Jan 20, 2012 (All Things Considered) — Smart, scintillating reads are hard to find -- especially when you like your protagonists nerdy. Author Lev Grossman offers three great reads for the geeks in all of us.
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Talk Nerdy To Me: Three Reads For Your Inner Geek
by Lev Grossman
Jan 20, 2012 (All Things Considered) — Smart, scintillating reads are hard to find -- especially when you like your protagonists nerdy. Author Lev Grossman offers three great reads for the geeks in all of us.If you're seriously into reading, chances are, if you're not a nerd, then you've at least got some nerdy DNA somewhere in your intellectual genome. I know I do. But as a reader I sometimes feel like I'm being asked to identify with a hero who isn't nearly geeky enough — a hero with uncorrected vision and excellent orthodontics and really good hair. Sure, he's nice, but I doubt I would have wanted to sit at his table in the cafeteria in high school.
Aren't nerds sexy enough to be heroes? They certainly can be. Here are three novels featuring protagonists with above-average SAT scores, who would get your Star Wars references, and who would never beat you up and take your lunch money. Though they might, if provoked, correct your grammar.
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Illustration: A robot reads a book. ( )
Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
Aug 11, 2011 — More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. Explore the winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey -- an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles.
More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.
A quick word about what's here, and what's not: Our panel of experts reviewed hundreds of the most popular nominations and tossed out those that didn't fit the survey's criteria (after — we assure you — much passionate, thoughtful, gleefully nerdy discussion). You'll notice there are no young adult or horror books on this list, but sit tight, dear reader, we're saving those genres for summers yet to come.
So, at last, here are your favorite science-fiction and fantasy novels. (And a printable version, to take with you to the bookstore.)
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