Is it normal for a socially inept guy to look to romance novels to figure this out?

I have no social experience... let's just shorten this story to "I thought I was a retard and I was too scared to talk to anyone because I didn't want to sound stupid, but actually the only reason I'm messed up is because of the anxiety the doc caused by telling me I'm autistic without telling me what that means."

I don't know any of the social skills I should've learned as a teen, I've never had a girlfriend let alone gone on a date, I don't know if it's acceptable to ask someone I just met if they want to go to a movie or something, I have no idea what I'm doing. What's worse is that I don't really have any close friends I can ask about this kind of thing. So I'm turning to books. All the books that I tried that had a more educational tone kinda assumed that either I already had a relationship to try to save or that I'm already trying to get girls at a bar or something, neither of those are remotely close to my situation.

So, since I couldn't find any books that are intended to be helpful... I'm kinda out of options and trying a romance novel. Not that I think it's a realistic view, but I'm out of ideas. What are your thoughts? Anyone got a better idea or a title that actually might help?