What Your Date's Bookshelf Says About Them

[Kara]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/love-sex/what-your-dates-bookshelf-says-about-them/ss-BBjN4Wk

Dodged a bullet on this one, y'all.

[OnlyRegret]

What if you don't have a bookshelf? Just a slab of textbooks lying around?
I guess I truly am a millennial.

Also, most of the entries narrowed into sides of one topic with a few token pop-fiction entries.
What do my textbooks say about me???

[jakefromstatefarm]

Harry Potter - manchild

ASOIAF - clingy, doesn't know how to recognize self-destructive behavior

Bad Feminist/Yes Means Yes - concerned with appearing intellectual yet doesn't know about/can't shell out enough for actual literature from academic presses and/or lacks the means/will to use a library. judge internally.

PUA - your date enjoys confirming their worldview through selective psuedo-science on the scale of Mein Kampf. he views you not as a person so much as a sentient obstacle towards his self-validation. minus 15 points

Infinite Jest - just leave, there's no pleasing this person

[Great Rumbler]

Anything by Ayn Rand - Walk away, just walk away.

[StealthFan]

Girl I dated in college had Eragon.

[Mandark]

Girl I dated in college had Eragon.

Didn't we all agree you'd stop talking about 15 year olds?

[StealthFan]

Girl I dated in college had Eragon.

Didn't we all agree you'd stop talking about 15 year olds?

EDIT: She was seven months older than me.

[tiesto]

My gf doesn't read very much, and at sometimes her lack of worldliness bothers me (I'm hardly the most culturally-inclined person in the world but I do read stuff other than cookbooks and feminist mags). It's so weird since my ex nearly always was buried in a book, in nearly every single genre you can think of except trashy romance fiction. I try to get her to read a bit more but aside from Hunger Games I have no idea what I could get her into.

[Kara]

What if you don't have a bookshelf? Just a slab of textbooks lying around?

You'll fall victim to this.



Buy some fucking books, B.

My gf doesn't read very much, and at sometimes her lack of worldliness bothers me (I'm hardly the most culturally-inclined person in the world but I do read stuff other than cookbooks and feminist mags). It's so weird since my ex nearly always was buried in a book, in nearly every single genre you can think of except trashy romance fiction. I try to get her to read a bit more but aside from Hunger Games I have no idea what I could get her into.

I suggest a helpful internet meme image.

[Phoenix Dark]

Ultimately I don't think a lot of fiction matters enough to be a deal breaker about shit. The thing that would throw up red flags for me would be non-fiction books that suggest you're a fucking dumbass. If I see something like this on the shelf I'm going to run away. Whereas if I see Twilight I'll just smirk.

[Kara]

Answering all of these for someone AROUND my age.

------------------------------------

Harry Potter - remember to not be too dismissive when this person indicates that they love Harry Potter beyond early adolescence

ASOIAF - ask about a point of divergence between the show and the books and try not to laugh hysterically at a grown adult having a fit about something with dragons in it

Bad Feminist/Yes Means Yes - accept with much fatalism that you're going to say something that's a "deal breaker" on this date

PUA - sarcastically bemoan the fact that you won't be able to neg someone so well read on the game to conceal the fact that it's actually the truth (I play go while you play chess)

Infinite Jest - make a joke about Quebecois nationalism, proceed according to response

[Joe Molotov]

The Illuminatus! Trilogy and Foucault's Pendulum =

[Rahxephon91]

I don't own or care about any of these books.

[PlayDat]

I know it's just some listicle that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, but I can't help but point out the flaws in such a system.  How can I know for sure if a book is trash unless I've actually read some portion of it?  I'd have to go around literally judging books by their cover to avoid picking up something I end up disagreeing with.  I guess I could just sell or donate the ones I didn't like once I was done with them, but getting rid literature feels a little too 10th century for me to do more than a couple times a year.

Also most of the books I've read for pleasure lately have been ebooks.  I find reading from of a computer screen far more comfortable than constantly adjusting to find that perfect reading position.

