Are you obsessed with movies? Book? Technology? Fashion? Any healthy obsession that you would say defines some part of you? Well, Leslie Simon just wrote a book about you, the Geek Girl. It’s called Geek Girls Unite and she intelligently covers all the fun traits of the Geek Girl, along with the likes of Tina Fey, Bjork, Felicia Day, Jenny Lewis, Joan Didion, etc.
In this, the age of the Geek Girl, ”geek” no longer connotates uncool, but actually pretty dang awesome! I mean, when Zooey Deschanel’s character on New Girl makes a Lord of the Rings joke, you know the geeks have arrived. And Simon is here to diligently catalog this fantastic phenomena–in which all of us geek girls can unite and rejoice!
Simon previously wrote Wish You Were Here, a location-laden guide of all the places the indie/punk scene was born, and co-wrote Everybody Hurts, an encyclopedia of emo culture. Simon herself, in the opening of Geek Girls Unite, ticks off her own geek girl resume (which obviously includes a lot of music geek!).
Throughout the book she celebrates the “misfits…that are taking over the world.” From the Fangirl Geeks (this includes Twlight fans and G4 channel addicts) to Film Geeks (your High Art Heroine is Sofia Coppola) to the Domestic Goddess Geek (that girl who crochets her own iPhone holder and whips up mini-key lime pies for TV night) – all bases are covered. It’s pop culture and laugh-out-loud, witty writing – you’ll recognize yourself in Simon’s descriptions. If anything else, it’s just fun to align yourself with your heroines, and to know that there’s a whole lot of like-minded ladies out there – and Simon lists out exactly where they gather on the internet and elsewhere!
Grab yourself a copy of Geek Girls Unite and check out Simon’s website for more info and geek girl fun!

guest
I love Felicia Day. I love Zooey. And I love a girl who can solo the Lich King.
I love a girl who can not only recite the Jedi Code, but the Sith Code as well.
I love a girl who is my MH but can tank like the boys too on her alt.
I love a girl who understands Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and is a fan of Orson Scott Card and Robert Heinlein.
Browncoat.
I love a girl who insists on watching all three seasons of Robotech with me, all 85 episodes.
I love a girl who loves to RP/ RPG as much as I do.
I love a girl who knows what Est Sularus Oth Mithas means and respects that.
I love a girl who knows that Fear is the Mind Killer and that ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.
I love geek girls.
dahlia / 2103 posts
I’m a huge geek, but not in the pop culture way. I’m an art history geek and a classical music geek and a metal geek…I am obsessed with all kinds of music, from Bach organ toccatas to pretty much everything by Pantera. Hell, I play the pipe organ. That alone qualifies one as a very certain kind of niche geek
sunflower / 366 posts
Geeks don’t really know they’re geeks
guest
@Ashley Nicole Anders@facebook - ahaha yesss, that reminded me of this: http://diylol.com/meme-generator/idiot-nerd-girl/memes/i-love-dinosaurs-and-squid-omg-im-such-a-nerd
LOLOLOL
orchid / 128 posts
This isn’t being a geek, this is having interests.
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I’m not really sure if i’m a geek or not. Some guy called me a hipster and I still don’t know what that is.
I love the show New Girl. I feel less strange about making random theme songs for myself. And supposely I have random moments of dance.
guest
Why do people feel the need to conform to labels, or worse yet, label themselves?
I like all different kinds of people. People have different interests, different abilities, different dreams, hopes, and wishes. They come in all different sizes, shapes, and forms.
I dislike people, however, that label themselves.
“OMG I’m so ironic, and different, and NOT MAINSTREAM at all – super cute! HEHE!”
No…That shit’s fucking annoying. Just be YOU. You’re not super interesting for listening to indie music, or cutting your hair in a certain style, or being ironic. You’re just another person.
guest
This post makes it sound that like having a hobby = geek. Probably wouldn’t read this book.
Also, indie/hipster =/= geek. Anyone TRYING to make being a geek look cool is probably a hipster. Anyone who does so by just doing their thing (Steve Jobs, Michael Zuckerburg…they were just pursuing their passions), probably actually a geek and don’t really care about being cool or uncool.
guest
@deemure@xanga - Does it make me a geek to know from enjoying Juxtapoz magazine that the artist of your profile pic is Audrey Kawasaki?
@voicimessecrets@xanga - this. yes
guest
meh! wouldn’t read this book.
guest
@kissmycouturex@xanga - Exactly.
The book and this entire post just seem to scream Special Snowflake Syndrome.
guest
No, I do not believe I’m a geek. I’m a bit strange.
Also, as someone mentioned, just because you have a hobby does not make you a geek.
guest
I hate how being a “geek” or “nerd” has suddenly become so ‘mainstream’ because whatever you hipsters think makes you a “nerd” or whatever is a bit far from reality. If you saw an actual nerdy guy (see: computer scientist, programmer, socially inept, intelligent but awkward, scientist, possibly lacking in hygiene, etc.), you wouldn’t be as turned on. If you saw an actual nerdy girl (see: poor sense of fashion, socially inept, scientist/computer programmer, awkward, etc.), you wouldn’t be as turned on. The whole Zooey Deschanel “New Girl” thing is some indie little girl who tries too hard to be “awkward” but actually is so far from awkward that it’s insulting to people who actually are socially awkward or anxious.
Having some hobbies or being interested in books or movies does NOT make you a “nerd” or a “geek” – it just means that you have interests…just like everybody else.
The people who actually get called a “nerd” in high school weren’t popular, weren’t cute, weren’t trendy–they were made fun of because they were awkward and because people were intimidated by their intelligence.
I got called a “nerd” in high school, and I can guarantee to you that there isn’t a gaggle of guys running after me like there is with Zooey Deschanel. This is because I’m not indie quirky cute, this is because I have a vast variety of “nerdy/geeky” interests that are actually “nerdy/geeky” (science, computer programming, Latin, mathematics, Star Trek, sci-fi, technology, etc.), and I’m quite socially awkward. This is a whole different world than “indie quirky cute” that masquerades as “geek.” It’s just a way of painting a girl who seems all typical and normal and is the wet dream of actually geeky guys, but she’s still highly unattainable.
guest
Umm.. I’m a complete weirdo.. nerd? Is that considered a geek? AHAHAHA.
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@MyGlosoli@xanga - Yes, yes it does!
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Whoever wrote this doesn’t know what a geek is. I’m guessing they’ve never actually met one.
@flawedinsomniac@xanga - I like John Green’s definition of a nerd: “Nerds love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-seat-can’t-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is… ‘You are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’.”
guest
A Fashion Geek?
That’s an oxymoron.
guest
The #1 way to tell a true geek/nerd from a false one: TRUE Geeks/nerds don’t claim the title of geek/nerd. They claim to be a Level 500 Dungeon Master or a Jedi Knight, or some other prestigious title from their favorite rpg. You may even hear them spout random bits of knowledge that may make no sense to the average listener. Something like “I learned C++ when I was in Kindergarten.”, something I’ve heard my programmer brother say. You NEVER hear a true geek/nerd say “Omg I’m such a nerd!!!1!1!!1one!! B)”
Just…..no.