It is totally true that I have judged other people on the basis of their reading habits--if I see someone on the train reading a book I love, I want to be their friend; if it is an attractive stranger, I want to be a friend of their erogenous zones. It is possible for me to become interested in people because their reading material makes me think they are smart, make good decisions, that they and I have so much in common because oh my god I like that author too let's totally make out, woo! In early conversations with the object of flirtation--before you get naked--it is undoubtedly thrilling to learn that they like, say, Russian literature or Latin American magical realism, or they are as totally into lengthy, elaborately plotted fantasy series as you are. Or is that last part supposed to be a turn-off?

There's this article, in The New York Times, where people are talking about how totally off-putting it is, romantically, when someone's reading taste is not to their own taste. Which I can understand: if you love romance novels, and all your potential lover seems to read is manga, maybe that is a sign that there is something lacking, when it comes to an overlap of interests. It could be a deal breaker, if it is just one more straw, a beleaguered camel with a backache.

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