Readers Are Superior Lovers

Dating sites say that readers enjoy more of that good, good loving

Pro tip to all the singletons out there trying to find true love (or a satisfying hookup) on ruthless dating apps: readers make better lovers. Or, at least, they attract more suitors according to recent findings by the popular dating site eHarmony, as reported in The Guardian. Sure, the article doesn’t specifically refer to performance, but I think we can all use our imagination on that one. What eHarmony found was that men who say they read receive 19% more messages on the app, and ladies 3% more. (Okay, that disparity is probably another can of worms we should open at some point in the near future…) The site also made some disturbing findings with regard to specific titles. Apparently, women who say The Hunger Games is one of their favorite books see the most dramatic increase in attention from potential romantic partners. For men, the most alluring reading material is…“Richard Branson’s business books.” Hold up — what? Who, exactly, is on eHarmony again? It all sounds a little too Patrick Bateman-y, doesn’t it?

Anyway, reading is reading, I guess…This isn’t the first study to support the advantages, sexual or otherwise, of being a bookworm. The dating app My Bae also claims that its users are more successful at finding dates if they use reading tags, and science says that readers live longer, empirically giving them more time to perfect their technique. More studies have shown that frequent readers also score higher on empathy tests, the interpersonal reactivity index, and other exams of that nature. And guess what? The best way to boost your results is by reading literary fiction. (The RR archives can help with that, if you’re in the market.)

Honestly, I think John Waters sums it up best:

“If you go home with somebody, and they don’t have books, don’t fuck ‘em!”

Maybe a tad crass, but this is what natural selection looks like in 2017.

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