I'm just not that into ... your bookshelf?
The most e-mailed article on the New York Times Web site right now is an essay called "It's not you, it's your books."
It's nice to see I'm not the only one who judges people by what's on their bookshelves. (Don't act like you don't do it too. If it's not their bookshelves, then it's their DVD racks, or their medicine cabinets, or something. We all judge.) It's not like I won't be friends with a person who doesn't read good books, but it's fun (and sometimes surprising) to see what people read.
Now, I won't go so far as to demand my significant other have the same literary taste as I do. But I am glad my husband likes to read. It means he's as eager as I am to hit up a bookstore or spend significant amounts of time at a coffee shop.
Sometimes we recommend books to each other, and then it's fun to talk about them. But Kyle has never read a Jane Austen novel, even though I think she is the be-all and end-all of novelists. And sorry sweetie, but I will probably never read a Chuck Palahniuk novel, not even the autographed one you have on our shelf.
What do you think? Are similar literary tastes necessary for a good relationship? Do they even enter into the equation?
Apr 29, 2008 at 8:06 a.m.
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This is SO true. Only, it's not so much that they need similar reading tastes, they just need to like to read. I could never date anyone who hated to read.
Mar 31, 2008 at 6:46 p.m.
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diceman,
I completely agree. A love of reading is far more important than what is read. I have such a varying taste in books, that it would be a bit redundant to find someone with exactly the same random library I have. I love everything from James Patterson to Stephen King to Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. If you and Kyle liked all the same books, you would be fighting with each other to be the first to read the newest. Reading should not lead to violence...LOL
Mar 31, 2008 at 8:33 a.m.
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My wife and I share a few literary interests, but for the most part we are quite divergent. For example, she reads more fiction than I do, and I'm pretty sure I won't ever find her looking through my historical books about the Civil War and the Old West.
However, we are both fans of the written word, so we often find ourselves reading passages out loud to each other from the books we are currently reading.
My parents' reading tastes fall along similar lines and they've been married for nearly 45 years, so I don't think the subjects matter as long as there is a love of reading.
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