Gifts for the Geek continues today with Quirk Books' The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith. I've been married for going on 17 years to a wonderful woman who shares most of my interests* but I know that there are plenty of single people out there. It's hard to meet people, especially if you've got geeky tastes, and doubly that if you're into super-obscure stuff! Not only that, but let's face it: Dating can be kind of scary. How do you strike up a conversation with someone you're interested in, and what will you do on that first date not to screw things up? I can't tell you (The skies were crowded with dirigibles and that newfangled telegraph machine was all the rage when I was single.), but author Eric Smith can. The Geek's Guide to Dating takes the dating monster head-on and tames it so that even the most relationship-challenged geek will feel bold enough to step out of his (The book is aimed at dudes, mostly.) lair and strike out in search of a mate. Smith's book uses video games as a metaphor for dating, a geek-friendly way of communicating dating advice. Readers are asked to identify their "character class" to learn to better play to their strengths, and the process of meeting - and ultimately dating - a new person is broken down into quests, with tips all the way. These are good tips, too: Nothing sleazy or manipulative here. Instead, Smith keeps things positive, respectful and realistic. I would feel perfectly comfortable with a woman reading this book, as it's not a slimy pick-up guide or seduction manual. It's just good stuff that any guy should know. Speaking of that, this book doesn't look like something you should hide under your mattress. The Geek's Guide to Dating is charmingly illustrated with retro 8-bit looking drawings that play well with the "video game" theme of the text. While my single days are long behind me (and may they never return!), this book would be a great gift for the single guy looking to meet that special someone, or maybe a young man who is just starting to get into the dating game. It's not intimidating or sordid, nor does it endorse misogynistic attitudes (actually, quite the opposite) or lousy behavior among its readers. The Geek's Guide to Dating may be just the thing that a fanboy in search of his special someone needs. *By the way, here's a tip from an old married guy: Most people have an idea going into a relationship thinking that their significant other should have everything in common with them for a long-term relationship to work. Even if that were actually possible, would you really want to date your clone? In my experience, you want to have, oh, 75 or 80% in common. It's that 20 or 25% difference that keeps things interesting. My wife enjoy most of the same hobbies, interests and tastes, but there are some things that we'll never enjoy together, like Brazilian Jiu-JItsu, strong coffee and first-person shooters. Or in her case, shopping for shoes, period dramas and mystery novels.