Gift Guide: Books for Geeks

I'm wrapping up posts gift books with one of my personal favorite categories--books for geeks. As Eric Smith points out in the introduction to A Geek's Guide to Dating, "Being a geek means a lot of things... What was once a derogatory terms for a socially inept person has now been taken back by a community proud to wear the title. A community comprised by people just like you and me. We're eccentric, enthusiastic, intelligent, and, occasionally, kinda awkward."

And the good news is there are a ton of books just perfect for us geeks, no matter what geek variety we may be.

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Up first, the already-quoted A Geek's Guide to Dating, by Eric Smith. While this one may need to be gifted carefully--you don't want to imply to someone that he/she is incapable of landing a date on his/her own--it's a clever, witty, and informative guide to dating for today's geeks, whether they be computer geeks, math geeks, Star Wars geeks, and so on. Plus, it's packed with obscure geek culture references that read like insider baseball for the non-baseball geek types. Buy here ($14.95).

Bonus: Geek Out is a trivia game made for the geekiest of the geeks, pitting players' knowledge of geek culture, trivia, and lists against one another. The kicker? No internet allowed, which means "correct" is determined by player consensus. Buy here ($19.95).

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William Shakespeare's Star Wars, by Ian Doesching: Sure, yeah, I already included this one in my recommended gift books for Shakespeare fans. But this book swings both ways, and any Star Wars fan is sure to appreciate the quirky cleverness of the Star Wars story told in Shakespearean verse. Buy here ($14.95).

Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown: Star Wars-fanatic dads with sons now have the perfect bedtime story to read every night on repeat. Buy here ($14.95).

Jedi Path and Book of Sith by Daniel Wallace: Let your well-loved geek find his or her inner Jedi (or Sith) with classic Star Wars training manuals. Buy here ($19.95) and here ($19.95).

Bonus: Steep some Star Wars-themed tea with a Death Star-shaped tea infuser (buy here, $19.99) in an Imperial mug (buy here, $9.99).

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Stellar Cartography, by Larry Nemecek: Ten large-format maps of the Star Trek universe, fully illustrated and downright beautiful. Buy here ($79.99).

Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years, by David A. Goodman: The price tag on the deluxe edition of this book is steep but worth it. The gorgeous, illustrated hardcover sits on an electronic display stand for added intrigue, presenting the first 150 years of the Star Trek Federation in great detail. Buy here ($99.99).

Bonus: Take the Star Wars tea one step further with Captain Jean Luc Picard's favorite beverage: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. Buy here ($14.99).

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The Feast of Ice and Fire, by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, Sariann Lehrer, George R.R. Martin: The dishes from Martin's imaginative series brought to life. Yummm. Buy here ($35.00).

Game of Thrones: A Pop-up Guide to Westeros, by Michael Komarck, Matthew Christian Reinhart: Five spreads unfold to create an elaborate, illustrated map of Westeros. Let the geeking out commence. Buy here ($65.00).

Bonus: Track down some Game of Thrones-labelled beer (yes, it really does exist) and add one of these amazingly amazing (they are that amazing) horn mugs, and your Thrones-loving fan can eat, navigate and drink like a true citizen of Westeros. Find a beer retailer near you, and buy the mug here ($52.95).

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The Annotated Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll (with annotations by John Tenniel and Martin Gardner): Give the curioser and curioser something to satisfy their curiosity with the text of Carroll's beloved stories coupled with annotations on the wordplay, mathematical riddles and other hidden tidbits. Buy now ($29.95).

Alice in Tumblrland, by Tim Manley: Alice and other fairy tale characters have found their way into the 21st century, land of Tumblrs and Twitters and internet dating. Buy now ($20.00).

Bonus: Out of Print's line of Alice goodies are all wonderful, but their new jewelry products feature a necklace with Alice herself jumping after the white rabbit. Buy now ($32.00).

Tomorrow: Gifts that keep on giving.