Unleash your inner geek
588268
There are so many uses for a Raspberry Pi (micro PC, media player, home automation, game console, robotics, etc.) it's hard to know where to begin.  The Pi has an active community and there are lots of existing operating system images to download.  You can even buy a pre-loaded SD card.  Whether you want to break out your soldering iron and read Linux manpages, or just download a stock image, the Pi is an inexpensive and versatile device that's just too cool to pass up.
4120894
This book was so much fun to read. Every geek from the 80s/90s should pick this up immediately. Log in.
764924
Being a geek myself, I knew I HAD to get my hands on this book as soon as possible! First of all, isn't the cover just GORGEOUS? I love how there are mathematical equations on her face and flowers and stuff! I think it's totally cute! Geek Girl is also one of those books that you just KNOW you're going to love from the start. The main protagonist, Harriet, knows many things, including that she's a geek. Usually in books, the "geek" wouldn't have any friends and they would always be lonely, which is totally untrue, here it's different! Harriet has a best friend, whom she also thinks they were twin sisters separated at birth. Their relationship as best friends was extremely adorable, and it was one that was so believable as well. I don't want to get in too much detail about what happens in the overall story, but I do want to talk about the characters, the flow, and the writing style.

I don't think I've read a book that made me laugh my butt off in a long time, and I'm glad Geek Girl was able to do that for me. I really needed a good laugh with all the stress from school, and on top of that, it was such a chill book. Most of you guys should already know how much I love it when the main characters are extremely sarcastic, and here, Harriet is! The use of her sarcasm is so HILARIOUS, to the point where I literally have to stop reading for a minute and just let myself laugh on and on. I loved the big role family had in this book. Authors tend to usually dismiss families, or if they were involved, they're usually dysfunctional or whatnot. In Geek Girl, yes she had a stepmother (and not the evil kind), and they were such a cute/fun family to read about! I really enjoyed reading every part of Geek Girl, but I had hoped if it was less on the modeling factor (it was still fun), and I really hoped for more romance!!

Overall, I loved every bit of Geek Girl, and I was SO sad that it had to end! I definitely loved every character, and the writing style is beautiful!! It's a book that makes me really happy, and I am definitely eager to read Holly Smale's future work! Geek Girl is such a fantastic debut novel, and I really recommend it to all young adult readers out there who really just need a break, and a really good laugh!
4880682
Listened For Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Good to Know Rating: 4.00
Knowledge Manager Rating: 4.50 (aka Chris Hardwick)

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought When Finished: The Nerdist Way was a humorous self-help book with some really great ideas! Nothing new but the presentation really worked!

Good To Know Thoughts: I will admit that self-help books are kind of my guilty pleasure. I am also a total geek and a big fan of all things nerdom. Here is the deal, if you read any kind of self-improvement books you know they are not really telling you anything new. Presentation is the key to getting some of the messages to stick. The Nerdist Way takes the humorous and direct way of getting the messages across. There is cursing, examples in relation to Dungeons and Dragons, and some very frank "just get it done" speak. Chris didn't use fancy terms (though he made up a few of his own) and really speaks directly to the target audience: the geeks and nerds of the world. There really is some great advice in here and the activities will help reinforce some good behavior. If you are looking something new and earth-shattering this is not the book. If you are looking for something straight-forward, fun, and sometimes self eye-opening then this will work for you.

  NOTE: You must understand Geek/Nerd culture to get some of the references. Then again, I doubt you would look at this book if you didn't.

Knowledge Manager Thoughts: Why did I call Chris or any other self-help book author a Knowledge Manager? That is what they are! If you are a going to write a self-help book than you had better be able to manage that knowledge. Chris practices (from what I can tell) what he talks about. He uses some real life experience to reinforce the ideas that he suggests that we incorporate into our lives. His humor, bluntness, and fun attitude do come across in The Nerdist Way. Fans of his won't be disappointed on that scale. I found him to be real and relatable which always helps when taking advice from someone. Overall, he was a great person to send this particular message.

Audio Thoughts:

  Narrated by Chris Hardwick/Running Time 6h 10m

Non-Fiction read by the author is always better than using another narrator. The belief and feeling they have their subject matter is always apparent. Chris did a fantastic job with the narration, pacing, and adding emotion into the written word. I highly recommend this on audio.

