Is literary compatibility important to you?

[has what a person reads/doesn't read ever raised a red flag in a relationship? can you imagine it doing so?]

has what a person reads/doesn't read ever raised a red flag in a relationship?  can you imagine it doing so?

a. yes, it could be a problem

 15 (50%)

b. no, i don't care

 15 (50%)

Total Members Voted: 30

[The Thread Starter]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Donadio-t.html?em&ex=1207022400&en=be66964abe7c5f54&ei=5087%0A

"Anyone who cares about books has at some point confronted the Pushkin problem: when a missed — or misguided — literary reference makes it chillingly clear that a romance is going nowhere fast."

[just some guy]

How is a relationship with someone who doesn't read at least 1-2 books a week different from beastiality?

[El_Che]

I don't think literary compatibility is necessary at all. My gf and I have widely different tastes, but I would argue that it makes things more interesting. I mean, we know each other's likes and personalities, so sometimes she'll come up with some novel that she knows I like but wouldn't have heard of anywhere and I'll give her something that she hasn't thought about but ends up loving. If all you have to talk about is the exact same things as the other person, it seems that would get boring rather quickly.

[Astro]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Donadio-t.html?em&ex=1207022400&en=be66964abe7c5f54&ei=5087%0A

"Anyone who cares about books has at some point confronted the Pushkin problem: when a missed — or misguided — literary reference makes it chillingly clear that a romance is going nowhere fast."

The ultimate in feminine hygiene product snobbery. 

Just the phrase "literary reference" makes me slightly nauseous.

[archival]

J, would you date a Rand fan?

---

“I did have to break up with one guy because he was very keen on Ayn Rand,” said Laura Miller, a book critic for Salon. “He was sweet and incredibly decent despite all the grandiosely heartless ‘philosophy’ he espoused, but it wasn’t even the ideology that did it. I just thought Rand was a hilariously bad writer, and past a certain point I couldn’t hide my amusement.”

[Astro]

Probably not, but that's not really a literary opinion.  It's basic philosophy.

[Astro]

Probably not, but that's not really a literary opinion.  It's basic philosophy.

Well you're a better man than I.  I'm with the Salon snot below. 

 


I mean, I would probably judge a person somewhat for it, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker.  The SO and I have vastly differing tastes in a number of things, including literature.  You'd think this would matter given that I fancy myself as some sort of writer (delusional, maybe, but whatever).  She barely ever reads, and when she does, it's almost never fiction.  Yet this has never mattered to me.

Okay, it does in rare circumstances where I struggle to get her interested in some of my bad fiction.  But that's my fault, not hers.  hahaha

[Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration]

I don't know, TM, I think if a dude had a shelf full of Tom Clancy and self-help books I might think it suspect.

I am a weirdo, though -- I don't get a chance to read all that often, so when I do I tend to only read classics.  I'm also not a big fan of contemporary fiction.

whoa whoa whoa.  why are you hating on tom clancy

[Astro]

I mean, I would probably judge a person somewhat for it, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker.  The SO and I have vastly differing tastes in a number of things, including literature.  You'd think this would matter given that I fancy myself as some sort of writer (delusional, maybe, but whatever).  She barely ever reads, and when she does, it's almost never fiction.  Yet this has never mattered to me.

Okay, it does in rare circumstances where I struggle to get her interested in some of my bad fiction.  But that's my fault, not hers.  hahaha

::writes bad fiction::

::shits fiction writers::

[stricly bricly]

i like when people are different from me.