The Geek's Guide to Dating

Quirk Books

Fred Smith

Hardback

208pp

18.5 x 13.5 cms

$14.95 (US/$15.95 (Can)

ISBN 978-1-59474-643-7 

 

So, here's the book blurb:

You keep your action figures in their original packaging. Your bedsheets are officially licensed Star Wars merchandise. You’re hooked on Elder Scrolls and Metal Gear but now you’ve discovered an even bigger obsession: the new girl who just moved in down the hall. What’s a geek to do? Take some tips from Eric Smith in The Geek’s Guide to Dating. This hilarious primer leads geeks of all ages through the perils and pitfalls of meeting women, going on dates, getting serious, breaking up, and establishing a successful lifelong relationship (hint: it’s time to invest in new bedsheets). Full of whimsical 8-bit illustrations, The Geek’s Guide to Dating will teach fan-boys everywhere to love long and prosper.

 

And in case you did not know Eric Smith is the co-founder of Geekadelphia, a popular blog covering all-that-is-geek in the City of Brotherly Love, as well as the Philadelphia Geek Awards, an annual awards show held at the Academy of Natural Sciences. He’s written for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, and Philly.com.

 

Now, I have to be honest and write that this book left me cold. I'm guessing it was supposed to be humorous but I never cracked once (ask the Albanians!). It seemed almost deliberate to get everything possible that might have a geeky reference into the book -Big Bang Theory and characters there from, Dungeons & Dragons, Seinfeld -it was just so "in your face".  The fact that everything is laid out as a sort of "choose your option" game didn't help.

The "illustrations"...well, I would NOT call them that. See the cover? THAT is what counts as illustration here -the odd "over pixellated" looking image.

My reaction was "Spend the $14.95 on bus fare and go to a pick-up joint!" But I guess that's the point here?  I have absolutely no doubt that there will be people wetting their pants while reading the book but I'm 56 and full of ennuit and my idea of a pick-up joint is a cemetery.

So, to be fair, I've included these reviews by other people. No doubt a good Christmas gift to the geek of your choice.

Reviews

“...this is a welcome alternative to the 'pick-up artist' phenomenon courting this same demographic.”—Publishers Weekly

“[The Geek’s Guide to Dating] offers serious advice for getting a girl and knowing how to keep her…a perfect stocking stuffer!”—Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight

“If dating seems more like a dismal game of Frogger instead of a fun Zelda adventure, you need to read "The Geek's Guide to Dating" by Eric Smith! Learn how to meet people in the real world and connect off-line for a change. You may even level up to a romance worthy of an RPG!”—Bonnie Burton, author of The Star Wars Craft Book & host of Geek DIY

“For the right person, this book is the Marauder's Map, the Konami code, the Gray's Sports Almanac of the opposite sex. It's dangerous to date alone: take this.”–Jeff Ryan, author of Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America
“The Geek’s Guide to Dating is a must-have for anyone who feels like they’re foundering in a dating galaxy far, far away.”—Carrie Tucker, author of I Love Geeks: The Official Handbook

“Single geeks, plunk down your quarters for this book!”—Tara Bennett, co-author of Fringe: September's Notebook and LOST Encyclopedia

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