Rosemarie+Urquico

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read， who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. Youll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. Shes the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore， the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick1） sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop？ Thats the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages， especially when they are yellow.

Shes the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug， the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because shes kind of engrossed2） already. Lost in a world of the authors making. Sit down. She might give you a glare， as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami3）. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyces Ulysses4） shes just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

Its easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday， for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words， in poetry， in song. Give her Neruda5）， Pound6）， Sexton7）， Cummings8）. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god， shes going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot9） somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax， she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things： motivation， value， nuance10）， dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who read understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel11）. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not？ Girls who read understand that people， like characters， develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads， keep her close. When you find her up at 2 a.m. clutching a book to her chest and weeping， make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. Shell talk as if the characters in the book are real， because for a while， they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time shes sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasnt burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives， have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat12） and Aslan13）， maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats14） under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony， and stale15） hours and half-baked16） proposals， then youre better off17） alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it， date a girl who reads.

Or better yet， date a girl who writes.

找個喜歡讀書的女孩約會吧。找個把錢花在書上而非衣服上的女孩約會吧。這樣的女孩總嫌書柜的空間不夠大，因為她的書太多啦。找個有一長串的書想讀的女孩約會吧，她12歲就擁有了圖書館的借書卡。

找個喜歡讀書的女孩吧。你會發(fā)現(xiàn)她喜歡讀書，因為在她包里總放著一本未讀的書。她是那個在書店里瀏覽書架時會滿心歡喜的女孩，在找到自己心儀的書時會輕輕地驚呼。你看到那個在二手書店里嗅舊書頁的古怪丫頭了嗎？那就是喜歡讀書的人。她們總是忍不住要去聞聞書頁，紙張泛黃時更是欲罷不能。

她是那個在街邊咖啡店一邊等待一邊讀書的女孩。如果偷偷瞄一眼她的杯子，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)非乳奶精就浮在表面，因為她已經(jīng)有點沉浸在書中，迷失在作者營造的世界里啦。坐過去吧。沒準她會瞪你一眼，因為大多數(shù)喜歡讀書的女孩都不喜歡被打擾。不妨問問她是否喜歡正在讀的那本書。

為她再買一杯咖啡。

跟她談談你對村上春樹的真實看法，看看她有沒有讀完《伙伴》的第一章。你要明白，如果她說自己能讀懂詹姆斯·喬伊斯的《尤利西斯》，她那樣說的目的是為了聽上去聰明一些。問問她是否喜歡愛麗絲，或者想不想成為愛麗絲。

跟喜歡讀書的女孩約會很容易。她過生日時可以送書，圣誕節(jié)可以送書，紀念日還可以送書。把詩歌中、歌曲里的詞句當做禮物送給她吧。把聶魯達、龐德、塞克斯頓和卡明斯的詩歌送給她吧。讓她知道你明白那些詩句就代表著愛。你要理解，雖然她很清楚書本和現(xiàn)實之間的區(qū)別，但上帝作證啊，她還是會盡力讓自己的生活有那么一點像她最愛的書中的樣子。如果她真這樣做了，那絕不是你的錯。

不管怎樣她都必須要試一試。

對她說謊。如果她懂得句法結構就會明白你有必要撒謊。因為話語背后還隱藏了別的東西：動機、價值觀、微妙的含義和彼此間的溝通。撒謊并不是世界末日。

讓她失望也沒關系。因為喜歡讀書的女孩明白挫折是走向高潮的必經(jīng)之路，也明白一切終將畫上句號。她明白你總能寫個續(xù)篇，并在一次次重新開始后依然是她的英雄。她也明白，生活中本來就要有那么一兩個混蛋。

為什么要為自己所不具備的一切擔心呢？喜歡讀書的女孩們明白，就像書中的人物一樣，人是會成長的。但《暮光之城》系列中的人物除外。

如果你找到了一個喜歡讀書的女孩，那就陪在她身邊。當你凌晨兩點發(fā)現(xiàn)她正將一本書抱在胸前哭泣時，就給她泡杯茶，抱抱她。她可能會神游幾小時，但總會回到你這兒來。她談話的樣子會讓人覺得書中的人物仿佛都是真的，因為有那么一會兒他們總是真實的。

你會在熱氣球上求婚，或者在搖滾音樂會上，或者在她下次生病時很隨意地求婚。還可以通過Skype。

你們會笑得那么豪放以致都奇怪為什么自己的小心臟沒蹦出來，血染胸膛。你們會把生活中的故事寫下來，你們會有名字奇怪、喜好更怪的孩子。孩子媽很可能會在同一天向孩子們介紹戴帽子的貓和《納尼亞傳奇》中的獅王阿斯蘭。等你們老了，會一起走過一個個冬日，你抖落靴子上的雪，而她在低聲吟誦濟慈的詩。

找個喜歡讀書的女孩約會吧，因為你值得擁有。你值得擁有一個能給你帶來可以想象得到的最多彩人生的女孩。如果你只能帶給她單調、乏味的時光，連求婚都很倉促，那你單身會更好。如果你想擁有整個世界，甚至想看看世界之外的風景，那就和喜歡讀書的女孩約會吧。

若是能約到一個喜歡寫作的女孩，那就更好啦。

1. chick [t??k] n. 女孩；少女

2. engrossed [?n?ɡr??st] adj. 全神貫注的，專心致志的

3. Murakami：即村上春樹（Haruki Murakami， 1949～），日本現(xiàn)代小說家，代表作有《挪威的森林》（Norwegian Wood）、《1Q84》（1Q84）等。

4. Ulysses：《尤利西斯》，長篇意識流小說，愛爾蘭作家詹姆斯·喬伊斯（James Joyce， 1882～1941）的代表作，內容晦澀凌亂，非常難懂。

5. Neruda：即巴勃羅·聶魯達（Pablo Neruda， 1904～1973），智利當代著名詩人，曾于1971年獲得諾貝爾文學獎，代表作為詩集《二十首情詩和一支絕望的歌》（Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair）。

6. Pound：即埃茲拉·龐德（Ezra Pound， 1885～1972），美國著名詩人、文學家，意象主義詩歌的代表人物，代表作為詩歌《在地鐵站內》（“In a Station of the Metro”）。

7. Sexton：即安妮·塞克斯頓（Anne Sexton， 1928～1974），美國著名女詩人，曾憑詩集《生或死》（Live or Die）獲得普利策獎。

8. Cummings：即E. E. 卡明斯（E. E. Cummings， 1894～1962），美國著名現(xiàn)代派詩人、畫家，代表作為詩集《郁金香與煙囪》（Tulips and Chimneys）。

9. give it a shot：試試看；嘗試做某事

10. nuance [?nju??ns] n. （聲音、感受、外貌或意義的）細微差別

11. sequel [?si?kw?l] n. （小說、戲劇或電影的）續(xù)篇，續(xù)集

12. Cat in the Hat：戴帽子的貓，《戴帽子的貓》（The Cat in the Hat）的主人公，該書是著名兒童文學家蘇斯博士（Dr. Seuss， 1904～1991）的代表作。

13. Aslan：奇幻兒童文學作品《納尼亞傳奇》（The Chronicles of Narnia）中的獅王阿斯蘭

14. Keats：即約翰·濟慈（John Keats， 1795～1821），英國著名詩人，浪漫派代表，代表作為詩歌《夜鶯頌》（“Ode to a Nightingale”）。

15. stale [ste?l] adj. 沒有新意的

16. half-baked：（想法、計劃等）考慮不周的；草率的

17. better off：更好的