Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Loved the images, but this is truly a "how to" book, not a memoir.
Dating is hard, no matter what your demographic, but geeks have some negative stereotypes to overcome. I picked up Eric Smith's book to see what advice he might have.
For those of you seeking your Player Two, Smith breaks down the game into seven stages, including getting your life in order, asking her out, preparing for the first date, and having the first date, as well as end-stage games such as moving in together or breaking up. Little of the material is groundbreaking, such as "Stand up straight" and "Be confident", or where to meet potential partners, including not only traditional outlets like comic book shops and arcades (do those still exist?), but also Facebook, OKCupid.com, and MMORPGs. Most of the advice is stuff I've intuited, though maybe if someone had given me this book a decade or two ago, it would've saved me some grief.
Smith may not be offering original advice, but he does try wrapping it in a unique context. There are so many cloying video game references, so many of them unnecessary to the dialogue, that it was originally difficult to see past how clever the author was trying to be. His demonstrations of geekdom work best when serving as metaphor, such as by giving examples of fictional characters to emulate or not.
One thing to keep in mind is that the book is steadfastly heteronormative: it's written for straight men looking to meet and engage straight women in a traditional, monogamous relationship. Although Smith acknowledges early on that some of the advice can be applied to women looking to meet men, there is no acknowledgement of the existence of other lifestyles. Smith is also exceedingly optimistic that every woman a geek meets is single and available, and that if you play your cards right, you can score a date — there's no advice for determining if the other party is available, which at my age I find they're often not.
To be clear, this is not a "pick-up artist" book. Smith advocates against practices such as negging and instead encourages readers to be chivalrous but not sexist.
I did enjoy the book: despite a few typos, it's easy to read, and the pixel art is a fun complement. But since I've read no other dating books, I have nothing to compare it to. At the least, I hoped reading this book on public transit might pique some other geek's interest into initiating a conversation — but no such luck was to be had.
For those of you seeking your Player Two, Smith breaks down the game into seven stages, including getting your life in order, asking her out, preparing for the first date, and having the first date, as well as end-stage games such as moving in together or breaking up. Little of the material is groundbreaking, such as "Stand up straight" and "Be confident", or where to meet potential partners, including not only traditional outlets like comic book shops and arcades (do those still exist?), but also Facebook, OKCupid.com, and MMORPGs. Most of the advice is stuff I've intuited, though maybe if someone had given me this book a decade or two ago, it would've saved me some grief.
Smith may not be offering original advice, but he does try wrapping it in a unique context. There are so many cloying video game references, so many of them unnecessary to the dialogue, that it was originally difficult to see past how clever the author was trying to be. His demonstrations of geekdom work best when serving as metaphor, such as by giving examples of fictional characters to emulate or not.
One thing to keep in mind is that the book is steadfastly heteronormative: it's written for straight men looking to meet and engage straight women in a traditional, monogamous relationship. Although Smith acknowledges early on that some of the advice can be applied to women looking to meet men, there is no acknowledgement of the existence of other lifestyles. Smith is also exceedingly optimistic that every woman a geek meets is single and available, and that if you play your cards right, you can score a date — there's no advice for determining if the other party is available, which at my age I find they're often not.
To be clear, this is not a "pick-up artist" book. Smith advocates against practices such as negging and instead encourages readers to be chivalrous but not sexist.
I did enjoy the book: despite a few typos, it's easy to read, and the pixel art is a fun complement. But since I've read no other dating books, I have nothing to compare it to. At the least, I hoped reading this book on public transit might pique some other geek's interest into initiating a conversation — but no such luck was to be had.
4 stars
Now, I'm not really a non-fiction reader, but with its quirky title, The Geek's Guide to Dating quickly became a must-read for me. And reading it was an absolutely wonderful experience. I giggled so much. This is just a great book for anyone on the geeky side of the spectrum looking to be entertained. You might just learn something too.
First off, the structure and design of this book is absolutely fabulous. The layout is reminiscent of a textbook, but it has cute little 8-bit drawings as illustrations and anecdotal sections that really bring Smiths "theories" home. The book may be a bit guy-oriented, admittedly, but I didn't mind that very much. Much like Smith's note on this at the beginning of the book says, a lot of the theories are just as applicable to girls. And I was mostly in it for the humor and entertainment.
Where this book wins is with its humorous voice and loads of geeky references. Now, I may not have known all of the references (because the geeksphere is so huge) but there were more than enough points where I was seriously giggling. If you're geeky and you speak this language, you will seriously appreciate this book. It's just massively entertaining. I would advise you to just read a short excerpt on Amazon or something to check it out - and if you start chuckling, buy the book, because you will not regret it.
