The Nerdist Way

How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life)

By: Chris Hardwick

Narrated by: Chris Hardwick

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Nerds: Once a tormented subrace of humans... Now captains of industry! You don’t have to be a stereotypical geekwad to appreciate the tenets of Nerdism and to make your innate talents for overanalysis and hyper-self-awareness work for you instead of against you. Join Nerd superstar Chris Hardwick as he offers his fellow “creative-obsessives” the crucial information needed to come out on top in the current Nerd uprising.

Nerds subsist on the minutiae of their chosen passions. As a lifelong member of “The Nerd Herd,” as he calls it, Chris Hardwick has learned all there is to know about Nerds. He’s studied them, lived with them, and has endeavored to milk their knowledge nectar and isolate its curative powers for what ails you. Thus, he has founded a philosophical system (and blog) called The Nerdist, and here he shares his hard-earned wisdom about turning seeming weaknesses into world-dominating strengths. From keeping your heart rate below hummingbird levels to managing the avalanche of sadness that is your inbox, from ignoring your brain to attracting wealth by turning down work, Hardwick reveals the secrets that can help you accomplish what you want by tapping into your true nerdtastic self. The Nerdist Way shows how to focus your mind, body, and time into an unstoppable laser of goodness. Don’t wait for another social tragedy. Don’t resort to cheap “mass murder” tactics to exact your revenge on society. Success is the most satisfying - and legal - form of vengeance there is. And you can achieve it when you follow the Nerdist Way.

©2011 Chris Hardwick (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Buy this book! But maybe not the audible version

It may seem confusing that I give the story 4 stars, the performance 4 stars, but the overall only 3. Here's why: I think this is a fun, useful and well written and performed book, but I think it is better as a physical book than audiobook.

I pre-ordered the hard copy after Hardwick announced it on his podcast, and then promptly forgot. Then, months later, I saw his reminder about his new book on Twitter and since I only ever get time to digest books through audiobooks, I came here to see if it was available. I listened to the first couple of chapters very happily and Chris, as usual, is very funny and delivers his material as only he could, so I was very glad that he read it himself.

Part 1 of this self-help book, which is about the mind, has a lot of narrative and works very well as an audiobook. I related very well to the experiences he relates about anxiety and self-confidence and he made me laugh so much. There are exercises to do, but they are thought exercises that at most, I would pause the playback for a minute to think about before resuming the book. There is also a suggestion for a "character tome" which I will do, and am glad to have the physical book to refer to for the structure of it.

However, Part 2, about the body, includes his story of how he got to where he is in his caring for his physical self, and many conversations with/information from his personal trainer. It is very inspiring. But a large part is composed of bullet lists of exercises and motivational points. These are very useful for actual reading and referencing, but not very interesting to listen to.

Part 3, Time, focuses on ways to use technology to better manage your time to meet your goals and how to get your finances in control. Obviously, I can use some organizational skills, and was pleasantly surprised to see the stigmatizing issue of bad credit in here as well, and Hardwick has a lot of great suggestions. But listening to them in the car and not being able to right away try them out was less useful. For that reason I was very glad that I had the physical version at home that I could reference Parts 2 and 3.

Maybe it's just because I listen to Hardwick's podcast that I had no problems with hearing his voice in the text, but I really think it's because he wrote it in a way that his humor is obvious and, in some ways, better in written form than spoken aloud. So if you are worried that reading it will feel more bland than listening to him, I don't think it's an issue for this particular book.

So please, buy this book! I really do recommend it and in fact will be buying more hard copy versions for friends as gifts. And if you don't mind buying both versions then by all means, do! #Moneybags #HashtaggingOutsideOfTwitter

Self Help with a twist

If you could sum up The Nerdist Way in three words, what would they be?

Funny, motivational, nerd-friendly

What did you like best about this story?

The understanding of how the nerd mind functions.

Have you listened to any of Chris Hardwick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first audiobook, I listen to his podcasts regularly, his reading of the book was more forced and not real compared to the podcasts.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Let your evil genius shine

Any additional comments?

Loved it

Crass, Nerdy, Irreverent, and Funny

Certainly not for everyone, crass, nerdy, irreverent, and funny. A few sections were slow but 90% of it was quick witted. I found myself laughing out loud in the car - especially funny if you play it at 2x speed as Chris Hardwick (narrated by the author) talks fast anyway and it makes him sound like he's on a manic rant.

