16 Books That Will Do The Flirting For You

    Forget pick-up lines. Give your crush a book.

    Jennifer Schaffer
    by Jennifer Schaffer

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Getty Images / iThinkstock / Photobos

    1. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

    Vintage

    Try this instead of: "Hey beautiful, give us a smile."

    2. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

    Harper

    Infinitely more effective than: Sending a "sexy" Snapchat.

    3. Orlando by Virginia Woolf

    Penguin

    Way sexier than: Buying her the cheapest drink at the bar.

    4. The Lover by Marguerite Duras

    Pantheon

    So much better than: Awkwardly brushing your arm against his when you walk by.

    5. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

    St. Martin's Press

    Way more endearing than: Accidentally liking an Instagram photo while you're stalk-scrolling through his feed.

    6. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    Alfred A. Knopf

    More likely to win his heart than: Getting drunk at a holiday party and spilling your feelings everywhere, like wine down your shirt.

    7. The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

    Mariner Books

    More powerful than: Your best, subtlest wink. (It ain't that subtle.)

    8. Selected Poems of E. E. Cummings

    Liveright

    Gets the job done better than: Copy-paste Tinder pick-up lines.

    9. The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway

    Charles Scribner's Sons

    So much more seductive than: Anything any pick-up artist has ever done.

    10. A Room With A View by E. M. Forster

    Penguin

    More likely to get you a date than: Cornering someone on the subway.

    11. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence

    Penguin

    Wins hearts faster than: Calling yourself a "nice guy" on your OKCupid profile.

    12. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

    Dutton

    More likely to charm him than: Having your friend ask his friend what he thinks about you.

    13. So Bright And Delicate, Poems and Letters of John Keats

    Penguin

    More likely to get you a date this Friday than: Demanding an explanation for why a girl isn't responding to your text messages.

    14. The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

    Charles Scribner's Sons

    A stronger love-magnet than: "Hey baby, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

    15. Eros the Bittersweet by Anne Carson

    Dalkey Archive Press

    Gets the point across better than: "A/S/L?"

    16. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

    Picador

    Wins more hearts than: Unsolicited grinding at the club.