As mentioned in a post last week, our first book of the month is “Great Dates Orlando: 52 Ways to Discover Orlando’s Romantic Side” by Kristen Manieri. Also remember that one commenter will be randomly selected to receive this book for free at the end of the month. A comment on any Living Orlando article during October is eligible.

Overall impression
At its most basic level, “Great Dates Orlando” is simply a book of 52 date ideas for the Orlando area. According to the book’s introduction, however, “Great Dates Orlando is a guide to some of the city’s best romantic spots and hidden gems.” I found that while most of the dates are in line with that statement, there are a handful that don’t meet either criteria of being romantic or hidden. That said, all of the ideas are excellent options for anyone looking to have fun around town. Whether you’ve lived here for 20 years or 20 days, there’s no doubt that you’ll be making plans for many of the suggestions in this book.

What I like about the book
The book covers a broad range of date ideas. From the true romantic to the intellectual among us, Kristen made sure to include options that appeal to a very broad audience. The best of these ideas are the more distinct, well-defined ones like “Date Night at Leu Gardens.” Being specific is important to me because it eliminates a lot of the variables that come into play when planning a date.

Another great feature of the book is the index, or at least the pages that precede the index. The “Suggested Date Itineraries”, “Dates by Budget”, and “Dates by Type” provide a quick reference for anyone that’s read through the book but doesn’t quite remember the finer details of each date. If I’m looking for the most expensive romantic dinner in town, these are the pages I’d flip to.

Finally, “Great Dates Orlando” could serve as the default source for any Orlandoan who’s asked the question, “What’s there to do in Orlando besides the theme parks?” While its not a comprehensive list of things to do - and it never claims to be - the 52 date ideas are a great first or second pass through the Orlando entertainment and dining scene.

What I don’t like about the book
When I opened the book to the first date idea, I thought to myself, “What in the world is Aiguille Rock Climbing Center doing at number one?” After flipping back to the table of contents I realized that the ideas are listed alphabetically. Any other sort order - by budget, by type, by location - would have been a better choice in my mind. This is why those pages in the back of the book are so important. This might be an issue unique to me, since I’m also the type of person that categorizes my DVD collection by genre.

I’m also disappointed that a couple of the restaurant ideas are no more than a few paragraphs about how wonderful it is to dine there and that parking is available. If I’m reading a book about great romantic dates, I’d expect some tips on how I might reserve the best table and some insight into the items on the menu. Anyone can tell me that a certain restaurant is fantastic.

Still to come
Next week’s post will review who should buy this book. As for now, I’m excited about checking off each of the dates as Jennifer and I are able to get to them. Some of them might have two or three checks by the time it’s all said and done.

Book Signing at Enzian!
Kristen will be at the Enzian theater on Wednesday, October 10th to promote the book during the “Chocolate, Chocolat and Wine” event that starts at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, RSVPs were required by October 3rd, but it might be worth a call to the Enzian box office to find out if space is still available.

Popularity: 2% [?]