Announcing the December Tag

[Anita]

Well, after last month's easy vote, we return to having a squeaker, but the winner for December is:

geek reads

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below.

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as geek reads on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

One way to find books to read for this tag is to please visit:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

[Michael]

Am at a loss for what to read.

Ready Player One is perfect for the tag and lots of fun, but who hasn't read or dodged that already. The books of Cory Doctorow (e.g. Little Brother) are a great fit for techy teens saving the day, but they were 3 star reads for me. A lot of cyberpunk has the right element of cool hackers going up against corrupt corporate power, but the best, like Neuromancer and Snow Crash, are dated in their technology. The 2007 film "Live Free or Die Hard" was a great take on a computer hacker helping Bruce Willis defeat a cyberattack, but alas no novel to consider.

My best recommendation is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juno Diaz. A wonderful read for me on all the contributions of programmers and engineers to development of PCs and the Internet was The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, by Walter Isaacson.

Maybe I'll try Geek Love, though that reflects another meaning of "geek" as "freak".

[Meli]

I will probably skip this month unless I can fit in Harry Potter #4.
I have The Coldest Winter Ever on deck for Fall Flurry and I would like to fit in a fun Christmas romance also, so we'll see how quick I get through those first.

[Nicole R]

YEEESSS! I noticed that many of the books on the list are sci-fi related or really a computer/engineering geek definition.

I, however, think you can geek out over just about anything, so I will likely read one of the nerdy biology books that I have had on my TBR forever!

Some options are:
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World
Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
Cosmos
The Secret Lives of Bats: My Adventures with the World's Most Misunderstood Mammals

[Nicole R]

Michael wrote: "The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, by Walter Isaacson"

This is a great recommendation! I have not read it but I bet it is great.

[Jgrace]

This is not the kind of reading that I like to do in December..... but I see that The Hobbit is on the first page for this tag. Maybe I will curl up by the fire and reread it for the nth time.

I'm too confused about the definition of this tag to make recommendations. But I like the idea of geeking out over my birding books or some classic scifi

[Joanne]

OK-seems as though we all agree that you can "geek" out on anything-I spent the last 5 months geeking out on Temeraire,
( I have mostly spared you with reviews posted only a few of the books) I have the last book in the series to read.....any objections to my "geeking-out" over a dragon who talks and fights Napoleon?

[Cora]

I am happy that this tag will allow me to read some quick easy reads during the busy holidays. Some that I could pick up include:

Geekerella
The Geek Feminist Revolution
The Princess Diarist
Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Space Opera

Some recommendations that I enjoyed:
We Are Legion - We Are Bob
Oryx and Crake
Soon I Will Be Invincible
The Princess Bride
The Refrigerator Monologues
I, Robot
The Rest of Us Just Live Here

[Amy]

So my three options are going to be amongst these choices:

Astrophysics for people in a hurry
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Lab Girl

Jason would have loved this month. How I deeply miss him. I wrote to him to tell him I had read Us Against You, and I saw him (and JoLene) listed under Rose of Fire. Maybe he will check in with us this month!

On my December to read list includes:

The Clockmakers Daughter for IRL book club on the 16th

Fun Home - for IRL psychoanalytic book club on the 13th

The Winter Palace - with Magdalena, Rachel, Theresa, and some potential others....

The Invisible Bridge for Jewish Book Club on (GR), we will see if that actually happens. This is an ambitious month!

And then for fall Flurries I have seriously like 5 or 6 kid chapter books on deck, which include Christmas in Cooperstown (Ballpark Mysteries Super Special), Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House Merlin Missions, #1), the Very Last Chanukah Gift, Hanukkah with Sprinkles, the Hanukkah Goblins, and the Chanukah Story. If I can achieve all this, I might break 100 books for the year. I hit my year goal of 85 this morning! Happy for geek reads, because I feel I can knock them off quickly.... Happy Holidays everyone.

[Joanne]

Congratulations on reaching your Reading goal Amy! And I am definitely in on The Winter Palace.

[Amy]

Awesome! Will put up a buddy read thread on December 1st....

[Anita]

I'm definitely going to go the science or math route - - I've got Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, and Introducing Statistics all loaded on my Kindle.