[toku]

I know it's just some listicle that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, but I can't help but point out the flaws in such a system.  How can I know for sure if a book is trash unless I've actually read some portion of it?  I'd have to go around literally judging books by their cover to avoid picking up something I end up disagreeing with.  I guess I could just sell or donate the ones I didn't like once I was done with them, but getting rid literature feels a little too 10th century for me to do more than a couple times a year.

Also most of the books I've read for pleasure lately have been ebooks.  I find reading from of a computer screen far more comfortable than constantly adjusting to find that perfect reading position.

you can't make a list out of people, yes.

[OnlyRegret]

you can't make a list out of people, yes.

*Title suggestions go here*

• toku
• stealthfan

[Human Snorenado]

The Illuminatus! Trilogy and Foucault's Pendulum =

Those are on my bookshelf

[Joe Molotov]

The Illuminatus! Trilogy and Foucault's Pendulum =

Those are on my bookshelf

Watchu doing this weekend? 

[studyguy]

Books are for fucking nerds.

[Mandark]

I love me some Jane Austen, but hetero dudes should be careful about dating ladies who are really into her.  Good chance you'll wind up competing with Mr. Darcy, and that's not something you can win.

[Kara]

I know it's just some listicle that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, but I can't help but point out the flaws in such a system.  How can I know for sure if a book is trash unless I've actually read some portion of it?  I'd have to go around literally judging books by their cover to avoid picking up something I end up disagreeing with.

(For fiction only) read the opening paragraph(s) of the book; if the words don't knock your socks off, it's a bad book.

Great writing is wire to wire. If you find yourself trotting out the old jRPG #itgetsbetter apologia for something, close it and reread Lolita.

[Huff]

I only date people in the Franz Kafka club

[Positive Touch]

my bookshelf has a bunch of videogame art books so everyone can see that I'm a cool dude

[Rman]

People still read?

j/k

That's why I have a Kindle. I can read all the trashy stuff I want and no one is the wiser! 

[Kara]

People still read?

j/k

That's why I have a Kindle. I can read all the trashy stuff I want and no one is the wiser!

It's also handy for books in translation that get pitiful print runs.

[StealthFan]

I have Salem's Lot, The Gunslinger, The Stand, White Jazz, The Alienist and The Passage on my shelf. What does this say about me?

[recursivelyenumerable]

"wow this guy has a lot of books ... and obviously treats them like shit, I better gtfo before I get the same handling"

[chronovore]

Girl I dated in college had Eragon.

Didn't we all agree you'd stop talking about 15 year olds?

[chronovore]

In fairness, my wife has a string of degrees and accreditations, and I'm lucky she didn't walk away when she saw my bookshelf.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

• various movie novelizations -- oddly the only commonly available paperbacks in Japan at that time
• Star Trek Next Generation novels taken from the YWCA lending library
• Neuromancer and Burning Chrome
• Foucalt's Pendulum
• Elmore Leonard crime novels
• textbooks on learning Japanese
• magazines on learning Japanese

[close]

[Supermanisdead]

what about my six volumes of the akira manga

[Kara]

I have Salem's Lot, The Gunslinger, The Stand, White Jazz, The Alienist and The Passage on my shelf. What does this say about me? (Image removed from quote.)

You buy a lot of books in the airport.

what about my six volumes of the akira manga

You have impeccable taste and see things through to completion. Husbando material.

[tiesto]

I have stuff as random as:

-Non-fiction books on African colonization and history, chili pepper farming, club culture
-Lots of stuff written by Jared Diamond
-Programming books
-Textbooks for learning Japanese
-Various cookbooks for stuff like African cuisine, southern BBQ
-Organic gardening guides (I've never tried gardening but it was always something I was interested in taking up when I get free time)
-Art books for game series like Kiseki, Atelier, Resonance of Fate
-Some cyberpunk like Snow Crash, Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive
-A collection of mid 90's EGM mags

[Himu]

There are studies that Harry Potter fans are loyal and empathetic? What

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/01/403474870/does-reading-harry-potter-have-an-effect-on-your-behavior

Well I'll be damned.

