I Was Geeky When Geeky Wasn't Cool

Being geeky isn't really geeky these days. But back in the 80s, being a geek was a death sentence for a kid's social life. Nobody knew that better than me.

I was the stereotypical nerd: I was smart, wore glasses, was terrible at sports, and had my nose stuck in a book most of the time. I was different, and that meant I was made fun of. To cope with all the teasing, I would lose myself in other worlds, those with spaceships and lasers, or longswords and dragons. I devoured TV, movies, and comic books with a fervent passion. None of these obsessions made me any more popular.

Inside this book are my most vivid memories of being a weird, nerdy kid. Some of these stories detail the different crazes I threw myself into, ranging from comic book heroes and form-shifting robots to Dungeons & Dragons and pop music. Some of these tales are about trying hard to fit in and be "normal". A healthy dollop of nostalgia flavors all these anecdotes of what it was like growing up geeky in the 80s.