What boy could be better than a book?
So I adopted a rule to live by. As the Internet spewed out matches for me - (Tom of Oakland; 82 percent match) - I turned to fiction. Two hours before my cyber-set date, I would pick a book and settle down to read. Two hours into my fiction, I would be right at the point where the rest of the world had ceased to exist. At this stage, I would leave for my date. And as I ate my dinner or sipped my drink, I would wonder, "Is he better than my book?"
He never was.
Because I had already committed myself to "The Hours" or to "The Secret History," I found it easy to say goodbye to my dates, finding it simple to smile and say, "I really don't wish to waste your time. I hope you meet the right girl soon. I just don't think I'm she." And because I meant this sincerely, no one was offended. Then I'd rush home, impatient, and jump into bed with my paperback.
—"The boy who was better than books" by Pia Chatterjee [San Francisco Chronicle]
Brilliant.
