For one thing that occurs principally alone and in silence, studying could be surprisingly intimate. Our favourite books reveal our pursuits, encourage the way in which we expect, and supply storylines and fantasies we secretly relate to—which is why whenever you meet somebody who shares your literary style, it may well really feel much less like a coincidence and extra like a fated sign: Maybe that your minds—and your hearts—are aligned.
Possibly that’s why studying, as soon as a solitary, “nerdy” pastime, has turn into some of the social, romantic, and aspirational acts to be caught doing—on the subway, within the park, or throughout a stroll round city. In recent times, e book golf equipment have turn into social hubs for like-minded folks to have interaction in mental, generally flirty, conversations. (There are numerous celebrity-hosted ones to take part in, which says one thing in and of itself.) Even the rise of the new “performative reader”—an individual intentionally seen with a well-chosen title—speaks to how literary style has turn into a sign of wit, desirability, and even intercourse enchantment.
At its core, the connection studying sparks is deeply private. “The best way a e book impacts it’s possible you’ll be utterly completely different from the way in which it impacts another person,” Maura Cheeks, creator and founding father of Liz’s E book Bar, a social e book bar in New York Metropolis, tells SELF. “Which is why when two folks love the identical novel, they’re each acknowledging that they’re connecting over one thing extra private and profound that occurred of their psyche.”
After all, that is what introduced celebrity Dua Lipa and actor Callum Turner collectively, as information of their candy, serendipitous meet-cute has been making the rounds on the web. “[We] realized we had been studying the identical e book,” Turner advised The Sunday Times. “It’s known as Belief [by Hernán Díaz] and I had simply completed the primary chapter and I advised her and she or he checked out me and mentioned, ‘I simply completed the primary chapter too.’ I mentioned, ‘So we’re on the identical web page.’”
Is a shared style in studying only a quirky dialog starter? Or can it’s an indication of deeper romantic compatibility? Consultants, together with e book bar house owners and a {couples} therapist, inform SELF it really could be the latter. Right here’s how.
It indicators emotional and mental depth.
“How somebody engages with a e book can reveal how they course of life,” Annalyse Lucero, LMFT, a licensed therapist primarily based in New Mexico, tells SELF. Possibly you each cried over the identical heartbreaking plot twist, laughed at an creator’s dry humor, or noticed yourselves in a personality’s sophisticated psychological well being wrestle.