Relationships: Why this new book is an excellent dating guide for geeks

Super Mario

Do you have a closet filled with collectibles from Star Wars, and believe you won't marry someone who prefers Star Trek? Or are you worried you'll scare a date away by rattling off weird facts that you devour from the Internet, every day? Then, you might want to grab a copy of The Geek's Guide To Dating, the latest offering by Fingerprint. Penned by Philadelphia-based Eric Smith, co-founder of a popular blog, Geekadel-phia, the book attempts to help geeks navigate through the dating world, considered as dangerous as Ceti Alpha V and as confusing as Special Zones of Super Mario World.

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Defining a geek as "once a derogatory term for a socially inept person, now a title proudly worn by a community comprising people who are eccentric, enthusiastic, intelligent and occasionally, kinda awkward", the book identifies them into various types - a comic book geek, TV and film geek, a gamer, techno geek, the Internet and social media geek along with academic geeks who love subjects like History, Maths, Science and Politics.

Eric Smith

Geeks are human too
Smith explains, "Geeks are people who care so passionately about a certain thing that they make it an intricate part of their life, as a job or a hobby. Most importantly, they want to tell the world why what they love is so fantastic and also, hope that their partner will love the things they do. However, one should not write someone off just because they aren't into that one particular thing you love so much."

Life inspires
A self-confessed video game, graphic novels and comic book geek, Smith cites an instance from personal life that sparked the idea for the book. "On social media, I had started talking about how my geeky interests didn't quite connect with my date's non-geeky ones but we were a perfect pair anyway (we're now married). I published the pieces in a couple of places. My editor, Jason Rekulak, took notice and asked if I could put all of that into a book."

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Following a game structure (addressing the reader as Player One), the book, interspersed with 8-bit pixel-art illustrations, packs in every aspect of dating - from identifying your geek subtype to ways to spruce up your online dating profile (including ways to take your profile picture), releasing the Kraken (how to ask a girl out), dressing up for the date taking cues from fictional geek heroes, venues to consider for your first date, trying different conversation starters and even the worst-case scenario of a break-up. While most of the tips are addressed to men, many can come in handy for women (geeks with XX chromosomes) too.

The Geek's Guide To Dating, Eric Smith, Fingerprint, Rs 250.
Available in bookstores