We've come a long way baby...

Well, Here it is. Happy 1st Birthday to The Geek Girls Book Club! One year ago, a small minded article in The New York Times told us we hated to read The Hobbit, so we got really fed up with that inane blather and we read it together. Then we read another book, and another, until we can look back on a whole, glorious, geeky year of books.

It turns out it is much more than books though. That is what has surprised me most. It has turned out to be a collection  of the most remarkable people, people with amazing stories of their own and hilarious blogs and never being in a book club before. Friendships were formed. Actual, meaningful friendships between wildly amazing geeks started happening, all over the world. In the last year, I have received so many notes about what the GGBC has meant to them, how it has helped them find new friends, share their passion of reading, of stories, of geekery at its finest, most joyful level.

The support that the group has gotten has been astonishing. We are now over 1,000 members strong, with more joining every month. A group that I thought would be just a few geeks has turned into an army. So many have been so supportive, I could not even begin to say thanks enough, but I will try. Thanks to all of you for sharing us, blogging about us, taking time to pass out cards and fliers in your city. Your enthusiasm makes me proud to be among you, without your passion for the group, it would not have been so strong for an entire year. To Cara for her Gigi logo for GGBC, thank you for giving us a face and a girl to pin on our bags, and wear proudly wherever we go. Thanks to all of you for wearing those pins and tshirts, fielding questions about GGBC with energy and being so proud as to wear us around with you.

I would like to thank amazing authors Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill for their kind support, spreading the word about us and being so gracious when we were reading your books. Your support brought so many to us, and book club aside, being a huge fangirl of you both and having you bother to let others know about us meant so much to me. Thank you for your generosity, it truly made my year.

I look forward to our return to The Shire this month. It will be good to visit the place we began. I hope Gandalf brought fireworks. Don't forget to share your geeky passions with us here in the comments or on FB or Twitter at #GGBC, sharing your passions and excitement is what I love most about this group. We also have a sweet surprise for us this month... keep your eyes peeled on Chef Kittie for the details!

And thank you again most excellent Geeks, it is true indeed, not all who wander are lost.

~Nikki