There are no surprises; this is a book to help geeks date. Specifically though, this is a dating book written for geeks.
“As science fiction has proved time and time again, making first contact is tricky.”
Each paragraph teems with geeky cultural references (Star Trek, DC Comics, Marvel, books, movies, and games), innuendo, metaphor… and thankfully, actual dating advice.
Why is this on our bookshelf?
Sometimes we really have to explain why we feel a book is geeky. This time, however, the book title and cover spell it out. The Geek’s Guide to Dating is designed to help geeks get hooked up.
Full disclosure: We received this review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating (3 stars)
This is not a universal book—it targets a very niche audience. Though the dating advice is mostly cross-gender, it’s obviously written for men. And needless to say, it’s probably not super relevant if you aren’t single.
I think I actually come pretty close to hitting the target demographic of the book. I even took some advice: I recently shaved, and I’m writing this from my neighborhood pub instead of alone on my couch. This act alone has landed me in a wingback chair, near a fire, with beer, next to a NaNoWriMo meetup. So that’s a win.
Superficially though, there were a few points during the book that I bristled at. In particular, an early chapter, is yet another string of failed attempts to create a geeky taxonomy and leads with this “What type of geek are you anyway.” Other points in the book that poke at geek cultural stereotypes were equally disappointing to me.
Read GeekyLibrary’s Q&A with author Eric Smith.
Read this book:
You’re single, male, geeky and friends with Doctor Hofstadter, Doctor Cooper, Doctor Koothrappali, and Mister Wolowitz.
Don't Read this book:
If your name is Raj Koothrappali; this book assumes you can speak in the presence of women.
Once you're done, do this:
Shave, put on some decent clothes, and go grab a pint at your neighborhood pub.
