Mentions of reading in Tinder bios are up 29% in the last year. But is searching for a fellow fan of one’s favourite author really a shortcut to compatibility?
‘O
ne of my Hinge prompts is: ‘What’s the best book you read this year?’ and I swipe left on anyone who says a book I don’t like,” says 29-year-old Ayo*. “Someone once replied with a book by Jordan Peterson, which was a massive ick.”
It’s a blunt approach to romance, but Ayo is far from alone. Books have long functioned as cultural shorthand for personality – signals of taste and worldview – but dating apps have accelerated and intensified that process. In an attention economy that rewards speed, these signifiers have to be legible at a glance.
“I prefer contemporary literary fiction or interesting classics in the broadest sense,” Ayo says. “Authors such as Ben Lerner, Sheila Heti, Annie Ernaux – if someone mentions one of those, I’ll be impressed and intrigued. And if it’s a Fitzcarraldo, I’m more likely to match regardless of whether I’ve read it or not.”
