What choice of reading material would impress you in a potential date - and which book would be a big turn-off?
Bond over a book ... Photograph: Kevin Mackintosh/Getty Images
We all know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but what about judging a date by the cover of the book he or she is holding?
According to a survey for the National Year of Reading, almost one in five people would read a book while waiting for their date to arrive in order to make a good impression. But choosing the right book to be seen with can be a minefield.
To mark World Book Day today, the British Library is hosting a speed book club. Participants take along a favourite book, swap it with a likely looking stranger, and "perhaps find their soulmate", say the optimistic organisers. There will also be games, workshops, and live music in the cavernous entrance hall, so the odds of bumping into a real-life Mr Darcy are rather higher than if you lurk in the dusty archives all day.
The question is, how do you pick the perfect book to confer the desired air of intelligence and approachability, not to mention the combined sex appeal of Brad and Angelina?
An unscientific poll of male readers revealed some alarmingly high-brow responses. "Something that makes you think, like Voltaire's Candide, or Zorba the Greek, would impress me", said one. Others demanded the output of entire nationalities: "Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Nabokov. Any of the Russians, really."
Austen got a tentative green light, despite her novels being rather too full of "marriage, petticoats, and ponies". Dickens, Orwell and Hemingway, on the other hand, were met with firm, manly approval.
"And it's a good sign if the copy she has is well-worn - it shows she's not just reading it to show off", said one stickler. Time to 'accidentally' drop those Penguin Classics in the bath for that authentic look.
What about non-fiction? "Something that involves learning a new skill, or shows she's interested in self-improvement", suggested one. Unfortunately, further questioning revealed that this was a reference to the canon of great philosophers ("Nietzsche, for example"), rather than to the self-help aisle.
Female respondents were no less demanding in their literary requirements. "It'd have to be something current, like Obama's life history. Or travel writing." Another went so far as declaring it unattractive to spot a man reading fiction: "It's just a bit girly."
Biographies rated highly, but you may be tarred by the same brush as your chosen subject. According to a survey by ReadItSwapIt, a third of women would be "actually physically repulsed" by a man seen reading The World According to Clarkson. And if you see a copy of Mein Kampf sticking out of his pocket, run for the hills. On the other hand, Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom came first in the National Year of Reading's 'Top 10 Reads to Impress a Woman'.
What books are likely to send men scrambling for the door? "Any of those trashy romance, Sex and the City types", declared one man. "Anything with 'shopping', 'heels' or 'chocolate' in the title", said another. "It's a turn-off when girls are too materialistic."
The women were equally disparaging. "If I saw a man reading Bridget Jones's Diary, I'd be rather disturbed," said one, despite having her own well-read copy at home. "Any of those airport novels, the ones with spies and CIA agents, are a no-no too."
So acquire a library resembling an Oxbridge English undergraduate's Christmas wishlist, ditch the chick-lit or macho reads, and potential mates will be beating down your door.
And if you happen by the British Library on this evening, I'll be the girl with the dog-eared copy of Apophatic Discourses in Philosophy, Religion, Literature, and the Arts. If you're a man with a copy of Bridget Jones, we need to talk. There might just be a space on my bookshelf for you.
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