and continue to wear) with pride.

College surprisingly didn’t change anything, even though I had piles of mandatory reading to do on top of the optional novels. I had it out with the University of Michigan English department and decided instead to major in German, which considerably strengthened my understanding of English grammar and linguistics, consequently making me a better reader. It was also around this time that I started to collect books, which has become an expensive and weighty habit considering my tendency to move all over the place (I’ve lived in 11 different places over the past 7 years. Thank God for Media Mail). The physical proximity of my favorite books, covered with my scribbles, food spillings, sweat and tears, is a comfort to me.

Now, I am 25, and I have just moved to New York City from Seattle, originally from Michigan. Over the past year I’ve started to make it a habit of always carrying a book in my purse. City life means you never know when you need to wait for 15 minutes, whether it be for a friend or the subway, so why not have a book on hand? The result of this is that I pore through books even more quickly and will likely develop back problems in the next decade.

I’m asked fairly often to recommend books for people, and I’ve known for awhile that I should start a blog so that I can just pour out my thoughts. This will help me to retain what I read more effectively and analyze the book in a new way. It will help me to be a better nerd.

I do have a few rules about the books I read:

1) The Author Rule: If I happen to discover a new author I’m absolutely crazy about, I make it a personal rule to not read their body of work consecutively. I find this mentally similar to eating spaghetti every meal for a week, even if you really love spaghetti – it’s unhealthy. For example, a few months ago I read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible and fell in love, but I waited two months to read another one by her, The Lacuna. I’ll likely start another in a bit, but for now, I'd prefer to be patient and savor her books gradually. Great authors don’t come along very often, and they can only produce so much.

2) The Genre Rule: Similar to the Author Rule, I try to vary the genres I read. If I read something non-fiction, I’ll follow it with a lit classic, and then maybe I’ll read some trashy piece of girl lit. Sometimes I’ll go on kicks where I become fascinated with one topic (a few years ago, I got hooked on Turkish lit) but usually I’m pretty good about trying to mix it up. (Note: I tend to read a lot more literature than anything else, and I also love big, meaty, complex novels. You’ll see that this is what I lean toward naturally, even though I try to fight against it.)

3) The Pop Culture Rule: Sometimes, I can be a snob, but I think it’s important to keep tabs on pop culture. I’ve read every Dan Brown book. I love Harry Potter. The Twilight books were fine. I kind of enjoyed One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. I am not above reading something that other book lovers might scoff at, because I think it’s important to see what the masses find compelling. I read a lot of heavy weighty books. Sometimes I just need a break to enjoy some brain candy. (Note: I pride myself on being able to read most anything, from OK Magazine to James Joyce, unless it's writing that is literally paining me to get through. For example, Mitch Albom's books make my eyes start to bleed. He sure is appealing to many people, but for the life of me, I just can't do it)

So here I go, into the world of book criticism. I welcome comments and suggestions, considering I am brand new at this. I know I love books and can only hope to give a genuine account of what I notice and appreciate.

Happy reading.

Rebecca

PS: I am aware that one is not an official New Yorker until they've lived 10 years in this city, but I am going to take a little creative license with it. Be assured I don't run around bragging about my residence here. I still have 9 years and 11 months to prove I belong.