What I love is that, aside from all the geeky references that get you giggling because you just understand the geek mentality, Smith really brings some solid points about dating advice. If you're geeky, chances are you're rather pessimistic about your own qualities when it comes to dating. I feel like there is usually a correlation between geekiness and self-deprecation. But in chapters like "Selecting Your Character", where it dives into the different kinds of geeks (I'm a TV & Film Geek, Internet Geek, Social Media Geek, and Book Geek) and what skills they possess (for me that's the wide-open mind, empathic sensor, and minutia recall), it shows you how you also possess desirable qualities. On a related note, this book kind of opened my mind to the idea of online dating. So yeah, there might not be mindblowing theories that transform you into a successful dating bot, but it's realistic and honest in an extremely comforting way.
I guess the biggest weakness of The Geek's Guide to Dating is that it really could have used another editing round. There were quite a few glaring grammatical errors - sentences where words were just plain missing as a result of revising and rewriting... it got quite annoying when this happened more than 5 times. If they're such glaring mistakes that are that obvious when someone is reading the book for the first time... an editor really should have caught that.
Summing Up:
This book was bunches of fun and a great light pick-me-up in between my fiction reads. So many giggles to be had guys. And with its realism, the points it makes are applicable. While reading it, I was actually referencing some sections in conversations with friends. Whoops. If anything, The Geek's Guide To Dating makes me proud to embrace my geek identity - and anxious to find the kind of geeky guy who's following this advice. I think he'd be pretty perfect.
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
Geeks in the mood for geeky humor.
*Finished copy was received from the author/publisher. This does not affect the rating or contents of my review.
Now, I'm not really a non-fiction reader, but with its quirky title, The Geek's Guide to Dating quickly became a must-read for me. And reading it was an absolutely wonderful experience. I giggled so much. This is just a great book for anyone on the geeky side of the spectrum looking to be entertained. You might just learn something too.
First off, the structure and design of this book is absolutely fabulous. The layout is reminiscent of a textbook, but it has cute little 8-bit drawings as illustrations and anecdotal sections that really bring Smiths "theories" home. The book may be a bit guy-oriented, admittedly, but I didn't mind that very much. Much like Smith's note on this at the beginning of the book says, a lot of the theories are just as applicable to girls. And I was mostly in it for the humor and entertainment.
Where this book wins is with its humorous voice and loads of geeky references. Now, I may not have known all of the references (because the geeksphere is so huge) but there were more than enough points where I was seriously giggling. If you're geeky and you speak this language, you will seriously appreciate this book. It's just massively entertaining. I would advise you to just read a short excerpt on Amazon or something to check it out - and if you start chuckling, buy the book, because you will not regret it.
What I love is that, aside from all the geeky references that get you giggling because you just understand the geek mentality, Smith really brings some solid points about dating advice. If you're geeky, chances are you're rather pessimistic about your own qualities when it comes to dating. I feel like there is usually a correlation between geekiness and self-deprecation. But in chapters like "Selecting Your Character", where it dives into the different kinds of geeks (I'm a TV & Film Geek, Internet Geek, Social Media Geek, and Book Geek) and what skills they possess (for me that's the wide-open mind, empathic sensor, and minutia recall), it shows you how you also possess desirable qualities. On a related note, this book kind of opened my mind to the idea of online dating. So yeah, there might not be mindblowing theories that transform you into a successful dating bot, but it's realistic and honest in an extremely comforting way.
I guess the biggest weakness of The Geek's Guide to Dating is that it really could have used another editing round. There were quite a few glaring grammatical errors - sentences where words were just plain missing as a result of revising and rewriting... it got quite annoying when this happened more than 5 times. If they're such glaring mistakes that are that obvious when someone is reading the book for the first time... an editor really should have caught that.
Summing Up:
This book was bunches of fun and a great light pick-me-up in between my fiction reads. So many giggles to be had guys. And with its realism, the points it makes are applicable. While reading it, I was actually referencing some sections in conversations with friends. Whoops. If anything, The Geek's Guide To Dating makes me proud to embrace my geek identity - and anxious to find the kind of geeky guy who's following this advice. I think he'd be pretty perfect.
GIF it to me straight!
Recommended To:
Geeks in the mood for geeky humor.
*Finished copy was received from the author/publisher. This does not affect the rating or contents of my review.
4.5 stars
Here's my video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD7yg64IVwA
Here's my video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD7yg64IVwA
As a married nerd and nerd whiperer, I found this book very insightful, funny, well written and full of actual good advice. Full of geeky quotes and references, it is best enjoyed by hardcore geeks or those interested in googling whatever they may not understand. The use of acronyms was a bit cumbersome but I learned in the process which was the intention. The content holds true for engaging in any type of relationship or social activity, thus transcending the sole purposes of educating and entertaining. Highly recommend it. Enjoy!
