# Reading Books is apparently now a Turn-On **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 17, 2026, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970 "2026-06-17T12:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/1 "2026-06-17T12:35:25Z")
# **A Surprising Hobby Has Quietly Become A Dating Green Flag** It might be time to update your photos to include a book in the frame. > In modern swipe culture, books are boosting attraction. Reading has become a staple of dating app profiles, whether it’s including your favorite novel as a prompt, stating your go-to genre, or specifying that you’re “looking for someone to talk books with.” Reading is quickly becoming an item on our good partner wish list — and, for many, a non-negotiable. Damn! So people are turned on by reading books? It’s writer’s dream! Now if only I could convince daters to bond over a good book about a submarine! Or an Amusement Park! Or a Time-Traveler stuck in Imperial Rome. Or something. > **[This Seemingly 'Boring' Hobby Has Suddenly Become Such A Turn-On For Modern...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/reading-dating-apps_l_6a305959e4b04478a06277fa?origin=home-life-unit)** > > It might be time to update your photos to include a book in the frame. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/2 "2026-06-17T12:49:21Z")
Now? I’ve been attracted to women who read since puberty. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/3 "2026-06-17T12:51:16Z")
Yeah, unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work in the other direction. My being an introverted bookworm in High School did nothing for my dating life, go figure. I guess I was just 45 years ahead of my time 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/4 "2026-06-17T12:53:40Z")
I got the bookworm girl in my high school class to marry me, 22 and a half years ago, one of the proudest achievements of my life. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/5 "2026-06-17T13:07:27Z")
Aw, congrats! Sounds like a storybook romance. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/6 "2026-06-17T13:09:59Z")
More than 20 years ago a young stud who worked for me asked “what the hell is _A Prayer for Owen Meany_?” Me: why? Him: every woman whose profile I look at, they list that as a favorite book. Maybe less a turn-on and more a litmus test in that case. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/7 "2026-06-17T13:15:29Z")
Thanks!, more a rom-com than a romance, for example the immortal scene when, after the 2 of us went to see Star Trek: Generations, she asked me if I wanted to go have a coffee with her and I answered… that I didn’t like coffee 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/8 "2026-06-17T13:18:17Z")
You sound eerily like the young and clueless me. No wonder it took me a long time to find my book-loving wife. How do you have Nerd Sex? Every time you answer a Star Trek trivia question correctly, you get to remove an item of clothing. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/9 "2026-06-17T13:18:52Z")
Ha! Yeah, I had similar clueless moments like that in my early dating years. Funny how book smarts do not seem to translate to those situations. Fortunately for you she eventually got the message across. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > How do you have Nerd Sex? > > Every time you answer a Star Trek trivia question correctly, you get to remove an item of clothing. Heh, reminds me of a bit on Conan O’Brien’s show in which Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is talking to a group of nerds waiting outside a theater about to show one of the Star Wars prequels. He says, let’s do some Star Wars trivia: what was Han Solo encased in at the end of The Empire Strikes Back? Someone in the crowd: Carbonite! Triumph: no, the correct answer is-- “who gives a shit?” ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/10 "2026-06-17T13:20:45Z")
In that respect I’m probably the _ **luckiest** _ son of a bitch on Earth ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/11 "2026-06-17T13:27:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Reading is quickly becoming an item on our good partner wish list — and, for many, a non-negotiable. I think it’s part of a backlash against our society’s trend towards “idiocity”. Intelligent singles are looking for people who don’t have the uneducated and superstitious mentality of a medieval peasant. If I had to endure a dinner date with a guy who thought interesting conversation consisted of proving to me that the moon landing was fake, the world is flat, and that God created the world in 7 days, I would excuse myself and go call an Uber. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/12 "2026-06-17T13:32:40Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I think it’s part of a backlash against our society’s trend towards “idiocity”. Intelligent singles are looking for people who don’t have the uneducated and superstitious mentality of a medieval peasant. > > If I had to endure a dinner date with a guy who thought interesting conversation consisted of proving to me that the moon landing was fake, the world is flat, and that God created the world in 7 days, I would excuse myself and go call an Uber. Maybe. But the flip side is that reading is a solo activity, and therefore any time spent reading is time spent not paying attention to one’s partner. Sure, it’s considered more adult than not paying attention to one’s partner by playing video games or watching TikTok, but it still amounts to the same thing if one has a partner that demands a lot of attention. I know it’s a balance that I had to struggle to find. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/13 "2026-06-17T13:35:12Z")
Easy, you need: - Cats, at least one - Bed - Coffee or other beverage for 2 people - 2 books - Time You both sit on the bed and just read. When you have to stop to eat or take the dog out you talk about the books you are reading, the books you are expecting, how you both want to hunt down Stephen King and/or Lois McMaster Bujold and eat their brains to gain their powers… ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/14 "2026-06-17T13:48:03Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > But the flip side is that reading is a solo activity, and therefore any time spent reading is time spent not paying attention to one’s partner. Good. I’m a mature woman, not a 16 year old girl who wants a guy draped all over me 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/15 "2026-06-17T13:51:25Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Thanks!, more a rom-com than a romance, for example the immortal scene when, after the 2 of us went to see Star Trek: Generations, she asked me if I wanted to go have a coffee with her and I answered… that I didn’t like coffee 🤦‍♂️ This is why God gave us hot cocoa. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/16 "2026-06-17T15:15:45Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Now? I’ve been attracted to women who read since puberty. What do you have against women who were reading before they reached puberty? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/17 "2026-06-17T15:22:20Z")
Oh my! [fans self] Since his retirement, my husband is just starting to get into reading for fun. I’ve been thinking of starting a thread to get him some recommendations, but I don’t want to overwhelm him. I’m excited though! ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/18 "2026-06-17T15:32:34Z")
😆 ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/19 "2026-06-17T15:33:15Z")
We are dirty that way 😆 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970/20 "2026-06-17T15:44:59Z")
@CalMeacham , I think whether reading is a turn-on depends on the book and, to be honest, the reader. For example, one person might find _The Story of O_ more stimulating than _Properties of Concrete_, but then again… I mean, concrete… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-books-is-apparently-now-a-turn-on/1030970.md?page=2)