Friday, February 16, 2007

eHarmony's pickup line - "Read any good books lately?"

"Describe the last book you read and enjoyed". Ugh. eHarmony really has stooped to using one of the oldest pickup lines in history... but you're stuck with it. (Maybe it was new when Neil Clark Warren was young.) Let's make the best of it, shall we?

Most people, when answering this question, provide a title and little more.

And the worst people wrote long essays justifying why it's been so long since they've read.

Well, certainly, don't do that. You don't need to say how long ago you read the book. You just have to have enjoyed it.

So... think of the last book that really made an emotional impact. I don't care if it was an audio book. I don't care if you read it to your 5 year old niece. The only thing that matters is that it sucked you in.

So... talk about the book, and what "sucked you in".

If you do this right... you've implied a lot of good characteristics about yourself. For example, when I talked about "Fast Food Nation", I demonstrated that I was an intelligent, socially conscious guy who doesn't take any dogma at 100% face value.

Which is a lot more effective (and believable) than saying "I'm intelligent, and I care about the world" in other sections.

I will return on Monday...

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