Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Editor’s Note: You may remember Natalie from her post earlier this year about the books she loves to read over and over again. As school gets underway, I asked her to think of the books a teacher assigned that turned out to be personal favorites. Here’s her list.
All of us have had our share of bad book assignments for school. In my experience, the books assigned generally aren’t bad, but they just aren’t very good either. However, every once in a while, the exceptional book comes along. Suddenly, you don’t dread the thought of “read chapter 4 by Tuesday.” Reading assignments are finished before they’re due, and notes fill with details. I’ve had a handful of good books assigned by teachers; they have a variety of great qualities: funny, thought provoking, inspiring, exciting, and the like. The books listed below are from very different genres, but they are each enjoyable in different ways.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A semi-autobiographical novel about a Native American teenager living on a reservation, this book doesn’t have a page that is boring to read. Fourteen year-old Junior tells the story of his family, friends, and school through an illustrated diary. The book leads the reader through life-changing situations with razor sharp wit and an excellent voice. You really feel like you are in Junior’s head. This book draws attention to important issues like poverty, bullying, and discrimination. It also reminds us not to forget the young people in our community, as they are just as affected by problems as everyone else.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury gives a fascinating and sometimes horrifying vision of the future in a series of short stories. The stories start in the year 1999 and continue into 2026. They depict the experiences of humans fleeing a dystopian Earth and its ignorant population. They go to Mars to escape from the troubles plaguing them on their home planet. I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable and fun to read because of Bradbury’s beautiful writing and use of imagery, his understandable characters, and the stories’ lessons about respect and appreciation for the unknown. What I found especially great about this book was Bradbury’s use of an inter-planetary setting to explore issues that are still prevalent in our world today. The problems remain the same from Earth to Mars, and they also are unchanged from 1950 to the our world of 2013.
Liz’s Pick: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I thought this book was so salacious when it was assigned in my eighth grade English class and the adult themes in this book about shame, guilt and the female body are as relevant today as ever. I’m also a huge fan of the film adaptions - but the book is a short and easy read that always delivers.
So what books did your teacher assign that you actually loved?
Post by Natalie El-Hai. Natalie enjoys science and all things theater. She spends her free time reading and snuggling with her cats. She will be a sophomore at Southwest High School this fall.
I took this picture of my boyfriend as part of a product review I did for Apartment Therapy. My gig as a tech contributor is going really well and I have to admit that I’m having way too much fun. Anyway, he just looked cute and I liked the pic so I thought I’d share it.
On to the more important matters of the week (although, what’s more important than your boyf fake grinning while you try to take a good picture?) …
Geeks shall inherit the earth
I tried to say something pseudo smart for the Irish Independent newspaper - I’m starting to get asked to chat with reporters more, which makes me feel like I’ve come full circle in my career. Right out of college I worked as a journalist, then I worked as a publicist and now I’m getting interviewed. Life is weird. Here’s what I said: “The biggest movies and TV shows are properties that are squarely part of geekdom,” says Elizabeth Giorgi, founder of Beinggeekchic.com. “The Avengers, Game of Thrones, Sherlock – all these were narrowly defined as things that nerds read or consumed. When adapted to the screen, the new exposure to these stories gave the public a view into the quality and depth in the things nerds already love.”
10 greatest sci-fi romance flicks
Let it be known that The Princess Bride is my favorite movie ever. LOVE IT. Since I was a little girl, I have quoted and loved this movie with a verve that I typically only experience for ice cream. This list from io9 will give you a bunch of new movies to put on your Netflix queue and that can never be a bad thing.
Ray Bradbury Documentary in the works
Still sad. But maybe this documentary will cheer me up? Word is that it might come out in theaters this December, but only if a distributor picks it up soon. If you work a for a film distribution company and you are reading this - be a gem and convince your boss to snap this up. I don’t care if you have to buy him or her a croissant every day for a week. The internet will thank you for it.
These Fake Avengers Slip-On Shoes Are Based In Reality
I’ve mentioned before that I write for The Mary Sue now and again. This week, I wrote this piece on the magical creations of Tumblr user Tom Hiddlestunned (GREAT name!) - who mocked up these incredible Avengers TOMS shoe in Photoshop. They’re not real, but they should be. For those who fancy themselves expert crafters, the Hawkeye and Black Widow designs might be easy to DIY with the TOMS leather and sequin shoes.
Sherlock’s Molly on season 3 & Benedict Cumberbatch
I don’t think it will surprise any of you that I’m mildly obsessed with Sherlock. In fact, I can safely call myself a Cumberbitch. (If you follow me on Twitter, I’m sorry. I know, I never shut up about Benny Cumber.) But I just had to share this story with you, because if you are even 10% as invested as me - you’ll love it. If you haven’t seen the last episode of Season 2 - move onto the next item - THIS IS YOUR FORMAL SPOILER ALERT!
Ok, still here. This is what Loise Brealey, who plays Molly on Sherlock said about the cast watching The Reichenbach Fall together: “Everyone was at Martin Freeman’s house, and Martin was there and his wife was sat at his feet and Amanda [Abbington, Freeman’s wife] was crying and so was I and I tried to laugh it off but that turned into this enormous sob in front of everyone and I just thought, oh brilliant.” I admit it: I CRIED TOO.
Ray Bradbury: In Memoriam
I teared up a little when I heard Ray Bradbury died. He was a gem and an idol and a hero. Neil Gaiman posted a touching tribute to him on his blog and I’m telling you - take the ten minutes and go read it.
