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Dorkismo: the Macho of the Dork
The dorks are saving the nation, and this book proves it. Maria Bustillos takes the reader on a thrill ride featuring $3 million Patek Philippe watches, the late David Foster Wallace, Woody Allen, Star Wars, Akihabara Electric Town, and much more. These serio-comic essays bear a message, lightly veiled, of freedom for all. Experience the dork victory that is within everyone's reach with this sharp, fun and stylish book: Dorkismo: the Macho of the Dork.
- GenresNonfiction
220 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2009
61 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 16, 2010
I apologize to the good lady who sent this book to me. The day I received it I went onto a medication that made writing very difficult. That is all straightened out and I can, at last, write this review.
If you are a hipster, do not read Dorkismo, because it is so anti hipster that not even the hippest hipster could possibly withstand the mind bending power of having your own opinion!
Dorkismo is know what you like, what you think, what you opinion is...all by yourself! Having the nerve to shout at the top of your voice, in a plane full of people, just as you lift off the ground, "ENGAGE." That is dorkismo.
Maria Bustillos does a tremendous job making the book both funny and quite informative, there is more here than just do your own thing. One of the eye opening moments for was when I read the old piece by Roger Ebert defending the way he rates a movie.
I loved it. What better review, eh?
If you are a hipster, do not read Dorkismo, because it is so anti hipster that not even the hippest hipster could possibly withstand the mind bending power of having your own opinion!
Dorkismo is know what you like, what you think, what you opinion is...all by yourself! Having the nerve to shout at the top of your voice, in a plane full of people, just as you lift off the ground, "ENGAGE." That is dorkismo.
Maria Bustillos does a tremendous job making the book both funny and quite informative, there is more here than just do your own thing. One of the eye opening moments for was when I read the old piece by Roger Ebert defending the way he rates a movie.
I loved it. What better review, eh?
October 9, 2009
I initially heard of this book from a post the author made on the Infinite Summer website, and I can (predictably I'm sure) say that the David Foster Wallace chapter is wonderful. I never had the pleasure of meeting him or seeing him speak, and I think I would love to read a book that was nothing more than people reminiscing about him.
Overall though, Dorkismo is kind of a mixed bag. I liked the format (several short chapters) and the variety of subjects keeps things interesting, mostly because if I hit a segment I didn't care for I knew it would be over soon. I enjoyed being exposed to subjects I probably would never have otherwise read about, such as otaku or the story about Jane Eyre. A few of the connections do seem a little forced though. Chief among these is a chapter on $3 million watches, where the author seems to say that buying expensive things is wrong and you should be more socially responsible with your money instead. For the most part I agree with the idea behind this, but it seems shoehorned into the book and more in the vein of a political editorial than "a celebration of the dork."
I was also particularly puzzled by the Woody Allen chapter, where the author basically just rips on Stardust Memories the whole time. Granted, Stardust Memories probably doesn't even make my top 20 list of Allen's best, but as funny and great as most of his films before it were, I think he could be indulged if he wanted to make a weird Fellini homage no matter how unfunny or hostile you choose to see it. That actually seems to me to be very dorkish--doing what he wanted to, regardless of what other people would think--and the whole chapter seems counter to the theme of the book.
On the whole, Dorkismo is mostly interesting and fun to read, and I'm interested in seeing what Ms. Bustillos decides to write about next.
Overall though, Dorkismo is kind of a mixed bag. I liked the format (several short chapters) and the variety of subjects keeps things interesting, mostly because if I hit a segment I didn't care for I knew it would be over soon. I enjoyed being exposed to subjects I probably would never have otherwise read about, such as otaku or the story about Jane Eyre. A few of the connections do seem a little forced though. Chief among these is a chapter on $3 million watches, where the author seems to say that buying expensive things is wrong and you should be more socially responsible with your money instead. For the most part I agree with the idea behind this, but it seems shoehorned into the book and more in the vein of a political editorial than "a celebration of the dork."
