Summary
This ultimate handbook for ladies living the nerdy life is a fun and feminist take on the often male-dominated world of geekdom.
Fandom, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more--it's never been a better time to be a girl geek. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes, including:
* How to make nerdy friends
* How to rock awesome cosplay
* How to write fanfic with feels
* How to defeat internet trolls
* How to attend your first con
And more! Plus insightful interviews with fangirl faves, like Jane Espenson, Erin Morgenstern, Kate Beaton, Ashley Eckstein, Laura Vandervoort, Beth Revis, Kate Leth, and many others.
Author Notes
Sam Maggs is a best-selling author of books, comics, and video games. She's the author of Wonder Women , Girl Squads , The Fangirl's Guide to the Universe , and The Fangirl's Guide to Leveling Up , as well as many YA and middle-grade titles like Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope , Con Quest! , and Tell No Tales ; a senior games writer, including work on Marvel's Spider-Man ; and a comics writer for titles like Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, My Little Pony , and Transformers . She is also an on-air host for networks like Nerdist. A Canadian in Los Angeles, she misses Coffee Crisp and bagged milk. Visit her online at sammaggs.com or @SamMaggs!
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. This is a supersolid guide to the social side of getting your geek on, targeted mainly to those taking their first steps into communal nerdity but also offering some new information for longtime fans. The book is a particularly welcome entrant in an arena that still too often presumes a straight white male as the default. The resources section alone is worth the price; however, the real rock star is the chapter on geek feminism, which presents the integral connection between fangirl fun and women's rights with clarity, humor, and a total lack of apology. Occasionally Maggs, editor of womens' geek blog The Mary Sue, is more aspirational than accurate on the lack of judgment and agenda of diversity found among fankind-but they are certainly present, if not yet universal. There are some omissions: readers not already in the loop might miss that adult written sf has an active fan culture with small but significant differences from the largely media driven one that Maggs describes. A larger section on intersectionality would also be welcome. But that just leaves room for a sequel! VERDICT Highly recommended for public and high school libraries that collect adult and YA sf, fantasy, comics, anime and manga, or present STEM or Maker programming.-Meredith Schwartz, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Introduction: One of Us! One of Us! I'm a fangirl. More often than not, people hit me with that word in a derogatory way. They use it to make me feel devalued, unintelligent, and immature. And you know what? They couldn't be more wrong. Being a fangirl is the best thing that's ever happened to me . My geekiness has made me friends all over the world, women who continue to be the most intelligent, well-spoken, and wonderful people I know. Fandom has given me a voice to advocate for the things I'm passionate about. And being a geek girl is constantly exciting--no one else gets more invested in the things they love. New video game? Freak out for months in advance over the cover art! Waiting for a new season of Sherlock ? Create an endless number of GIFs to ease your pain! Angry about the way they posed Black Widow on that new poster? She-Hulk smash the patriarchy! What's more, regardless of their particular fandom, geek girls are devoted to supporting women in media, constantly pushing an agenda of acceptance, diversity, and fair representation. Oh, and we manage to do all this while containing our squees. Mostly. We know what we're into, we love hard, and we're okay with it. But we don't have it easy. 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. Some dude nerds don't like that we're invading their space and have become obsessed with gatekeeping, deciding who "counts" as a real fan and who doesn't. You're not a true fan if you only like the Marvel movies; you can't be in the anime community unless you speak fluent Japanese; you're not allowed to dress up as Ms. Marvel unless you've read every Ms. Marvel comic, ever. I once had a comic-book-store employee refuse to help me unless I could name everyone who had ever been a member of the Avengers. Do you know how many superheroes that is? It's a lot . Do you think he ever asked that of a guy in the shop? I'm gonna go with "nah, son," because you know that never happened. But you know what's really crazy about all that? More and more, nerdy audiences are made up of literal Bat-tons of fangirls. (Because, spoiler alert: basically half of all fans of anything are ladies.) According to a 2014 survey by the Entertainment Software Association, female gamers age 18 and up make up 36% of the gaming population, compared to just 17% for boys age 17 and under, and in recent years over half the social media discussions at San Diego Comic-Con were generated from accounts run by geek girls. The Syfy channel gets huge ratings with women ages 18-34, thanks in part to lady-driven and LGBT-friendly shows like Lost Girl , Continuum , Bitten , and Haven . Women are becoming the driving force behind geek culture, and we shouldn't be relegated to the sidelines. Knowing that we could basically make our own army, bust down the elitist gatekeepers, and establish our own glorious kingdom (queendom?) of lady-nerds honestly makes me wonder why the hell we haven't done that yet. We're getting better at it--we're taking up more and more space online, we're fighting back against the trolls, and we're refusing to be silent. Merriam-Webster even added "fangirl" to the dictionary. We're fully legit now. But despite all the articles online about being an awesome nerd-girl, the great feminist Tumblr posts about Sailor Moon , and bands like the Doubleclicks receiving worldwide attention, something was still missing: an actual printed book that says, "Being a geek girl is the best thing ever and here are all the ways you can do more nerdy things that are awesome and don't ever apologize for it because you are the best person out there and I'm so proud of you and you're beautiful." Until now. So here, ladies, is The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy . I hope in this book you can find some new ideas for your next Star Wars premiere party, figure out how to make your IRL bestie the newest member of SuperWhoLock, finally brave your first-ever convention in full cosplay, learn how to start an awesome blog devoted to your craziest ship, and develop the wittiest retort to anyone who ever dares accuse you of being a Fake Geek Girl. And then you can get back to your Lord of the Rings marathon (extended edition, obviously). I promise. Excerpted from The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
