[Shameless Plug Alert] Looking for the perfect Valentine's Day book to help you figure out the complexities of dating? You might want to check out "Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating, & Marriage - Classic Advice for Contemporary Dilemmas," a new book by my sister Abbie.

She's been collecting dating and advice books since college. In 1998 she started a web site called Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice, where people could write to her with modern dating problems and she'd dig through her collection (that goes back to the 1820's) to find some "classic" advice.

The web site was popular and led to a column in the London Times magazine for a while. Along the way, the idea of a book kept coming up. Last year, Thunder Mouth Press made the wise decision to take on the project and the result is soon on its way to bookstores.

We recently helped her update her website (take a look at www.missabigail.com) so she'd be ready when Oprah has her on to defend all the lies in the pages of her book. Just kidding. Older brothers reviewing their sister's books have extra poetic license - to tease.

Obviously I'm biased and I'm proud of her. Even so, I think this book would be great to have sitting around in view if one was dating. It's funny, so it can cheer you up if you are feeling down. It's also filled with real advice, albeit dated. Maybe it doesn't have the answer, but it might give you some new things to think about.

For example, some advice from 1943 regarding what to do on a date: "For a movie date the lady decides upon the picture. Afterward she'd likely to expect a hot fudge. If her appetite tends to be more extravagant, the boy is privileged to stake out boundaries."

Or this, from 1956: "The boy should also be careful to let the girl know where they are to go on the date. It's no fun for either if he arrives in sports clothes with a weiner bake in mind, and finds his date dressed in her Sunday best."

So, my advice to you is to get a copy of this and leave it out for your date to see. You can both pick it up, snuggle together, and laugh about all the silly customs of days gone by. You'll giggle at the pictures from these old books and pamphlets that illustrate the volume.

You'll certainly have a good time. In doing so, you might also find out if the person next to you is a just a date, or your mate for life.