Nerd culture has become mainstream in the last dozen years. From Harry Potter to The Big Bang Theory, un-cool is the new cool. So, what if you want to know about nerd culture? A great way to start understanding it is to read novels that explore this subculture. Here are some great novels to read that explore nerd culture.
The Short Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is a novel which explores the life of uber nerd Oscar de Leon, and his quest for love and acceptance. Jam packed with references to nerdy things like actual books, anime, and television shows, Oscar Wao is one of the nerdiest books I have ever read. It’s also a brilliant representation of not just nerd culture but American and Domeian culture as well. Even more interesting is if you don’t understand the references presented in this book, the author supplies cliff notes to explain the book further. This novel is a brilliant read, and won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Ready Player One by Ernst Cline is basically what it would be like if Seth MacFarlane wrote a cyberpunk novel. Packed with 80s references, this cyberspace adventure takes place in a future where everyone is addicted to a visual reality game called OASIS. Wade, a nerdy guy, finds solace from his everyday life in this game. However, when a competition is put out by the company which runs OASIS, he finds more than he thought he would. He finds friends, a love interest and a mystery that unlocks the past of the game’s mysterious creator. He also finds that maybe real life isn’t so bad.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is about a girl named Cath who writes fanfiction on the internet. She is also starting her first year of college with her twin sister, Wren. She writes fanfiction based on her favorite fantasy book series, Simon Snow (an obvious play on Harry Potter). While she does this, she gets a following online, and continues to post more and more chapters. However, as she continues to write, she gets a first boyfriend, a couple more friends and starts to find life beyond her nerdy comforts.
The Rosie Project by Gaeme Simon askes the question: what if Sheldon Cooper starred in his own rom-com? Don Tilman is a professor, who decides it’s finally time for him to find a wife. However, being a nerd and being on the autism spectrum, he isn’t sure where to start. He creates his own questionnaire, and starts a research targeted approach called “the wife project”. He meets a bartender named Rosie, introduced to him by his friend, Gene. However, he finds true love isn’t as simple as filling out a scientific questionnaire.
It by Stephen King is taking a darker turn here than the lighter novels I just mentioned above. However, it is still about the un-cool kids, and still has a special place in nerd culture, as shown by how much it influenced the uber nerdy Netflix show, Stranger Things. The characters, a group of kids who call themselves the losers, have to battle a mysterious supernatural clown who they blame for all the problems that befall their town of Castle Rock.
Friendroid by M.M. Vaughan is a middle grade novel, but it’s still a great guide to nerd culture. It is the story of a kid named Danny, who isn’t popular at school. He meets a good looking kid named Eric, who’s new at school. He’s a bit shocked Eric wants to be his friend, and can’t quite figure out why. Who would want to be friends with a nerd like him? As he digs deeper, the novel takes a Stranger Things-like turn as Danny starts to suspect Eric and his parents are actually robots.
So there are some novels you can read about nerd culture, which aren’t just nerdy, but actually about nerds. There’s a clear difference between simply nerdy books and books actually about nerds. A lot of nerdy books are actually about people who aren’t nerds, like wizards and warriors. However, these books are about people who are actually nerds. So, if you want to know more about nerd culture from nerds themselves, these are good novels to start with.
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