Reading glasses are sexy, according to Penguin Books (of course they're not biased); men who are seen reading a book are more attractive to the opposite sex.
Penguin Books ran a famous campaign several years ago to get more men into reading. And to achieve this, they of course appealed to men’s finer instincts – by talking about sex. According to Penguin, a man wearing reading glasses with his nose in a novel is simply more attractive to the opposite sex.
The Good Booking Phenomenon
Getting men to read novels – especially fiction – is said to be the holy grail of publishing. Marketing folk are always trying to convert them into mass consumers. And appealing to their egos is clearly the way forward. By suggesting women fancy men in reading glasses more is clearly a winner. Reading fiction suggests a sensitivity and intelligence that women find instantly endearing. And not enough young men outside the metro-sexual market pick up novels. Capturing the male youth market is of course highly lucrative, so it’s not surprising that the Penguin campaign decided to focus on men’s more animal instincts than their aesthetic sensibilities asking: “Are you good booking?” The Penguin website even boasted a ‘readers’ wives’ section where partners of avid readers posted photos of their attractive wives, proving that literary males attract beautiful women. If you’re worried that the only thing your reading habit will attract is myopia, it’s time to invest in a funky pair of reading glasses!
Reading Glasses for Romantics
Whether the good booking campaign worked or not is debatable. Research shows that even fictional genres such as crime with its male, violent, thriller qualities are still read more by women than men. And lad lit epitomised by Tony Parsons, still attracts as many female readers as male ones. The challenge of getting men into fiction is a big one – even if they do wear a pair of sexy reading glasses. According to some psychologists, men are fazed by fiction with the emotional aspects of novels interfering with ‘their problem-solving heads’. The books that are a hit with men tend to be the Nick Hornby style of book – full of lists, reflecting the ‘simple male way of thinking’. Perhaps then it’s the rarity of seeing an attractive, non metro-sexual male in a pair of reading glasses with his nose in a Bronte novel that makes him so irresistible to the opposite sex!
Find reading glasses for men and women online at Sight Station. Shop online today, or call 01322 318 511 for more information.