[Tasty]

Girl I dated in college had Eragon.

That book was tite tho, for real.

[Tasty]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

[Himu]

Books on my bookshelf that prove I am boring.

- various religious texts (bible, Quran, tao te ching, dhammapada, bikkhu bodhi's Pali cannon, various Mahayana and theravadan sutra study books, the Mahabharata, philosophy books)

- books on growing (Ex. Dalai Lama's art of compassion)

- history books

- Japanese and Spanish language books

- shit like the Third Chimpanzee

- black American literature and history (ain't I a woman?, autobiography of Malcolm x, Frederick Douglas books;etc)

- political ideology books like communist manifesto

- college textbooks that I refuse to get of because they cost 100 bucks

- mostly keep fiction to kindle, but if it is a series I love like ASOIAF or Harry Potter or something classic like PKD novels I keep it on my bookshelf.

- graphic novels, comics, and manga

- books on art, mainly sketch art and fine art books that I use for inspiration for my own art

[Madrun Badrun]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

'would you like to come up and peruse my kindle?'

[Himu]

A more interesting thing is to pick are three books out of your collection that are your crown jewels

The Crown Jewels of my book collection:

Anthony Yu's edition of Journey to the West (my favorite book)
Moss Roberts translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Hardcover Hitchhiker's Guide

[Madrun Badrun]

'Let me show you my crown jewels gurl.  They are in my kindle.'

[Himu]

I forgot to ask you re: the best Romance of the 3 Kingdoms translation

thanks for the heads up

Moss Roberts by a land slide. It isn't even close. Shit may run the digits in terms of price, but it's worth it.

[Himu]

warning

DO NOT BUY MOSS ROBERTS VERSION OF ROTK ON KINDLE. IT'S SHIT.

ROTK is a GOAT tier novel anyways, and buying Kindle version is pure

This costs 129 dollars. Hardcover. Worth it.

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Kingdoms-Library-Chinese-Classics/dp/7119024086/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-3&qid=1433860002



If you DO get the books, do not buy abridged!

[Himu]

I like the minimalism of it. I really, really need to get back into Chinese novels.

[Phoenix Dark]

my shelf is basically

-lots of African American literature. Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, W.E.B. DuBois, Malcolm X stuff, etc.
-some political and history stuff. Rick Perlstein (Nixonland), Nigel Hamilton, Gore Vidal

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Pat Buchanan

[close]

also I cosign this alongside Eric P http://www.amazon.com/This-Nonviolent-Stuffll-Get-Killed/dp/0465033105/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433860496&sr=1-1&keywords=this+civil+rights+stuff
-my fantasy stuff. yall already know about this. I took a page out of Cheebs' playbook and hid my Harry Potter stuff in the closet tho
-an assortment of other stuff. Many Iain Banks I haven't had time to delve into yet

[Himu]

Harry Potter is indeed in my closet as  well

Suggest me Black American lit and history, PD. Maybe you can suggest things I haven't read. What do you consider requirements? Added that book you posted to my wishlist.

[Tasty]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

'would you like to come up and peruse my kindle?'

Better than keeping around hundreds of pounds of worthless paper.

[Himu]

I really, really need to get back into Chinese novels.

I'm just delving into the foundational ones now. Most of my readings from china are all daoism related but i finished the shuihu zhuan recently. Three Kingdoms and Journey to the West next.

(Image removed from quote.)

Interested to know about your venture into Three Kingdoms. It has a lot of Taoism and Confucianism in it, as it's pre-Buddhist China, it's got a lot in that area. There are many classics I haven't read such as The Water Margin despite being a massive fan of one particular adaptation of it. I need to get on it.

[Kara]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

'would you like to come up and peruse my kindle?'

Better than keeping around hundreds of pounds of worthless paper.