Disclaimer: If you don't know what a MMO or RPG is, or have no background in tech or geek culture, you will probably spend most of your time thinking.... "what in the hell is he talking about?" and I would recommend that you pass on this one.

Great book, great tips.

It is a great book that has many great tips and tricks for helping what Chris Hardwick calls 'nerdists'. It is something like a self help book but it is not quite in the same sense. He explains a lot of what happened to him and how he got through his addictions to his vices. He also gives a great way to help you change your life while still being funny. Overall a great book and if you like his podcast then you will like this book.

Read twice

I really enjoyed this book. Wasn’t sure what I was getting in to when I bought it and glad I did. I think I might buy the hard copy and listen to it again. So many things to take notes on or homework to do with this book. If you like being a better person and like doing work to be a better person this is a great book!

My favorite self-help book of the many I own

Where does The Nerdist Way rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've only had it a few weeks and already played some chapters five or more times. I can't say that about many of my hundred-plus Audible books.

What did you like best about this story?

He's been in your shoes (if you're a nerd that is) learned from his mistakes and passed that on in this book. So far everything in the book I have tried myself has worked fairly well or else I was already doing something similar.

What does Chris Hardwick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Normally I won't get a book narrated by its author as these have almost always been terrible, but this book was an exception. I have the eBook as well (mostly to get the charts, graphs and exercise illustrations) and I hear his voice when reading it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did make me pause the playback many times so I could absorb what had just been explained. It wasn't that he said anything I hadn't heard before, though some was new to me, it was more that he made it real and personal- not dry and academic as so many other books do.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book to any nerd who struggles with their own mind and it's tendency to turn inward.

Nothing new but the presentation really worked!

Listened For Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Good to Know Rating: 4.00
Knowledge Manager Rating: 4.50 (aka Chris Hardwick)

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought When Finished: The Nerdist Way was a humorous self-help book with some really great ideas! Nothing new but the presentation really worked!

Good To Know Thoughts: I will admit that self-help books are kind of my guilty pleasure. I am also a total geek and a big fan of all things nerdom. Here is the deal, if you read any kind of self-improvement books you know they are not really telling you anything new. Presentation is the key to getting some of the messages to stick. The Nerdist Way takes the humorous and direct way of getting the messages across. There is cursing, examples in relation to Dungeons and Dragons, and some very frank “just get it done” speak. Chris didn’t use fancy terms (though he made up a few of his own) and really speaks directly to the target audience: the geeks and nerds of the world. There really is some great advice in here and the activities will help reinforce some good behavior. If you are looking something new and earth-shattering this is not the book. If you are looking for something straight-forward, fun, and sometimes self eye-opening then this will work for you.

NOTE: You must understand Geek/Nerd culture to get some of the references. Then again, I doubt you would look at this book if you didn’t.

Knowledge Manager Thoughts: Why did I call Chris or any other self-help book author a Knowledge Manager? That is what they are! If you are a going to write a self-help book than you had better be able to manage that knowledge. Chris practices (from what I can tell) what he talks about. He uses some real life experience to reinforce the ideas that he suggests that we incorporate into our lives. His humor, bluntness, and fun attitude do come across in The Nerdist Way. Fans of his won’t be disappointed on that scale. I found him to be real and relatable which always helps when taking advice from someone. Overall, he was a great person to send this particular message.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by Chris Hardwick/Running Time 6h 10m

Non-Fiction read by the author is always better than using another narrator. The belief and feeling they have their subject matter is always apparent. Chris did a fantastic job with the narration, pacing, and adding emotion into the written word. I highly recommend this on audio.

Final Thoughts: The Nerdist Way exceeded my expectations and dare I say, I had fun listening to a self-help book. Great read for the Nerd/Geeks of the world.

All hail our nerdy leader!

Way different than I thought it would be. I had just re watched mandroid and wanted more. surprisingly insightful and useful info.

second listen

Dang it Chris! I got sucked into your world again! Why must your words be so wise and delivery so entertaining? ?? Curse you and your sultry voice! I have other things to read you know! Side note, you're awesome

Insanely helpfull.

If you could sum up The Nerdist Way in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, thought out, Atari.

What other book might you compare The Nerdist Way to and why?

ITs like all the other self help books that didn't do anything, but better. And more swearing.

What does Chris Hardwick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His narration is always great. So much energy in his speech. You know he believes what he is talking about.
All though, the chapter about working out would be much better with a hard copy in front of me to be help full.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

So many Ninjas, Too little time.