I was also particularly puzzled by the Woody Allen chapter, where the author basically just rips on Stardust Memories the whole time. Granted, Stardust Memories probably doesn't even make my top 20 list of Allen's best, but as funny and great as most of his films before it were, I think he could be indulged if he wanted to make a weird Fellini homage no matter how unfunny or hostile you choose to see it. That actually seems to me to be very dorkish--doing what he wanted to, regardless of what other people would think--and the whole chapter seems counter to the theme of the book.
On the whole, Dorkismo is mostly interesting and fun to read, and I'm interested in seeing what Ms. Bustillos decides to write about next.
May 1, 2017
I won this book in the giveaway here on goodreads and at first I didn't know what to expect. How could this woman possibly "get" me? (Yes, I know, I sound like an angsty teen. But then, I'm only twenty.) But it turned out I was wrong.
While I don't agree with everything (especially the little test at the end strikes me as odd - a standardized test in a book that's supposed to celebrate individualism?), some interesting and compelling points were made, many of which I could apply to my own surroundings and find them to be true - just today I came across an article on a Gawker blog that was so chock full of snark it made me want to punch the author in the face.
So, all in all - summa summarum, as it were (I don't speak French, but I think Latin can make you look pretty darn smart as well) - this is a very enjoyable and interesting book and, truly, a good read.
While I don't agree with everything (especially the little test at the end strikes me as odd - a standardized test in a book that's supposed to celebrate individualism?), some interesting and compelling points were made, many of which I could apply to my own surroundings and find them to be true - just today I came across an article on a Gawker blog that was so chock full of snark it made me want to punch the author in the face.
So, all in all - summa summarum, as it were (I don't speak French, but I think Latin can make you look pretty darn smart as well) - this is a very enjoyable and interesting book and, truly, a good read.
July 3, 2009
This is delightful. Thoughtful and scholarly, while still being an awful lot of fun to read.
I was reminded of Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories" while reading the first chapter; he speaks of the power of fairy stories (which he emphatically did not think belong only to children) to give us recovery, escape and consolation. Bustillos makes the same point here, albeit in perhaps a more accessible fashion.
The first Star Wars movie had a huge impact on me, coming as it did after some grey years in my own life. Bustillos captures brilliantly that inspiring sense of being at the birth of something that somehow belonged to us.
A gentle, funny and affectionate celebration of what it is to be dorky.
I was reminded of Tolkien's "On Fairy Stories" while reading the first chapter; he speaks of the power of fairy stories (which he emphatically did not think belong only to children) to give us recovery, escape and consolation. Bustillos makes the same point here, albeit in perhaps a more accessible fashion.
The first Star Wars movie had a huge impact on me, coming as it did after some grey years in my own life. Bustillos captures brilliantly that inspiring sense of being at the birth of something that somehow belonged to us.
A gentle, funny and affectionate celebration of what it is to be dorky.
November 4, 2011
"The balanced mind is a dorky mind, indicative of someone who isn't scared of looking like an idiot, and who will cheerfully indulge his own eccentricities and those of others in an unprejudiced, inclusive way." -- from the last page of Dorkismo: The Macho of the Dork, by Maria Bustillos (Accidental Books, 2008), which everybody should immediately order from Powell's or some other independent online bookstore, because there is no such thing as Amazon.
I am three years late to this party, but I have to say this is a wonderful book of the kind that you will probably want to acquire in quantity so you can give away copies to bright young dorky people to encourage them.
The quote above is a pretty good distillation of Maria Bustillos's project, which is to encourage people to give themselves up to their inner dork, that is to say to surrender to their love and their true enthusiasms about the world around them (especially the culture they're in) and never to poison themselves with fear and phoniness and pretension.
It consists of brief chapters applying the Dorkismo thesis insightfully to everything from Jane Eyre to George Lucas (not necessarily one application at a time), but despite the episodic structure it's best to read it in one happy gulp, like I just did, rather than chewing off a chapter at a go.
See also dorkismo.tumblr.com.
Yay!
I am three years late to this party, but I have to say this is a wonderful book of the kind that you will probably want to acquire in quantity so you can give away copies to bright young dorky people to encourage them.
