The Geek's Guide to Dating
No
Nonfiction
Quirk Books
December 3, 2013
Hardcover
208
Publisher
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 fanboys everywhere to love long and prosper.
This is not a typical review, since I don’t usually review traditionally published books, but I am a fan of Quirk Books and Eric Smith. I actually met Eric a few years back at BEA, where I learned Quirk Books was the publisher of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So how can you not like them?
Anyway, Quirk Books is an independent publisher based in Philadelphia, and Eric Smith, the social media and marketing manager, recently wrote his own book, The Geek’s Guide to Dating. The book will be published December 3 of this year, but having recently finished my review copy I can tell you that it’s a cute and genuine dating advice book.
Now, I am definitely not the target market for this book. Sure, I’m—at least a little—geeky, so I understood most of the references (Star Wars, Minesweeper, Portal). But some of them were over my head, plus I’m in a relationship so I’m not looking to date.
That said, I really liked the approach of this book. You read it as “Player One” looking for your “Player Two.” Though it is geared mostly towards males, Eric does mention that girl geeks can easily apply the same principles. All of the images are really pixelated, and look like they belong in Super Mario Bros, which is a nice touch. As a side note, I could almost hear the coin sound effect in my head as I read through the chapters. Even the text goes along with the theme—in one section there is a list of key moves alongside icons of the buttons on a game controller.
A lot of the advice sounds like common sense, but when written down and organized by chapter I could see it being a helpful guide. All the information is easy to find, and Eric’s voice is genuine and authentic.
Eric is also the co-founder of Geekadelphia and the Philadelphia Geek Awards with the Academy of Natural Sciences. Reading The Geek’s Guide to Dating gave me the feeling that Eric has used his own advice himself.
The end of the book also provides comfort for those who may go through the dating process and eventually break up. It offers hope and tips for when to start dating again.
Overall, I think this is a great guide, and if I were in the dating game, I would definitely use it.