3.5 stars
It is as the title says a dating guide for geeks. Apparently I'm not that big of a geek because most of the references and jokes I didn't get which was a shame. This book wasn't for me, but I can really recommend it to geeks looking for dating tips.
It is as the title says a dating guide for geeks. Apparently I'm not that big of a geek because most of the references and jokes I didn't get which was a shame. This book wasn't for me, but I can really recommend it to geeks looking for dating tips.
Are you a geek looking for love? Do you want to date but are horribly unaware of how to go about it? I have a book for you, but sadly it doesn’t release until December (wah wah wahhh). I am going to tell you all about it anyway though, so add it to you holiday wish list!
I recently received The Geek’s Guide to Dating as an advanced uncorrected copy and even though I am happily married decided to read it to see what wonders it held between its covers. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed and I will be passing the book along to others very soon.
The Geek’s Guide to Dating by Eric Smith, is just that, a dating tutorial, a walkthrough perhaps. It breaks down the essential parts of preparing to launch ones self into the dating world: where to look, how to engage on dates and with people and all of it is interspersed with witty comments about gaming, pop culture, and great information. Smith did a great job with this book; it is a Player One’s guide to finding Player Two and is interesting enough for even a “taken” geek to enjoy.
Smith breaks things down easily enough for some self-reflection before the focus moves into the dating scenes. You are asked to categorize yourself in all of your geeky-ness: are you a pop culture geek, a technogeek, or an academic geek? From there it is broken down even further into your “special abilities,” strengths and weaknesses.
Once you learn more about yourself, Smith moves on to planning, the actual process of asking someone out, how to dress for the occasion and beyond the date. All of which is informative and fun, relating dating to Pokémon, The Big Bang Theory, World of Warcraft, and Super Mario just makes it all the better. I found myself laughing out loud to some of the facts and comparisons Smith uses and I feel like the self-reflection piece is what really makes this book great. How can you date if you don’t even get to know your own geeky self? Embrace it and let the good times roll. (All of you here reading already have embraced it! You are awesome don’t let others say differently)
The only issue I had with the book was that it is designed for males seeking females and is written that way, yes there is a tidbit about the “gal geek” using the book but it isn’t designed for them… As a gal geek, I would have liked to see the female angle on it too.
So if you are looking for love and need some assistance, this is the book for you. Publication date is set for December 3, 2013; hopefully it will be out sooner. Keep your eyes peeled or go pre-order it.
Eric Smith is a geek from Philly. He is co-founder of http://www.geekadelphia.com/ and you can find him on his site at http://ericsmithrocks.com/
I recently received The Geek’s Guide to Dating as an advanced uncorrected copy and even though I am happily married decided to read it to see what wonders it held between its covers. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed and I will be passing the book along to others very soon.
The Geek’s Guide to Dating by Eric Smith, is just that, a dating tutorial, a walkthrough perhaps. It breaks down the essential parts of preparing to launch ones self into the dating world: where to look, how to engage on dates and with people and all of it is interspersed with witty comments about gaming, pop culture, and great information. Smith did a great job with this book; it is a Player One’s guide to finding Player Two and is interesting enough for even a “taken” geek to enjoy.
Smith breaks things down easily enough for some self-reflection before the focus moves into the dating scenes. You are asked to categorize yourself in all of your geeky-ness: are you a pop culture geek, a technogeek, or an academic geek? From there it is broken down even further into your “special abilities,” strengths and weaknesses.
Once you learn more about yourself, Smith moves on to planning, the actual process of asking someone out, how to dress for the occasion and beyond the date. All of which is informative and fun, relating dating to Pokémon, The Big Bang Theory, World of Warcraft, and Super Mario just makes it all the better. I found myself laughing out loud to some of the facts and comparisons Smith uses and I feel like the self-reflection piece is what really makes this book great. How can you date if you don’t even get to know your own geeky self? Embrace it and let the good times roll. (All of you here reading already have embraced it! You are awesome don’t let others say differently)
The only issue I had with the book was that it is designed for males seeking females and is written that way, yes there is a tidbit about the “gal geek” using the book but it isn’t designed for them… As a gal geek, I would have liked to see the female angle on it too.
So if you are looking for love and need some assistance, this is the book for you. Publication date is set for December 3, 2013; hopefully it will be out sooner. Keep your eyes peeled or go pre-order it.
Eric Smith is a geek from Philly. He is co-founder of http://www.geekadelphia.com/ and you can find him on his site at http://ericsmithrocks.com/
I finished this well written book in one day: it was hard(er than normal) to stop reading. The writing is as humorous as it is helpful.