Newsletter 1

Confessions of a Behind-the-Times Book Nerd

Patricia Thang

Senior Contributor

Patricia Thang is an educator located in Los Angeles. Though a native Angeleno through and through, her heart also belongs to Tokyo, where much of her family is from. Besides books, she is an enthusiastic devourer of many things, including podcasts, television, and J-pop. She realizes there’s not enough time in the world to consume all of that content, but she’s trying anyway. Other endeavors to which she has dedicated herself include cuddling her dogs until they’re annoyed and taste-testing every vegan ice cream she can find. Twitter: @aintnopthang

I’ve always thought of myself as a book nerd because, when I was a kid, what classified as such in my mind was someone who liked reading. And I like reading. A lot. But since my junior high/high school days (and probably thanks to the internet), the world of bookishness seems to have taken off and become a whole new beast of its own. And now sites like the amazing one I am currently writing this post for can exist. It’s all totally wonderful, but it seems that I was not paying much attention as it all happened. Suddenly, I’m super behind, and not just in terms of keeping up with current books. The bookish community has been extremely kind to me, but I sometimes question whether I belong in it because I feel like I know about or have experienced so little in comparison. Obviously, that’s unfair and I’m just being a worrywart, so I’ve instead decided to just tell you all about the various things that befuddle me about the book world these days.

I have no organization system for my books
Alright, this is not necessarily a new thing, but let me get it off my chest anyway. I know there’s about a million different strategies that book lovers use to organize their bookshelves. You can even check out the ideas one of my fellow Rioters recently shared. But personally I’ve never put any thought into how my books are organized on my shelves. I simply put them where they fit, and just remember the locations of each. Maybe I just have a much better memory than I realize.

I’ve never listened to an audio book

I don’t know, I’ve just never been particularly drawn to audiobooks for some reason. And whenever I need something to listen to for a long car ride or flight, I find myself turning on podcasts or music. But if anyone has any recommendations for good audiobooks to start with, I’m all ears!

What is a reading journal exactly?
From what I understand, it’s a way to track what you’re reading, right? But other than the title, author, and when I read it, I somehow can’t figure out what else I’m supposed to record. Well, I guess it’s a pretty free exercise. Honestly, a reading journal sounds pretty appealing and like something I would enjoy. It’s just a matter of getting started (maybe a project for 2017?).

I’m not sure I really get bookish social media
Okay, I think I can get on board with bookish Twitter and Instagram, although I’m not really confident enough in my understanding of them to post much content myself. Beyond that though, I seriously cannot compute. Like, BookTube? Please help me understand.

WTF is up with all the acronyms?
Is it just me, or has the literary world suddenly become a mess of alphabet soup? Obviously, I do know the basics like YA and SF, but there have been times that I have encountered acronyms that were (and, honestly, still are) complete mysteries to me. I don’t even remember what they are, they made so little sense. I try Googling, and have found that that’s pretty hit or miss. Basically, someone make me a glossary, please.

Book events/conventions?!

I honestly didn’t realize until recently that this was a thing that happened. Gatherings about books for people who love books run by yet more people who love books?! Sounds magical! (Also scary because I’m not so much a people person, so if I ever do make it to one of these things, please be nice to me, okay?)