Can't really help much with the recommendations side though I did personally enjoy The Hobbit . . .I do think Lab Girl would qualify and that was one I thought was outstanding.

[Amy]

That makes three of us, Anita! Cora, too I think.

[Booknblues]

Yay, yipee, hurray!

Well, I am thrilled because I chose the tag. It was really hard to choose for December, because I knew that everyone would like some light and fun reads. Everything I would normally choose didn't seem like it would be either varied enough or fun enough for December, and then the Amazon First Reads had a geek-reads choice. "Wait, that's a thing?" I said to myself. It seemed perfect.

That being said, I don't have any suggestions for anyone, except to geek-out and make it as light or heavy as you want. I don't know what I am going to read either. I like Michael's suggestion of Oscar Wao, because I started it and dnf it this year and it is still sitting on my coffee table. I also love some of Nicole R.'s choices and it reminds me that I had a list of environmental books I wanted to read this year and left by the wayside. I may read The Songs of Trees: Stories from Nature's Great Connectors, as it was on my list, it ties with The Overstory and it is personally important to me because of the fires nearby and the debate about healthy forest and discussions promoting logging.

[Book Concierge]

I have absolutely nothing to read that fits ... and I'm on the road for most of the month, so browsing the library won't help (book would be due before I get back)

S*I*G*H

I'll be looking through the thread and hoping to find something I can grab and finish in the 3 days of Dec before I head out of town (or in the two days at the end of month when I get back)

[Charlotte]

Exciting!! I have so many ideas for this one but will probably only read one towards it since I have a bunch of easy Christmas romances either on my kindle or that I found at the used bookstore yesterday for $1.00!!

My plan is to read The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements but I also have Ender's Game or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I enjoyed the following that I think will fit:
Ready Player One
Dune
The Other Einstein
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

I think anything written by Neil deGrasse Tyson or Stephen Hawking would fit.

I think an interesting read that I might try would be a book about Grace Hooper... she's my hero!! So I may try to find and read Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea or another book about her.

[Cora]

Book Concierge wrote: "I have absolutely nothing to read that fits ... and I'm on the road for most of the month, so browsing the library won't help (book would be due before I get back)

S*I*G*H

I'll be looking through..."

If you want something really short that fits, Tor.com publishes short stories and novellettes that you can read for free on its website. They are usually very good and some have been nominated for awards such as the Hugo (in the short story and novelette categories).

Here is the link: https://www.tor.com/category/all-fict...

[Nicole R]

Cora wrote: "I am happy that this tag will allow me to read some quick easy reads during the busy holidays. Some that I could pick up include:

Geekerella
[book:The Geek Feminist Revolution|2611..."

I greatly enjoyed Geekerella! I recommend it for a light, quick, romance/fairy tale read.

[Critterbee❇]

EEEK I missed the voting! But geek reads sounds like a fun tag.

Enchantress of Numbers
Finding Grace
Foundation
Blameless
A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder

[Nicole R]

Charlotte wrote: "My plan is to read The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements "

I loved this book! It introduced me to the wonderfulness that it Sam Kean.

[Nicole R]

AHHH! I just thought that this is a great opportunity to combine my love of science with my love of kick-ass women and read something about Hedy Lamarr (shout out to THE BEST SHOW EVER Timeless for bringing this woman to my attention.

So, having said that, I may actually go with one of these:
Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr (seems to be historical fiction but has great reviews)
Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr (not sure I have a 500 page nonfiction book in me for December, but seems like I should honor her by actually reading nonfiction)

[annapi]

Here's a light geek read for Star Trek fans: Redshirts by John Scalzi. It's a humorous take on the "red shirts" that always get killed on away missions. Surprisingly it had some meat to it and wasn't all slapstick comedy.

There's also (to further push my sci-fi faves):
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I haven't figured out yet what I will read, but since a lot of my reading can be classified as geek reads, I don't think I'll have trouble finding something! And the Christmas books I have lined up are also waiting impatiently for me!

[[deleted user]]

I can recommend Harry Potter or the Game of Thrones series!

From the list Anita provided I could read: Norse Mythology; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao; 11/22/63.

OR I could geek out on my Master's degree and read books set/about my favourite period of history (1688-1830). I'm not going to list them as there's too many!

