Author: Amy Weir

Amy M. Weir is a public youth services librarian in SW Pennsylvania, and there’s nothing she geeks out about more. Outside of work she obsesses over music (especially rock especially psychedelic pop especially The Beatles), sews clothes, gardens when the weather’s nice, avoids housework, and generally is the poster-child for Enneatype 9, which she attempts to counteract with yoga when she remembers. Her entire family has ADHD. This includes an RPG-and-firearms-geek husband who asked her out by playing a Paladin-in-Shining-Armor devoted to serving her character in D&D; a vehicles-and-video-game-geek 14yo named after a hobbit; an art-and-animation-geek 12yo named after a SFF writer; and an Imaginary Husband named Martin Freeman, who isn’t actually aware of this relationship.

Madeleine L'Engle Centennial cake at Books of Wonder, courtesy the @MadeleineLEngle Twitter account; official author photo.

Celebrating Madeleine L’Engle’s Centennial With a Couple Kids Who Finally Care

November 29, 2018November 28, 2018Amy Weir

Amy celebrates the 100th birthday of her favorite author by finally, finally getting her kids interested.

A live, real-car version of cartoon character Lightning McQueen in a Disney parade

A Car Geek Growing Up

November 26, 2018November 25, 2018Amy Weir

Amy compares her tween car nut watching ‘Cars 3’ to the toddler he once was watching the original.

Maybe I’m a Gaming Addict, Too

November 15, 2018November 14, 2018Amy Weir

Amy explores the traits, at least in her family, that make a person particularly susceptible to being unable to stop video gaming.

Pic of the author, dressed as Princess Leia, with a thought bubble full of an image composited from the covers of 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'So You Want to Be a Wizard,' and screenshots of Michael and Janet from 'The Good Place' and Kerry and Cary from 'Legion.'

Fictional Character Overload! A Geek Problem

November 5, 2018November 4, 2018Amy Weir

Amy likes stories too much. And if she’s deeply into too many stories at once, it can get a little confusing in her brain.

Geek Links: 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, 2019

October 30, 2018October 29, 2018Amy Weir

Over at Fuse#8 Productions, James Kennedy, founder of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, has whipped up a guest post to get young book-and-film geeks planning for this coming year’s festival. Courtesy: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production

Small child pushing his 18mo sister, who is carrying an open umbrella and wearing stacking rings, around a messy kitchen in a push toy like a stroller.

We Took Electronics Away For One Morning and THIS Happened

October 22, 2018October 21, 2018Amy Weir2

Left to their own devices without devices, these kids can get a little goofy….

Left: toddler in a Viking Helmet. Right: 7yo in a Queen Elsa dress, wielding Thor's hammer

From Dress-Up Box to Cosplay Stash

October 19, 2018October 18, 2018Amy Weir

Reimagining an early-childhood make-believe dress-up box into a stash of raw materials for cosplay somehow gives it renewed appeal to an older child—and her mother.

Photo album shot of James, (toddler) Harry, and Lily Potter from the movie

The One Page of ‘Harry Potter’ That Always Makes Me Cry

October 8, 2018October 7, 2018Amy Weir

It’s not the on-page deaths in ‘Harry Potter’ that make me weepy. It’s the cut-short promise of a mother’s love.

A Comforting Fortress of Bookcases

October 4, 2018October 3, 2018Amy Weir1

In which Amy gushes about the hidden powers of bookshelves.

Banned Books Week September 23-29, 2018: "Banning Books Silences Stories Speak Out!"

What You Should Know About Banned Books Week

September 28, 2018September 27, 2018Amy Weir7

Does the concept of Banned Books Week confuse you? Amy tries to sort it all out here for you.

Excited woman waving a lit cell phone (the modern-day lighter) amid an arena full of other people, other lit cell phones speckling the crowd.

Mainstream Geekishness Is Not an Oxymoron

September 17, 2018September 16, 2018Amy Weir

You can still geek out over something EVERYONE loves. It’s not the niche-ness that makes someone a geek. It’s the PASSION.

Tweet from @evelynclear asking women who are gamers to retweet. At the time of this screencap, there were 29.820 retweets

You Need New Friends (Or at Least Need to Learn to Listen)

September 15, 2018September 13, 2018Amy Weir

If you’re ever inclined to generalize about a certain type of person, it’s probably because you haven’t met enough of them.

Group of tall leafy green plant stalks with small clusters of buds at the top

Taxonomies Are Fun

August 28, 2018August 27, 2018Amy Weir4

I’m notoriously against dichotomies when it comes to people. Objects, on the other hand, are fun to sort. There are games based on the concept of using dichotomies to identify objects: Twenty Questions, and all its spinoffs, like this Hedbandz game my kids have. Through a series of yes or no questions, you gradually narrow […]