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Read, man! BOOK NOOK
By ABBY WONG
Want to attract attention, guys? Flaunt a book.
MEN are most attractive when they are reading. I don’t know about you, but I can get totally intoxicated by the sight.
Let me explain.
Ionce saw a man sitting on a bench in a shopping arcade, legs crossed,one hand holding a book in his lap, the other propping up his chin. Hewas reading quietly and intently, deeply engrossed, and to me,painfully attractive.
I imagined what must be going on in hishead. Each word and line he read would send a signal to his brain,making him think, connect, judge, react, and opine. As he turned thelast page, all those lines would have added up, and he would havegained new knowledge, perspective, ideas, inspiration, or even hope –none of which would have emerged had he gone for a drink or two insteadof reading.
Unable to pull myself away from the beautiful sightof a man with a book in his hand, I walked back and forth in front ofhim, squinting to see the book’s title. I wanted to pin this image intomy mind so I would remember it forever; the surreptitious glances I wasthrowing him was not enough to do that, so I began to stare right athim, boldly admiring the contours of a studious face.
Which bookstore does he frequent, I wondered? I wanted to meet him there. My mind was racing and would not stop speculating.
Helooked up, as though hearing my inner voice. Setting the book down, heplaced both hands on top of his head and moved it back and forthlightly, muttering to himself; then dived back into the sea of words.Again, he became deeply engrossed, and even more painfully attractiveto me.
He must have been thinking and analysing. His brain cellswere connecting, his wisdom welling. Ooh, he was too delicious to watch!
Ileft, finally, but my soul must have stayed with him because I was in adaze the rest of the day. In an effort to seduce my bookish soul toreturn, I frantically called and met with some male friends whom I hadthought were as book-loving as me.
But I realised book loversdid not equate genuine readers. It was the sight of the engrossedreader that my soul had fallen in love with. Having failed to find himafter a few visits to bookstores in the area, I was despondent.
That’swhen I arrived at a revelation about men: Reading changes our view ofmen. The concentration a true lover of books brings to the task ofreading tones down their male virility, revealing a calm and composeddisposition. Holding a book in one hand, another casually stuck in apocket, men become contentedly self-possessed and charmingly nonchalantamidst the hustle and bustle around them.
More importantly, thatthey are grappling with materials of importance – for it must beimportant in some way to have been printed as a book! – reassures methat they have individuality, and beliefs and opinions of their own,and enhances my impression of men as intelligent and logical beings.
Suchare the thoughts triggered in my mind by images of a man with a book inhand, a conflation of quietude, serenity, and intellectualism.
But this pleasing sight is a rarity, I’ve found, often confined to bookstores alone. So I’m pleading with men everywhere, read, lest the male book-reading species becomes extinct.
Men,please read while you are on trains, as the pretty sight helpsalleviate my irritation when the trains break down, as they so often dothese days. Lug along a book the next time you are out running errands,guys, for the view of you reading eases the agony of waiting in line.
Asock ‘em, rock ‘em energetic night out can be exciting, but a trip toyour local bookstore once in a while may prove to be even morefruitful. Sift through the wonderful display, fellas, as the book thatfinds you may very well turn out to be an exquisite gem – and the sightof it in your hand might catch the eye of a female of the species, ifyou are looking to attract one.
And gentlemen, if you findyourself floundering in the massive sea of books, as yet unsure of whatto read, these dozen titles below are potentially manna to nourish yourliterary soul:
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Money by Martin Amis
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman
The Milliennium Series by Stieg Larsson (comprising The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire; the final book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, will be released later this year)
Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
Ihope my confession will convince at least one guy out there to not onlywear a book when he goes out, but to also read it in public wheneverthere’s an opportunity to do so . He would greatly please spectatorslike myself, as well as, I am sure, many other women.
AbbyWong, who believes no book is a bad book, downsized from being a highflying financial consultant to a book buyer because she loves beingsurrounded by books. |
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Post time 30-6-2009 03:33 PM
变色卡
Post time 1-7-2009 09:56 AM