The quote above is a pretty good distillation of Maria Bustillos's project, which is to encourage people to give themselves up to their inner dork, that is to say to surrender to their love and their true enthusiasms about the world around them (especially the culture they're in) and never to poison themselves with fear and phoniness and pretension.
It consists of brief chapters applying the Dorkismo thesis insightfully to everything from Jane Eyre to George Lucas (not necessarily one application at a time), but despite the episodic structure it's best to read it in one happy gulp, like I just did, rather than chewing off a chapter at a go.
See also dorkismo.tumblr.com.
Yay!
Read
March 28, 2011dorkismo in modern music=pains of being pure at heart.
this book reads like an expansion of someones masters thesis, but nonetheless is an interesting look at dorks and nerds, what makes them so, and why it is a good thing. so you ask, wtf is a nerd good for? Bustillos says its because dorks/nerds are so consumed with their passion(s) (think a 12 year old who self-studies about their favorite thing; rock bands or mountain men or video games or pipas or hobbit land elf-speak or or) that they are not overly constrained by common surface concerns like sex, fashion, coolness, sports-hero-ness, cool cars, etc..but rather are so consumed by their passion that they are cooler than the cool kids. I suppose this could also be a passion for cool clothes, but for some reason if you are a fashion maven, its different than being a dork about sci fi movies, or Ayurvedic burritos or unsigned bands. So Bustillos has tagged this passion as DORKISMO and points out how this is a cool thing, an important and cutting edge thing, and that dorks, in their single-mindedness, are sexy, cool, creative, ahead of the curve, trend setters, lovable, and MACHO/A in their nonthreatening way (though it won't stop you from being pushed around, beaten up and/or reviled by non-dorks). :|
this book reads like an expansion of someones masters thesis, but nonetheless is an interesting look at dorks and nerds, what makes them so, and why it is a good thing. so you ask, wtf is a nerd good for? Bustillos says its because dorks/nerds are so consumed with their passion(s) (think a 12 year old who self-studies about their favorite thing; rock bands or mountain men or video games or pipas or hobbit land elf-speak or or) that they are not overly constrained by common surface concerns like sex, fashion, coolness, sports-hero-ness, cool cars, etc..but rather are so consumed by their passion that they are cooler than the cool kids. I suppose this could also be a passion for cool clothes, but for some reason if you are a fashion maven, its different than being a dork about sci fi movies, or Ayurvedic burritos or unsigned bands. So Bustillos has tagged this passion as DORKISMO and points out how this is a cool thing, an important and cutting edge thing, and that dorks, in their single-mindedness, are sexy, cool, creative, ahead of the curve, trend setters, lovable, and MACHO/A in their nonthreatening way (though it won't stop you from being pushed around, beaten up and/or reviled by non-dorks). :|
February 1, 2010
Maybe this was a better book than my rating, but I had difficulty connecting to some of the stories told as I wasn't very much familiar with some of the stuff mentioned in the book. But I do admit, for the ones I was able to understand, it wasan enjoyable read. The language was simple and friendly, easy to connect with, very much like listening to a friend talking to you. The pictures in reference to the chapters made it easier to get into what's being told. All in all, it was a good book, but perhaps for a limited crowd.
December 2, 2009
I'm going to rate this book a two. It wasn't my normal read and I didn't know most of the people mentioned in it. I think a lot of other people will enjoy it because its very unique and I learned alot from the Chapters I could understand. I prefer to read fiction storys, this was just too complicated for me. I think it should be aimed at the older generation.
February 7, 2010
I liked this book for the insightful and fun way the author celebrated people who, despite being socially awkward -- or, rather, because they weren't concerned with the norm -- ended up being great changemakers. I found some new heroes in this book, and it's not every day that happens.
Want to Read
October 22, 2010She wrote a cool and compassionate article about hipsters on theawl.com, and if the essays in this book are in a similar vein, I think I will like it a lot.
November 29, 2012
The authors first and last chapter are great. You can skip everything in between. There was a lot that I didn't care for. BUT her point is valid. Life is best lived by fully, enthusiastically living it. And us dorks enjoy ourselves regardless of others.
August 25, 2010
Funny and enlightening; read this and you will no longer be embarrassed by your inner dork.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews