Online dating is a mystery, isn't it. On one hand, there are studies showing straight women don't want to match with guys wearing glasses (excuse me) but, on the other hand, there was that whole thing when women were A-OK matching with some guy stupid enough to pose with a tiger for his profile pic.
Now it's time to look at what impact your literary life has on your dating life. Could certain books make you more attractive to potential partners? According to new research by dating website eHarmony, why yes, yes they could.
The study (sadly) only looks at heterosexual connections but does offer some interesting insight for those women seeking men and vice versa.
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It's well known that people who list "reading" as a hobby on their dating profile are more popular. In fact, eHarmony found that men who list reading as one of their favourite activities receive up to 19% more messages than those who don't. Women who read also receive more messages, but only (sigh) 3%.
When it comes to which books people are most keen for their potential matches to have read – that's when things get interesting. The most handy book overall in terms of getting matches was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Men who listed it on their profile received 36% more messages, while women received 31%.
Men's favourite book for women to have read was The Hunger Games. Women listing the adventures of Katniss as one of their favourite reads received up to 44% more messages than usual. Men also liked women who read A Game Of Thrones (30% more messages), To Kill A Mockingbird (21%), Pride and Prejudice (18%) and Harry Potter (16%).
As women, apparently we are more into men who have read 1984 (21% more messages there), books about World War II (16%), and The Da Vinci Code (5%).
Some books, though, can actually harm our chances of getting messaged. Men were (probably understandably) 6% less likely to message women who listed Twilight as one of their favourite books, and 16% less likely to message women who extolled the virtues of Fifty Shades Of Grey.
As for what books turned women off men, however, it got a little confusing. Apparently we are less likely to message a man who lists The Hobbit, A Game of Thrones, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Lord of The Rings or Harry Potter among their favourite books.
Really? Even Harry Potter?
Obviously, you keep on reading whatever the heck you want to read. Tucking into A Game Of Thrones when you're not really a fan just for the sake of a date makes for a really, really long commitment. There are over a million words in the first five books alone, with two more on the way. So unless you're into GoT for you and you alone, nobody's got time for that.