With the hectic pace of modern life, finding a time – not to mention the attention span – to fully immerse ourselves in fiction and actually read a book can be difficult, to say the least. But reading doesn’t have to just be something that makes our bus or train commute to work quicker – it can actually help your love life, too. That’s right – reading can make you sexier in ways you probably never even expected.
- You can see the future. You’re omniscient about who dies next on Game of Thrones and what happens to poor Peeta in The Hunger Games, plus you have a deeper understanding of the characters and their motivations since you read all about them in greater detail than a movie has time to explore.
- Reading glasses are hot and make you look smart. They also serve the important function of enabling you to read without straining your eyes.
- John Waters says so. You’ve no doubt heard one of his most famous quotes by now: “If you go home with somebody, and they don’t have books, don’t sleep with them.”
- It stokes the fires of your imagination. If you love to read, you probably have a pretty good imagination. Now imagine reading about illicit sexual encounters while reading the train, and no one knows it but you. It’s bound to give you ideas in the bedroom.
- Your bookshelf can tell your date a lot about who you are. If you bring someone home and they go straight to your bookshelf, they’re probably a keeper. You can tell a lot about a person by what books they have. What do yours say about you?
- Your favorite characters help inform the qualities you look for in a real life partner. Hermione is my ideal girlfriend. She knows what she wants, and she gets it. She’s so brilliant, caring, thoughtful, capable, and sexy. Now if only I could find her in real life…
- You have more empathy. Studies have shown that people who read literary fiction are better at understanding others’ emotions and empathizing, because they use their brain energy to figure out and connect with complex characters (aka your next boyfriend).
- It keeps you from becoming a phone zombie. Have you ever looked up while on public transit and see everyone’s silent face consumed in a glow of green light? Creepy, right? Being entranced by a book is a much better look and makes you a lot more intriguing.
- Your favorite books instantly bond you with friends AND dates. On the bus, in the bar, at a dinner party – anywhere you go, you’ll find literature lovers and have hours and hours of things to talk about, which may result in a new friendship, a new relationship, or just a good lay.
- You’re never bored, so you’re never boring. Is it socially acceptable yet to pull out a book at a boring bar or dinner party? I vote yes.
- You can model your seduction moves after your favorite suave characters. Maybe you’re into all that Christian Grey BDSM stuff or the years of plotting and planning like Jay Gatsby. You could be emotionally independent/damaged like Katniss Everdeen or have the blunt, gets-what-she-wants approach of Beebo Baker.
- Smarter = Sexier The more you read, the more you know, and the more you know, the sexier you are.
