2008 Woodie Awards
RSSStudent self-publishes book about adolescence
By Laura Johnson
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Lifestyle
They say that you should never judge a book by its cover. Peering at the chubby-cheeked character that graces the cover of Lehigh student Brian Walker's book, "The Hurt, The Horny, The High School Nerd," you wonder what those big brown eyes are peering at behind the wide-rimmed frames. No judging. Begin reading the excerpt that was featured online. Horny? The word does not even begin to describe the excerpt's details. Feeling overwhelmed by the sexual explicitness of the expert, one might panic and exit the Web site. No judging.
Brian Walker has a sincere smile, when life is worth smiling over, that is. During high school, Walker said he often felt like the outcast in a school filled with athletes, beautiful women and nerds like himself.
"It seemed as though no matter how nice I was to people it was never reciprocated," Walker said. "I always tried to ask girls on dates but they always declined. People seem to think that nerds don't have a sex drive, and that isn't true."
Walker recalls experiencing rejection and racism in high school. After reading through many of his journal entries about his high school experiences, he thought they might be humorous typed out. These negative experiences motivated him to write a book his senior year of high school. Although he started writing the book as a joke to relieve his frustrations about women, he soon found that it might actually be worth publishing.
He continued to write the book when he entered college and then decided to get it self-published.
"I was originally going to get the book published, but after reading a literary journal I discovered the benefits of self-publishing," Walker said. "When you self-publish a book you get to chose the cover, all marketing plans and everything about the book yourself. You get a lot more freedom."
Walker's grandfather has been serving as his manager and editor.
Although Walker felt uncomfortable at first having his grandfather read the extremely personal book (which addresses topics such as how he lost his virginity and his thoughts of suicide), he trusted his grandfather's opinion.
Brian Walker has a sincere smile, when life is worth smiling over, that is. During high school, Walker said he often felt like the outcast in a school filled with athletes, beautiful women and nerds like himself.
"It seemed as though no matter how nice I was to people it was never reciprocated," Walker said. "I always tried to ask girls on dates but they always declined. People seem to think that nerds don't have a sex drive, and that isn't true."
Walker recalls experiencing rejection and racism in high school. After reading through many of his journal entries about his high school experiences, he thought they might be humorous typed out. These negative experiences motivated him to write a book his senior year of high school. Although he started writing the book as a joke to relieve his frustrations about women, he soon found that it might actually be worth publishing.
He continued to write the book when he entered college and then decided to get it self-published.
"I was originally going to get the book published, but after reading a literary journal I discovered the benefits of self-publishing," Walker said. "When you self-publish a book you get to chose the cover, all marketing plans and everything about the book yourself. You get a lot more freedom."
Walker's grandfather has been serving as his manager and editor.
Although Walker felt uncomfortable at first having his grandfather read the extremely personal book (which addresses topics such as how he lost his virginity and his thoughts of suicide), he trusted his grandfather's opinion.
