I earned a +8 or +9 spousal bonus when I told my wife this little essay, by Rosemarie Urquico, made me think of her.

It’s 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 Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s 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 shot somehow.

By Rosemarie Urquico, via The Monica Bird