"Waiting On" Wednesday: Wonder Women

"'Waiting on' Wednesday" is a great way to get excited about upcoming releases - you get to share which not-yet-released publications you can't wait to read!

This week, I'm waiting on:

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History
Written by Sam Maggs & Illustrated by Sophia Foster-Dimino

Publication Date: October 4

Last year, Sam Maggs wrote a little book called The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy, which I absolutely LOVED. I was even lucky enough to attend her book launch, which you can read all about here! She has such a distinct voice in her writing, and her passion for supporting women - whether nerdy or historical...or both! - is very clear. I think it's so important to promote my fellow women and make it known what they have done or are doing.

From Goodreads:

Ever heard of Allied spy Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim woman whom the Nazis considered “highly dangerous”? Or German painter and entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian, who planned and embarked on the world’s first scientific expedition? How about Huang Daopo, the inventor who fled an abusive child marriage only to revolutionize textile production in China?

Women have always been able to change the world, even when they didn’t get the credit. In Wonder Women, author Sam Maggs introduces you to pioneering female scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and inventors—each profile a study in passion, smarts, and stickto-itiveness, complete with portraits by Google doodler Sophia Foster-Dimino, an extensive
bibliography, and a guide to present-day women-centric STEM organizations.

What are you waiting on this week?

May Book Haul!

Yet another month of awesome books here. This month was the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, so in honour of that (and because I sadly rarely buy comics even though I love them), I ended up getting some comics! I was also lucky enough to get a few ARCs this month, which I'm so excited about!

1. The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy: A Handbook for Girl Geeks by Sam Maggs

Read my review here!

2. We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

3. The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman

4. Letters to my Grandchildren by David Suzuki

5. The Truth Commission by Susan Juby

6. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

7. All the Rage by Courtney Summers

8. Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

9. The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook by Eric Akis

10. The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor by Robert Schnakenberg

11. The Hesitation Cut by Giles Blunt

12. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

13. The Masked Truth by Kelley Armstrong

14. The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane

15. Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1, Minutemen #1, Nite Owl #1, Silk Spectre #1, Comedian #1 by Len Wein and Jae Lee, et al.

16. Tales of the Night Watchman: Volume 1 by Dave Kelly and Lara Antal

What books did you get this month?

"The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy" by Sam Maggs | Book Review

"The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy" by Sam Maggs

This book is basically a fangirl's dream. I wish it'd existed when I was younger and first getting into fandoms and geekery - it would've saved me a lot of time wading through the internet! Contained in these pages is practically everything you've ever wanted to know about all things geeky.

Now if you're a guy, you might be thinking, "Hey, how come this book is just for girls?" The answer is simple: it's not! The Fangirl's Guide is very accessible - it's not just for people who identify as girls - men can easily enjoy this. It's suited to different levels of fandom too, whether you're just starting to watch a show or you've learned Dothraki to show your Game of Thrones pride.

Sam Maggs, who you may know from The Mary Sue or (hello, my fellow Canadians!) the Cineplex pre-shows, provides tips on how and where to find info on geeky stuff in your community (geek trivia night, I've got my eyes on you!).

The book features a field guide to different fandoms, a glossary of fandom terms, interviews with REALLY cool women in the geek world (including Jane Espenson and Victoria Schwab!!), a guide to attending conventions, resources for learning about cosplay and buying fandom merch, and more.

Reading this felt like I was interacting with a friend. We as fangirls are incredibly enthusiastic about the things we love, and we're not afraid to admit it and show the love. This book reinforces the fact that it's ok to be really excited about something you're interested in!

There were so many references that I loved. There was a lot of tumblr/internet speak, which did make me cringe a couple of times, but it was mostly entertaining - and if you're not familiar with internet speak, there's a handy dandy glossary of common terms!

The Guide includes so many recommendations for shows, books, comics, and more, with awesome female characters. That's so important to me, so I'm always grateful for recommendations of this kind.

If you consider yourself a fangirl and/or a feminist, or you're interested in either subject - I recommend this book to you.

Also: I've seen people saying that "if you're a real fangirl you already know all these things". Come on, people - there are different levels of fandom, and some people are not as resourceful as others so they might not know about certain terms or websites. I certainly learned about a few new useful and awesome websites!

Check out my event recap of The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy book launch here!

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy is now available in hardcover (see Chapters/Indigo) and as an eBook (see Kobo).

*This book was sent to me by Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Sam Maggs' "The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy" Book Launch at The Pilot Tavern | Event Recap

See my review of The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy here!

Fangirl's Guide posters

I had so much fun at this launch! As expected, this book attracts a lot of geeks and fangirls, and that's exactly who showed up at The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy launch.

From left: Me, Michelle, and Christine

I was so pumped for this event that I got my geeky self dressed in fandom things, including my Jayne hat, Doctor Who purse, and Samulet from Supernatural.

Sam Maggs says a few words

Sam and her partner both spoke at the event, and it was really great to hear all the things they had to say. Sam is so nice and I'm glad I got to talk to her not only about my cunning hat, but also about my favourite parts of the book!

2015 Reading Challenge | Progress Post

A nonfiction book - The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs

Photo Credit: I added text to the original "book sale loot" by Ginny via flickr in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.