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" Dear friends: With us today is Jack Murnighan--editor-at-large for Nerve.com (perhaps known best for its ultra-hip online personals section); author of a new book called BEOWULF ON THE BEACH: WHAT TO LOVE AND WHAT TO SKIP IN LITERATURE&amp;#039;S 50 GREATEST HITS; and, last but not least, a primo flirt.  To mark the publication of BEOWULF ON THE BEACH--a great summer read about how classic literature, from Homer&amp;#039;s epics to Jane Austen&amp;#039;s novels, can make our lives more enjoyable--I profiled Jack for The Daily Beast. After that, he gamely agreed to do an extra interview with me--which follows below--about how we can use books as flirtation devices.  BOOK COVERS THAT WILL AROUSE THE ATTENTION OF MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX   ME: Are there books that are more likely than others to make a guy start talking to a woman in the coffee shop?   JACK: Like a suggestive skirt, a suggestive novel, such as Nabakov&amp;#039;s LOLITA-- or a book with a suggestive title and cover, like another book I wrote called THE NAUGHTY BITS--will send a signal. (Whether or not you want to send that particular signal is up to you.)  Also, if a woman is reading a book by an author who is considered a &amp;quot;guy&amp;#039;s writer&amp;quot;--like Cormac McCarthy--that&amp;#039;s likely to get her a lot more attention than if she were deep into PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Similarly, a woman reading James Joyce&amp;#039;s ULYSESS or Proust&amp;#039;s REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST on the train would probably turn a few heads. (Incidentally, I wouldn&amp;#039;t recommend hardcore Joyce-fans as boyfriends. They tend to show off their intelligence, rather than share it.) *Finally, whether you&amp;#039;re male or female, I think you can&amp;#039;t go wrong if you&amp;#039;ve got a copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez&amp;#039;s 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE with you. Anyone who likes that book is going to be both playful and deep, smart and sensual.*  CHEAT SHEET: LINES FROM GREAT BOOKS THAT WILL HELP YOU FLIRT   ME: Are there some great literary lines that a person can use to flirt?  JACK: This--from Boccacio&amp;#039;s THE DECAMERON--could be useful: &amp;quot;No mortal who is without the experience of love can ever lay claim to true excellence.&amp;quot; Or you could mention that one of the most outstanding first lines in any novel comes from Garcia Marquez&amp;#039;s LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA: &amp;quot;The scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.&amp;quot;  ME: Yes! I love that beginning! During my first conversation with someone I had a tiny crush on--someone who is now, ten years later, one of my very dearest friends--he dropped that exact line on me! (Boy, it was hot. I was like, &amp;quot;Waiter! The two of us could use some drinks over here! Can you bring another six rounds, please?&amp;quot;)  JACK: Smart move on your friend&amp;#039;s part. Because clearly, I recommend seduction by Garcia Marquez.  HINTS ON HOW TO BE A BRILLIANT FLIRT AT A PARTY   ME: What chapters or chapters of BEOWULF ON THE BEACH in particular might be good to look at if I want to prepare to sound flirtatiously brilliant at a cocktail party?   JACK: After reading my book, you&amp;#039;d be able to make an argument that ANNA KARENINA is a much better adultery story than MADAME BOVARY--which would seduce me, though honestly I&amp;#039;m not sure how many other men it would work on! Or you could mention that Chaucer&amp;#039;s Wife of Bath is the most outrageous woman in all literature--having &amp;quot;swyved&amp;quot; five husbands to death, as she did.  ME: &amp;quot;Swyved&amp;quot;? Huh?  JACK: That&amp;#039;s Middle English for &amp;quot;shagged.&amp;quot;  THE HOTTEST THING ANYONE COULD EVER SAY ABOUT A BOOK   ME: All right, Jack, last one: What&amp;#039;s the sexiest thing a woman could do (or say) when talking about a book, in your opinion?  JACK: To simply say she loves it, and then tell me why: that would do the trick. Very few (clothed) things are sexier than having a woman tell you what moves her and why. *** All right, lovely readers. That&amp;#039;s the scoop for today. If you have a crush on Jack after reading this, I understand. (He does have a girlfriend, though. Their relationship is open, however, so ... if you&amp;#039;d like to flirt with him, the choice is yours: check out his site: www.jackmurnighan.com . Maybe read his book first, before you send him an email, so you can quote his own brilliant observations back to him! Good luck! Keep me posted!) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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