Dear Tell All: I’m about a year into an enjoyable relationship. We go to concerts, walk on Picnic Point, canoe on Lake Wingra, and have great sex. My boyfriend is good-looking, kind, and has a nice sense of humor. I see only one problem on the horizon: he doesn’t read.
Whenever I bring up books, he goes silent. He knows almost nothing about current events because he doesn’t look at newspapers or magazines. He just sees headlines on social media, and they give him a weirdly skewed sense of what’s happening in the world.
I’ve always been a voracious reader and am intensely tuned into the news. As much fun as I’m having with this guy, I find myself rolling my eyes over his literacy-impaired lifestyle.
I’m in my late 20s and am looking to get serious. I feel like he might be the one if I could just change this one thing about him. Any suggestions?
Bookworm
Dear Bookworm: Alarm bells went off when I read “if I could just change this one thing about him.” Those are famous last words for people making a serious commitment. Sad to say, but it almost never works. The fact is that most people stay true to form over the long haul. And this non-reader of yours might just be a dumbbell for life.
But don’t give up on him yet. It’s possible he’s never been exposed to literary culture and would take to it with a little prompting. For the next birthday, holiday, or anniversary, give him your favorite book and a subscription to your favorite magazine. Follow up by engaging him in a conversation about his new reading material. If he gets into it, you’ll know what to give him next: more books and more magazines.
If he doesn’t get into it, you’ll have your answer, Bookworm. Jump out of the canoe, paddle back to the shore of Lake Wingra, and strike up a conversation with the nearest guy reading an Isthmus on a park bench.
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