[Jgrace]

I still don't know what I'll read, but I found this list. Geeky cookbooks!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

[Joanne]

Nicole R wrote: "AHHH! I just thought that this is a great opportunity to combine my love of science with my love of kick-ass women and read something about Hedy Lamarr (shout out to THE BEST SHOW EVER Timeless for..."

This both look really intriguing!

[Critterbee❇]

Jgrace wrote: "I still don't know what I'll read, but I found this list. Geeky cookbooks!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."

That list is great! esp love The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook: Sweet Treats for the Geek in All of Us and World of Warcraft: The Official Cookbook

[LibraryCin]

YAY! This is the one I was hoping for! Thought it could be fun one!

Initially, I thought I'd try something with a geeky character. It looks like this might fit:
Attachments / Rainbow Rowell

But, I may just go a science route with one of these:
Astronomy For Dummies / Stephen P. Maran
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars / Nathalia Holt
Weather for Dummies / John D. Cox
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies / Jason Fagone

[KateNZ]

For something with a maths angle (@Anita) some of you may like the book I’m reading for work/Decathlon at the moment: Weapons of Math Destruction (by Cathy O’Neil). It’s about the downsides of big data and algorithms. Very readable and engaging (this from someone who is *not* a mathematician!) Not equations - just good storytelling.

I have Astrophysics in a Hurry on the bedside table so if nothing else I’ll deal to that :)

[Anita]

KateNZ wrote: "For something with a maths angle (@Anita) some of you may like the book I’m reading for work/Decathlon at the moment: Weapons of Math Destruction (by Cathy O’Neil). It’s about the downsides of big ..."

Thanks, Kate! I actually love math . . .and my son works in big data so this sounds interesting . . .

[Idit]

So many way to geek out - so little time...
anything by Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett - including American Gods and Last Chance to See - short stories about Adams travels to see almost extinct animals

Any sci-fi / fantasy (Nine Princes in Amber is my goto

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character - with his geeky lust for life (Caution - he is polarizing. but I think he is wonderful)

graphic novels / anime
some recs:
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is really really good (I saw you have it as a book club Amy?).
Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned is interesting - how would the world be if suddenly anything male will die. surprisingly fun book
Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile - snow white, red ridinghood and the rest had to escape and are living on earth now

and for geeking over literature: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader is a totally charming book of small essays about book geeks. topics such as combining his and hers books collections, and other nerdy calamities

[Joni]

I have a Christmas graphic novel that popped up on the geek list. I will be reading a two for one this month to go along with my flurry book.

[Idit]

my reading plans - I'm so behind with other books that I might stick to a graphic novel or two.
but these are my current options, before I read through everyone's great recommendations
graphic novels that I have at home
Solanin and Sunny, Vol. 1


or if I had more than 31 days in december - I'd read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

and I've found this list: A nerd's guide to reading. has some good titles there

[KateNZ]

Good list, Idit and very varied in tone, genre and level of heaviness ...

[Charlotte]

Idit wrote: "So many way to geek out - so little time..."


Forgot about Richard Feynman ! I agree...he's a good option. I remember he was my parent's favorite when I was in High School and College.

[Amy]

Had no idea Fun Home would qualify! Thanks, Idit!

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to read some Harry Potter this month.:)
Does anyone know if Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs would count for this?

[Idit]

Amy wrote: "Had no idea Fun Home would qualify! Thanks, Idit!"

It qualifies in the sense that it's a graphic novel. surely you have to have a bit of geek in you to read one of ... those :)

[Amy]

I’ve never read one, unless you count that Maria Semple Thing. The really bad one, not Bernadette. The bad mother with the trauma history. Can’t believe I forgot the name of that book. It will come to me later.

[Idit]

KateNZ wrote: "Good list, Idit and very varied in tone, genre and level of heaviness ..."

thanks Kate
I'm adding two more reading option that are waiting on my messy (but colour coordinated) shelves:


Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened.
I read her comics blog in the past and was laughing so hard I was in tears (especially about her dog).

Welcome to Night Vale. My husband bought me the book after hearing me laugh listening to the podcast. I don't know if the book is any good (probably not) but I loved the bizarre podcast (and it's as geek as you get)

[Barbara M]

Joanne wrote: "OK-seems as though we all agree that you can "geek" out on anything-I spent the last 5 months geeking out on Temeraire,
( I have mostly spared you with reviews posted only a few of the books) I hav..."