Final Thoughts: The Nerdist Way exceeded my expectations and dare I say, I had fun listening to a self-help book. Great read for the Nerd/Geeks of the world.
2418413
If you are a fan of sci-fi, video gaming, and 1980s pop culture, this book is perfect for you. Even if you are none of these things, the book can be utterly engrossing. A very well written, imaginative book that can touch the soul of anyone who has a hint of being an obsessive geek.  Well done!
1633564
Honestly, I grabbed this book as soon as I could because the cover is AMAZING!  When a friend of mine had also received a copy, I figured it would be a fun read and chat book.  This does hit that mark.  It is a lot of fun to talk about, but I'm not certain that it actually fits the dating advice genre for a female.  This is extremely centered on a male audience and Smith admits that it will be within his introduction.  With that being said, figuring out what type of Geek I am and then enjoying all of the references through the book made it worth reading.  For people looking for a fun read, this is humorous and engaging.  For those looking for some real Geek dating advice, I would probably continue searching.
1566305
Make sure to pick up this book when you have a chunk of time available.  I got it the other day at 2:00 PM and finished it by 8:00 PM.  Amazing fun, and who else would think of filling a fantasy book with Geeky literary references and then making it into a history lesson?  I also appreciated how the author included a Bibliography of books that Isaac used for his magic ( although most I recognized from my own library ) yet neglected to mention what book the Fire Spider Smudge came from.  Inside jokes FTW!
3869353
My boyfriend is more of a 'geek' than I, so I thought it would be fun to get this book to pass the time together. It's funny to see how much you know of these so-called geeky things. Lots of pop culture in there that I enjoyed.
1089851
For the past two years, Neil Pasricha has dedicated himself to identifying one new awesome thing every weekday, and posting it on his blog. Without fail, these things are commonplace. Things we experience in our daily lives without ever paying them much attention. Because of the regularity with which we experience them, it's easy to overlook how they make our lives better in big and small ways.

What's delightful about the blog, and now this book, is that Neil gives us a chance to hit pause, and look back on our experiences, celebrating them, albeit belatedly. His writing is celebratory, engaging, funny, and inspiring.  What's more, you don't have to read too many of his entries before you start paying attention to perfectly toasted toast, the last crumbly triangle in the bag of potato chips, or the smell of books, and smiling when you experience them. You also begin recognizing new awesome things yourself. Somehow, when you start paying attention to how the little, seemingly inconsequential things can brighten your day, the genuinely bad stuff doesn't seem so consuming. The world seems a little bit friendlier. A little bit smaller. A little more wonderful.

Now that I've said that, I think it's really important to tell you that this is NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK (despite how I've seen it promoted recently). It's not a psychology book. It's not an instruction manual. It's a catalog of short, joyous essays about awesome things. I promise that you will walk away from this book having mastered no new concepts. However, I also promise that you will find yourself smiling and nodding in appreciation while you read -- a silent toast to awesome things you never took the time to recognize.

I had high expectations for this book, which were well-exceeded. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought copies for my parents and my sister, who have enjoyed it as well.
2095924
If you like scifi, computer games, and enjoy the power of iminagition - this is a book for you! Enjoy.
1239062
What better way to get to know yourself than by ranking your favorites in all aspects of life?  From the basics---like favorite foods, books, music, etc.---to some more thought-provoking ideas---such as jobs you might like to try some day and what would happen if your parents left you alone for a day---and ending with the self-esteem building "List all the great things about you!", they've even thoughtfully included some space at the back for you to come up with your own lists!  Each list is paired with an amusing illustration to help get the creative juices flowing.  A nice quality book with a durable soft cover.  Buy one for yourself or as a great gift for friends!

Also, don't miss the "Listography" and "Love Listography" journals, geared more specifically toward adults and couples, respectively.
4641420
If you're the hard-core type that likes to take things apart and "fix" them, you'll like Hardware Hacking: Having Fun While Voiding Your Warranty by Joe Grand (Syngress).  Your discarded toys will never be quite the same again.

