The Nerdy Word

06/07/2026

Wisconsin Indie Bookshop Quest participants, don't forget to claim your experience points!

If you're working your way through the Quest, attending bookstore events can help you complete the Tavern Talk side quest and earn extra entries into the prize drawings.

📚 If you joined us for the June 3 Just Tapped Book Club discussion of Yesteryear, make sure you have your event stamp on your Quest Map!

Looking ahead, we have two more opportunities to level up:

💜 June 14 - Women's Wellness Discussion with nationally certified Ayurvedic Practitioner Tresa Laferty. Learn about healthy skin from the inside out. This event is FREE to attend.

💛 June 28 - Read With An Aura: Build Your Summer TBR. Discover your reading personality and receive a curated summer reading list tailored to your results. If you're a Myers-Briggs fan, you'll love this bookish deep dive into what makes you tick as a reader.

Planning to attend Read With An Aura? Be sure to register by June 16 so Anna has time to create your personalized reader profile, custom bookmark, and curated reading list in time for the event.

Whether you're chasing prizes, exploring new bookstores, or just enjoying the journey, don't forget that bookstore events count, too. We hope to see you at one (or both!) of these upcoming stops on your Quest!

06/02/2026

It's New Release Tuesday!

We've got a wonderful lineup of new books arriving this week, including highly anticipated titles from Ann Patchett, Mary Kay Andrews, Maggie O'Farrell, Dr. Seuss, and more.

Click on each photo to read a summary and learn more about the book.

Then stop by The Nerdy Word and find your next great read. We're excited to see which ones make their way home with you!

06/01/2026

Today’s the day!

The Wisconsin Indie Bookshop Quest officially begins, and your adventure starts at The Nerdy Word.

Stop by and pick up your Quest Map, get your first stamp, then spend the month exploring independent bookstores across Wisconsin, completing fun side quests, and earning chances to win bookstore gift cards and other prizes.

The Nerdy Word
1106 Main Street, Union Grove

05/28/2026

Here are the Milwaukee area indie bookstores participating in the Wisconsin Indie Bookshop Quest. Visiting just these eleven stores during the month of June (with no minimum purchase requirement!) will earn you eleven entries into the drawing for gift certificates up to $300! Of course, you can visit more stores around the state for more chances to win, but these are a great start! Pick up your quest map at The Nerdy Word. The quest begins June 1.

🗺️ SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN — YOUR QUEST DESTINATIONS.

The Milwaukee corridor has 11 stores on the Quest — loaded with stops for your route.

📍 YOUR SE WISCONSIN DESTINATIONS:
• Thirst Books — Milwaukee
• The Well Red Damsel — Wauwatosa
• ep·i·logue Books — Menomonee Falls
• Elmside Goods — Milton
• The Nerdy Word — Union Grove
• Tattooed Tree Books — Fort Atkinson
• Studio Moonfall — Kenosha
• Arnett and Son Books — Racine
• Full Moon Book Garden — Burlington
• Lakeside Books - Lake Geneva — Lake Geneva
• The Rogue Bookshop — Beloit

Maps are free at any participating store starting June 1st. 🧭

New to the Quest? Full rules pinned to our profile. 📌

05/27/2026

This week’s new and new-to-us releases are bringing some seriously big names to the shelves.

We’ve got titles from Freida McFadden, Nora Roberts, David Sedaris, Steven Rowley, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Laura Steven, and more.

And for all of you Freida McFans out there, we made sure to stock The Divorce in BOTH hardcover and paperback.

Stop in and see what’s new at The Nerdy Word!

05/27/2026

There are conversations that simply fill time… and there are conversations that can change the future of our schools.

On Saturday, July 18, The Nerdy Word will host a meet & greet, signing, and discussion with authors Adam Drummond-Konopasek and Danny Drummond-Konopasek, creators of When All Means All: The Constellation of Learning Approach to Student-Centered Schools.

This isn’t a book built on buzzwords or surface-level inspiration. It’s a challenge to rethink the systems, structures, and assumptions shaping education today - and a roadmap for creating schools where every student truly has the opportunity to succeed.

If you are a teacher, administrator, school counselor, paraprofessional, librarian, coach, interventionist, school board member, college education student, or anyone connected to education in any way, we hope you’ll join us for this important discussion.

The timing feels especially meaningful as educators begin looking ahead to the 2026/27 school year. What if this is the moment new ideas take root? What if one conversation sparks a change that impacts students for years to come?

These are innovative authors with bold ideas and a genuine passion for improving education for all learners, and we’re incredibly excited to bring them to The Nerdy Word.

Please help us spread the word. Tag your favorite educators. Share this post with your school communities. Invite everyone you know in the education field to be part of the conversation.

Because “all means all” should be more than a slogan.

📚 Saturday, July 18
📍 The Nerdy Word – 1106 Main Street, Union Grove
⏰ Time to be announced

05/25/2026

🇱🇷 🇱🇷 🇱🇷 🇱🇷 🇱🇷

05/23/2026

The Wisconsin Indie Bookshop Quest begins June 1, and book lovers across the state are about to set off on a month-long adventure through independent bookstores!

Participants can pick up a Quest Map at The Nerdy Word or any participating bookstore and start exploring. Each bookstore visit earns another raffle entry for prizes (there are no minimum purchase requirements!), and along the way there are optional “side quests” to complete for extra chances to win - from asking booksellers for recommendations to attending bookstore events and even meeting bookstore pets.

When the journey ends, completed Quest Maps can be turned in at any participating store before the July 2 drawing for prizes including:

• One $300 bookstore gift card
• One $200 bookstore gift card
• Two $100 bookstore gift cards
• One $100 Bookshop.org gift card
• Four $50 bookstore gift cards
• Ten $25 bookstore gift cards

Plus, anyone who visits ten stores earns a free audiobook from Libro.fm.

It’s a wonderful excuse to discover new bookstores, revisit old favorites, and celebrate Wisconsin’s indie book community one stop at a time.

05/22/2026

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up at The Nerdy Word in June!

From book club and special events to community fun with the quest, it’s going to be a good month around the store. We hope you’ll join us!

05/21/2026

To remember our family and friends who have fought for our freedoms - and one who is still fighting - The Nerdy Word team is taking Monday and Tuesday off. We will resume normal hours on Wednesday. Enjoy your celebrations and find comfort in your own memories of your courageous loved ones.