Would You Date Someone Based On Their Taste in Books?
Alikewise.com is a site that advertises itself as “a dating site that allows you to find people based on their book tastes.” Simple and straightforward, a trait we like in dating sites. It’s a free site with no advertising, and its members’ profiles look to be detailed and descriptive.
Pros:
Readers are probably more likely to express themselves a little better in their profiles than others. Starting communication with someone based on a shared hobby (in this case books) is a very genuine, real-world method – where as at a bar you’re not likely to ask someone if they “would take money from a cash register if no one was looking,” if a person gets your attention at a coffee shop and happens to be reading a book you love – you might say hi. Making a connection through similar tastes in books seems legitimate enough. Plus, book-lovers can sometimes be introverted and may have a hard time meeting people in public – so an online forum to get to know each other seems to make sense for this crowd.
Cons:
Single subject dating sites are always a bit confusing to me. I love books, but searching for a guy to go on a date with based on the fact that he also enjoys the work of Kurt Vonnegut seems a little bit, I don’t know, superficial? Despite reading and literature being a very intellectual activity, the thought of judging people’s attractiveness based on their book tastes seems almost as bad as judging them based on their clothing tastes. Plus, we imagine there are a whole bunch of people choosing books they’ve not actually read so as to make themselves look smarter. Just as there are people who are boisterous and arrogant about their looks, there are those who are egotistical and arrogant about their brain. Both traits are unattractive.
Overall: we approve of the site, but as always, proceed with caution. The last thing you want is to end up on a date with someone who lied about liking Chuck Paliahnuk to get a date with you when the last thing they’ve read is Highlights magazine at the dentist.
img @ avani-mehta.com
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