Ever wonder what a SuperWhoLockian is? Or how to survive your first ever geek convention? Or how to properly use terms like “OTP”, “glomp” and “shipping”?
“Far too often, fangirls are made to feel marginalized and unwelcome in the nerd community. Women are ostracized from online gaming, called out as fake, accused of being desperate for attention, harassed while cosplaying, and, worst of all, forced into silence.”
Sam Maggs has outlined it all, and then some in The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Why is this on our bookshelf?
As associate editor of The Mary Sue, Sam Maggs has a good handle on what’s relevant and important to geek girls specifically, and the geek community as a whole.
The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy is out May 12 from Quirk Books.
Rating (3 stars)
While I was impressed with the amount of good, solid information, the super fun way it was presented, and the peppering of interesting lady-geek interviews throughout, I felt that as an older lady-geek, a lot of this was old hat, and didn’t really apply to me. However, it would be an invaluable resource for a late-teen or early 20’s geek who’s just starting out and needs a bit of a nudge in the right direction for their chosen fandom and/or geek activities.
Also? Don’t let the “Girl Geek” in the title discourage you if you’re a guy-geek. It’s suitable for everyone, despite some of the suggestions being directly aimed at the ladies.
Read this book:
If you’ve never been to a convention and want some sound advice, or want to understand some of the terms that them young whippersnappers in the geek ‘verse use.
Don't Read this book:
If you’re not a geek, don’t have even a small geeky bone in your body, or think fandoms are for weirdos. You’ll be wasting your time.
Once you're done, do this:
Fall in love with a new to you fandom, then write some steamy (or not) fanfic about your OTP.