I read the first one of the series His Majesty's Dragon and surprised myself by loving it. I recommended it to my grandson. I now get to read the next in the series! Hooray!

[Barbara M]

Amy wrote: "The Winter Palace - with Magdalena, Rachel, Theresa, and some potential others....
" Is this the one by Eva Stachniak? If so, I'll join you. I took two semesters of Russian History for my undergrad degree and went to Russia, saw the Winter Palace and would love to join you. Doesn't hurt that the main character's name is Barbara (I had no idea there was a Russian version of the name!)

[Barbara M]

I have ordered:
Throne of Jade
Lab Girl
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
I also have in reserve The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet but doubt I can get to that many books in Dec.

and for the group read: The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great Which really is a geek read for me because I'm a Russian history geek and love that the main character is named Barbara! That's pretty geeky for me!

[AsimovsZeroth]

I'll admit, I'm pretty sure I threw all my votes against this one, but mainly because the category was so broad that I felt like at least 1/2 the books on my shelves fit, since it seems like sci-fi, fantasy and nonfiction fits into this category.

So, obviously I'm not THAT disappointed. I'm just at a bit of a loss. Are we counting literally all sci-fi and fantasy? What about non-fiction - are we counting it all as "geeky" because you learn something, or...? I'm really struggling with how broad the category is.

Of course, I hadn't really considered until reading this thread that that may be by design, to give people something easy for December.

[Booknblues]

Rachel wrote: "I'm going to read some Harry Potter this month.:)
Does anyone know if Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs would count for this?"

I am sure that Small Fry would fit.

[Theresa]

Oy. Definitely not too likely I will find that my planned reading for December will produce anything fitting 'geek reads'. I have a number of Christmas cozies and romances lined up to escape into before the 2019 Pop Sugar Challenge starts. Really wanted 19th century as half my planned reading is set in 19th century.

Can't please all of us all the time,

[Amy]

Today will be different by Maria Semple, author of Where Dif You Go Bernadette, has portions of a graphic novel within the novel. This is not a reason to read this novel, and to be honest I don’t have any reasons to offer. I am just saying that I have correctly called up the title of the only graphic novel like thing I have ever read. Wait. Amy something...Kurzweil? The Flying Couch. A graphic memoir of her grandmother’s holocaust survival. So yeah, Fun Home is our of my comfort zone.

I’m going to go ahead and set up a buddy read thread for Astrophysics for people in a hurry, since it’s a possibility for at least six of us. That’s two for December 1st, and Barbara, I think you’re right. That’s the one. Catherine the Great. I’m glad you’ll join us.

[Tracy]

I’ll try to get some graphic novels off my list, and I have lots of science books.

I also loved The Disappearing Spoon. And The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York was fascinating.

[LibraryCin]

LiteraryMania wrote: "I'll admit, I'm pretty sure I threw all my votes against this one, but mainly because the category was so broad that I felt like at least 1/2 the books on my shelves fit, since it seems like sci-fi..."

I'm trying to keep it a little less broad for myself (I never did picture it as being a broad category). I was going to go with books that had a geeky character (I use tags to find what I'm looking for, and only things from my tbr, and I was surprised that this was more difficult than I expected).

I thought I'd broaden it a bit for me by going with a nonfiction topic that most people consider geeky: science. I don't want to use it for something that I, personally, consider myself a geek over.

So, I'm trying, for myself, to not have it overly broad that way.

[KateNZ]

@Theresa, if it helps, there are some steampunk-type books that would make the grade for geek reads (for instance Etiquette and Espionage), that have a 19th century flavour and that are light as anything and would fit a cosy read category.


I voted for 19th century too (though I am a total geek girl and I’m happy with the tag) but I’m trying to find ways of having my cake and eating it :)

[Theresa]

KateNZ wrote: "@Theresa, if it helps, there are some steampunk-type books that would make the grade for geek reads (for instance Etiquette and Espionage), that have a 19th century flavour and that are light as an..."

It's the Christmas theme I am planning on indulging in...wallowing is probably a more accurate description, LOL. Who knows? Maybe I can stretch geek reads just to breaking point!