Electronic devices depreciate in value so quickly MACRS is actually too slow to properly account for it.

[Himu]

Real talk, a lot of fiction people talk about make me feel uncultured. Like, I have no idea what Infinite Jest even is. I just don't pay attention to fiction much beyond classics. I have always concentrated on building a big religion/philosophy/history book collection that I mostly avoid fiction that isn't comics, book-wise.

[Kara]

Real talk, a lot of fiction people talk about make me feel uncultured. Like, I have no idea what Infinite Jest even is. I just don't pay attention to fiction much beyond classics. I have always concentrated on building a big religion/philosophy/history book collection that I mostly avoid fiction that isn't comics, book-wise.

Don't worry, most of the people who read Infinite Jest don't know what it is either.

[Kara]

I have a bookshelf full of books about communism and Islamic history.

I like to call it "the watch list". :xbone

[Himu]

Interested to know about your venture into Three Kingdoms. It has a lot of Taoism and Confucianism in it, as it's pre-Buddhist China, it's got a lot in that area. There are many classics I haven't read such as The Water Margin despite being a massive fan of one particular adaptation of it. I need to get on it.

The pervasiveness of Confucianism in a lot of these classics makes it hard to get through without getting bored

Journey To The West doesn't really have Confucianism. It's full of Taoism and Buddhism in the Shenmo tradition. In truth, it's a Buddhist allegory, and amazingly never devolves into pretension. I highly doubt you'll be getting bored from Journey. It stars a talking alcoholic monkey that can turn into thousand foot tall gods with six arms.

[Yulwei]

If I see any Terry Goodkind on the shelf I'm out

[Tasty]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

'would you like to come up and peruse my kindle?'

Better than keeping around hundreds of pounds of worthless paper.

Electronic devices depreciate in value so quickly MACRS is actually too slow to properly account for it.

Electronics degrade and deprecate, but data is forever.

Who knows how far along we'd be as a civilization if the Library of Alexandria was stored in the cloud and not on some extremely flammable scrolls.

[Himu]

Also, what if you just have a kindle with like 300 books on it?

Digital minimalism.

'would you like to come up and peruse my kindle?'

Better than keeping around hundreds of pounds of worthless paper.

Electronic devices depreciate in value so quickly MACRS is actually too slow to properly account for it.

Electronics degrade and deprecate, but data is forever

 

[Kara]

Knowing academia, a digitized Library of Alexandria would have been accessible only to people deemed worthy to have access by the library and those who had access would have been forced to archive literature in proprietary file formats protected by the state's monopoly on violence.

I can't even cleanly import Quicken for Mac files to the real version of Quicken (use Macs to do grown up activities y'all) and you think this hypothetical isn't ridiculous beyond transporting our current level of technology to whichever burning of the library you want to start from?

[studyguy]

I thought about this today and looked at my tiny ass bookshelf.
It's filled with DVDs now from my girl when she moved in.

All my books are digital now, no one would ever know I'm a closeted as fuck fantasy nerd.

[Joe Molotov]

Knowing academia, a digitized Library of Alexandria would have been accessible only to people deemed worthy to have access by the library and those who had access would have been forced to archive literature in proprietary file formats protected by the state's monopoly on violence.

I can't even cleanly import Quicken for Mac files to the real version of Quicken (use Macs to do grown up activities y'all) and you think this hypothetical isn't ridiculous beyond transporting our current level of technology to whichever burning of the library you want to start from?

You should transcribe your Quicken files onto illuminated manuscripts to let people know you mean business.

[Tasty]

What the hell is Quicken?

[Kara]

You should transcribe your Quicken files onto illuminated manuscripts to let people know you mean business.

I could probably work faster with a physical general ledger than I can with Quicken.

Quicken is a bad Intuit program (redundant -ed.) generally used for personal accounting needs, Andy. It was so bad Intuit just bought Mint instead of fixing it.

[Human Snorenado]

What the hell is Quicken?

Software that people use to do actual work; you'd be unfamiliar, naturally.