Someone at Play-dot-com must have ordered rather too many copies of several fairly uncommon books, by accident, because a story in one of today’s give away newspapers states that Play has conducted a survey, in which it is claimed that “Women are attracted to men who read certain titles while travelling on the Underground”.

For some reason, Play seems reluctant to put any link to this survey on their website, or even mention this survey on the website at all; perhaps because it appears to be particularly unscientific, and in fact rather random.

Furthermore, I can find no links to the Pollsters or Academics that carried out the study, added to the fact that there is no methodology given either.

In summary, a man should apparently be seen reading:

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab

And men should avoid being seen reading:

• Harry Potter by Joanne Rowling
• Tricks of the Mind by Derren Brown
• David Beckham’s biography

Possibly, if Play were to publish the entire study, instead of a brief self-publicising puff piece, we might gain valuable insights into the minds of women who read Harry Potter books. Or perchance, how many times people have ever been spotted reading any William Shakespeare play on the tube; and whether they were really romantics, or just struggling actors…

In fact, the only reason that I even entertained writing about this story was that Benjamin Graham’s ‘The Intelligent Investor’ was listed second on the list. So, aside from the tenuous assumption that the reader could be making a lot of money (and surely, if he was making a lot of money, he wouldn’t need that book?). Benjamin Graham was actually a notorious womanizer.

For example, Janet Lowe reports:

Benjamin Graham had a phenomenal personality, great sense of humour and a brilliant mind. However, he was also known to be a womanizer and a male chauvinist. Ben’s students got a chuckle, both from their professor’s jokes, and from his other caprices. A former student tells of the afternoon that Ben hurried into the classroom and on his way dropped a sheet of paper. The student glanced at the page to see whom to return it to and was astonished to find a love poem. It was ludicrously purple prose addressed to a blond model that Ben had fallen for. His colleagues and students knew Ben took an avid interest in the ladies. Ben’s affairs with other women eventually ended up brewing trouble at home. He separated from his wife, who could not tolerate his affectionate affairs with other women.

Later, after the suicide of his son, Graham travelled to France to collect his possessions. When he arrived, he fell in love with his late son’s girlfriend, Marie Louise. Since Graham, at that time, was already married to his fourth wife, back in California; he suggested to her that she shared him with his new love, much to her distress. And from then on, she only saw him for six months of the year.

Personally, I think it may be rather more interesting to buy a copy of the book ‘How to Be the Jerk Women Love‘, and see what reactions I get from that.

You might also enjoy reading:-

• Beautiful women more likely to fake orgasms
• Seduction shyness / confidence survey
• A classic literary seduction
• The Ugly Heart of Love
• Study claims sex isn’t top priority for men

Posted by Jonathan in Art & Literature, Sociology

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