Black Nerd Problems

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Black Nerd Problems is an insightful and intelligent collection of essays on fandom as it intersects black culture and the experiences of people of color written and presented by William Evans & Omar Holmon. Due out 14th Sept 2021 from Simon & Schuster on their Gallery imprint, it's 304 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

I grew up in a family of comics, gaming, and SF/fantasy nerds (third generation, my grandfather emigrated to the USA and taught himself English by reading comic books). I've experienced gatekeeping and dismissive/rude attitude from fanboys because I'm female, older (or younger), or just other. I'm certainly not saying "I get where the authors of this book are coming from" but I can sing along with the chorus at least. They make so many salient points and they do so with humor and clear vision. They're honest (sometimes brutally so). I found most of the read very funny (Omar's take on why and how he'd survive every horror movie trope had me giggling out loud), some of the essays were uncomfortable (as a white female nerd), and some were valuable for giving me new authors to check out, learn from, and watch. Representation is so important and I hope young nerds get their hands on this book. They're more than welcome at my table.

The essay subjects are varied and wide ranging: comics, fandom, film & TV, books and other print media, art, Art, and, well, being black, and being nerdy, and being black and nerdy. The language is very casual, sometimes rough, linguistically honest, and easy to hear in your head. In fact, I really want to get my ears on the audiobook, narrated by the authors (Audible version).

Five stars. I've not seen a layman accessible non-academic commentary like this anywhere else. This would be a good choice for lovers of ephemera, popular media, social commentary, and, of course, nerds.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.