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.

Great book for making changes in life

What did you like best about this story?

Great encouragement, funny delivery, lots of good strategies for making broad, sweeping changes in life.

What three words best describe Chris Hardwick’s voice?

likable but over-animated.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. A great resource for relistening.

Learn to harness your obsessive nature to be good

I'm pretty good at trivia. Like at bars and stuff. I've always said, "man, if only there was a way I could make money from all this useless knowledge". Mr. Hardwick is not teaching you how to make money on trivia but he does show you how you can take skills you thought value-less and do something with them. It was great. I've already recommended this book to three people.

Who doesn't love Chris Hardwick?

Well I just listened to this whole book while hurricane Irma tried to rip my roof off. Yes, I'm sitting here surrounded by drip buckets laughing at Chris Hardwick. I've always enjoyed everything he did so I knew this audio book would be no different. The reason I gave it 4 stars overall instead of 5 was certain parts felt like filler, like when he describes his workout rep by rep. That being said I would (and will) recommend this book to everyone!

Entertaining and useful, but reads too fast

What made the experience of listening to The Nerdist Way the most enjoyable?

Hardwick offers creative solutions to nerdy problems. He has an interesting point of view.

Would you recommend The Nerdist Way to your friends? Why or why not?

yes

What about Chris Hardwick’s performance did you like?

he's energetic and fun

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

none of it...

Any additional comments?

nope

For a Nerdist, by a Nerdist

It's always good to hear a story how the author intended. The only thing that didn't transfer well was the part when he was explaining a workout regimen. Otherwise it was a great listen!

I'm a disciple of The Nerdist Way!!

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

Other than the Harry Potter series as read by Jim Dale, this is my favorite audiobook! Hardwick has such a dynamic storytelling voice, it felt like a conversation. He offers a perfect balance of humor, personal anecdotes, challenging truths and encouragement to the reader.

What did you like best about this story?

I like that Chris was vulnerable at times, telling the truth about his story. It's what gives me so much hope. He was so relatable, and made me feel like there was hope for me to turn my life around, too. I love that he doesn't just tell the reader what to do, he explains what worked for him and why. But he is also a cheerleader, and I couldn't help but believe he really was on my side as I listened.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't know about "scene", but the book is separated into 3 sections, and the 1st section was the most striking for me. There's a lot of good stuff to be found in the 2nd and 3rd sections as well, but the first section was amazing.

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

This book literally saved my life, so yes, I had an extreme reaction to it. I was in the process of planning when and how to end my life when someone told me about this book. I downloaded it immediately and stayed up all night listening to it. That night I decided that I wanted to live, and if I was going to live that I needed to let go of suicide as a viable option for me once and for all. (So when I say it "literally" changed my life, I mean it.)

I have been exposed to psychology all my life, both personally and professionally, as it was my chosen field of study. This book took the best of all of that and presented it in a way that was accessible and relatable. It felt like it was written just for me, using my humor and my language. It was motivating and it gave me hope.

The book made me laugh AND cry. I've listened to it several times and I really love it. It has so much great stuff in it!

Any additional comments?

I found myself taking so many notes that I broke down and ordered a hard copy before I even finished the audiobook that first night. Of course, 3-5 days shipping seemed like an eternity to me at the time, so I *also* ordered a copy for my Nook the same day. I have benefitted so much from this book that I also ordered a hard copy for my therapist!

Shortly after this book came into my life I found that Hardwick was scheduled to do standup in SLC, which is about 9 hours from me. I planned a trip and drove out to see him. He didn't do a meet and greet that night, but I took a chance and sent him a Tweet letting him know how far I had traveled to meet him. He DM'ed me back and invited me to the green room to meet him after the show. He was so gracious and sweet, signing my book and my Character Tome, snapping a few selfies with me and giving me a few hugs. I got to tell him that he saved my life, which genuinely seemed to touch him, and give him a small gift I made for him. I'm a big fan of his, and I really believe that he's a genuinely nice guy. This book is full of his personality and has a lot of balanced, encouraging information!

As Others Have Written, The Book is Better

What did you like best about The Nerdist Way? What did you like least?

While there is definitely a lot of great information to digest in this audiobook, that may also be it's undo in a small way. What are great lists of ideas in the book, are just snippets of soundbites in the audiobook, leaving me wishing Chris had reformatted it a bit for audio to make it a little more digestible.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I'm a big fan of gameification of your life and this book is one of the first sources I've read or heard that explained it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Chris Hardwick?

Yes.

Was The Nerdist Way worth the listening time?

The audiobook is worth the listening time, but I would get the book to go along with it or I think you'd be lost.

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for ideas to make life's chores a bit more exciting, this audiobook gives you a lot of good insights to do it.

Motivation for Nerds that will make you laugh.

What made the experience of listening to The Nerdist Way the most enjoyable?

A perfect manual for getting your Geek life in order. Chris did a good job translating the concepts of many professional and personal self help books and applying it to the Nerd culture. The ideas are presented in an entertaining way that keeps you listening and best of all thinking (or doing). As far as self improvement books go, this one has landed in my personal top five. Warning: If you are easily offended by occasional profanity, sexual innuendo, philosophical religious commentary or just suffer from a closed mind, do not purchase this book. Go buy The 7 Habits by Stephen Covey. Is the plural of Zebra, Zebrae?

What did you like best about this story?

Targeted to the Nerd subculture.

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

Chris is a cross between a motivational speaker and a night at the comedy club.

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

Laughing so hard that I had to pull off to the side of the road many, many times.

Any additional comments?

You won't be disappointed. This book even got my 14 year old off his Xbox/PC and doing things to improve his life.

Fun and Profound

As a self-proclaimed nerd, I felt that this book spoke to me. It provides practical advise dressed up in nerdy concepts (leveling up, character sheets etc.) which makes it fun to look at the grind.

Meh

Narrator did amazing! He really put enthusiasm into reading his own book... But that's about all I can give it. I've read so many self help books now that the advice on this one is essentially the same as everywhere else. It's not a bad read, but it's much the same as anything else.

Also the narrator/author seems like kind of a douchebag. But that may be what he was going for. All in all not really impressed. But WOULDN'T NOT recommend. Yes that is a double negative, not a typo.