Chapter list: Tools of the Warranty Voiding Trade; Electrical Engineering Basics; Declawing Your CueCat; Case Modification: Building a Custom Terabyte FireWire Hard Drive; Macintosh; Home Theater PCs; Hack Your Atari 2600 and 7800; Hack Your Atari 5200 and 8-Bit Computer; Hacking the PlayStation 2; Wireless 802.11 Hacks; Hacking the iPod; Can You Hear Me Now? Nokia 6210 Mobile Phone Modifications; Upgrading Memory on Palm Devices; Operating Systems Overview; Coding 101; Index

The first thing to know about this book is that it isn't a beginner's volume.  There is some serious hardware modifications going on here.  You should be comfortable with electrical theory, devices such as resistors and capacitors, and tools like soldering irons.  Also, I'd recommend that you don't try these things on primary devices.  I'd say there's a decent chance you could damage it trying some of these tricks.  But having said all that, you'll enjoy the book if you meet the above qualifications.

Since I'm not a major hardware geek, I don't know that I could do many of these mods.  One of the mods that would be useful even to non-geeks is the chapter on the iPod.  You will learn how to replace the battery and how to upgrade the hard drive on your earlier generation iPods, and you don't even need to be that handy.  That tip alone would probably pay for the cost of the book.  Each hack is very well illustrated with excellent photos and instructions, so you don't feel like you're reading assembly instructions written by something that was run through an automatic translator.

So if you have some old video game consoles gathering dust in the basement, pull them out and see what you can do with them using this book.  You'll end up being the envy of all your geeky friends.  :-)
4383370
This is what I've come to consider a geek's toy.  The learning curve is sizeable but the fun you can have tweaking this thing is unlimited.  It would appear that some of the reviewers here just didn't dig deep enough to uncover certain features.  I could quibble with some of the menu logic, the main screen being too dim in daylight, the lack of a manual mute (!), and above all the tiny buttons, but once you've adjusted everything to your liking, it's quite impressive.  Sound is A+, phone operation flawless, HD radio reception (in DC) fantastic with virtually no dropouts, display colors matched my car's exactly, etc.  Now about teaching the other family members how to use it....
2606807
I almost dumped the love of my life on our second date.  Why? He took me to a Con with Klingons guarding the door. I was not thrilled to discover the world of nerds and geeks and that my potential love was a card carrying member.  What does this have to do with Leah Rae Miller's YA Contemporary book, The Summer I Became a Nerd? There's a similar lesson to be learned. If I had given up on my guy then, I would have missed out on the best experiences of my life.  If YOU let the word "Nerd" in the title put you off of this book, I think you will have missed out on one of the best experiences and reads of your own life.
Maddie Summers is a typical smart pretty cheerleader.  But wait, Maddie has a dirty little secret. She likes...hold on...be strong...Comic Books.  OH THE HORROR! Yes, she LOVES them and geeky movies and other nerdy things and activities too.  But she can't let her cool friends or football quarterback boyfriend know of her nerd side or she risks being ostracized.
Enter Amazing Logan Scott, hunky in his own geeky way and the holder of some really great nerd resources. He figures out Maddie's not so secret identity and oh is so willing to introduce her to all that makes up the Nerd World and offer some real romance too.
So the question is if and how Maddie chooses to keep her regular life or Super Power up and break free from the chains of normalcy that bind her to walk freely and proudly in the land of Stan Lee, LARP-ers, Trekkies vs. Star War Debates, Marvel vs. DC, Cosand all that stuff featured weekly on the Big Bang Theory.
And if you are one who does not speak the language up above, don't sweat it.  This book has a fun story that is great for jocks, cheerleaders, clarinet players, track stars, normal teens, not so normal teens, and even all of the big kids who are too old be called teens.  Basically, everyone!
So in the often misquoted and paraphrased words of a dark one who came before us, "Leah Rae Miller, I am your reviewer. You do not yet realize your importance as the author of The Summer I Became a Nerd."
I have faith she will realize just how great she is once people check out this fun book.
May the reading be with you!  Soon.
3199809
Please add this book to your arsenal of good writing, humor, and motivation.
This is a wonderful read that will inspire you to chill out just a little bit, to be mindful of the moments in your life, and to explore the world outside of self, while building upon self. And guess what?! You will learn some SAT words in the process. Win win.
654720
Featuring a ton of concept art and charafter designs by Shigenori Soejima and lengthy commentaries by Katsura Hashino, it's a great addition to any geeky collection :)

It's a grest addition to my bookshelf.
324652
A very nice expansion that adds to the fun! I recommend getting this if your all about video game references and all the good geeky stuff that comes with it!