YOURSAY: I will get married to a man who reads

Growing up, like many young girls in their teens and early twenties, my definition of the ideal man was one who was tall, dark and handsome.

I spent considerable time in search of one with these perfect combinations, but with time, I discovered those three adjectives are not an automatic key to marital bliss. Since then, my list of the kind of qualities a man who is husband material should have, has been changing.

I have decided I will marry a man who reads. And not just one who reads, but one who reads in a matatu. I am sure this man will have a string of virtues attached to this single act. To begin with, it will be easy to see his honesty, wit and charm without much effort.

Such a man finds it more useful to read, rather than aimlessly bob his head to blaring, meaningless music.

He chooses not to spend the half hour from town to his destination analysing every girl who walks into the matatu. He does not blindly stare out of the window at scenery he has seen a million times before, and will probably see again, on his way back home.

He instead travels with a book in hand and promptly opens it once he is seated. He shuts out the annoying deafening noise from rusty speakers with the words from a rusty old book.

WILL NOT LAMENT IN TRAFFIC

He will not lament about the endless hours wasted in traffic, like other men who haven’t discovered the beauty of reading, because he will have spent that time constructively gaining knowledge and being entertained. Perhaps he will not be reading Pride and Prejudice or Little Women, but is it too much to ask to meet a man who has at least read the Lord of the Rings, before watching the movie?

I will not mind that he has no car of his own. I will instead focus on the potential that will be oozing out of his sharp mind. In time, I see myself acquiring wealth with this man, from the little that we will have at the beginning. You see, if he can use his commute to work to feed his mind and imagine an abundant future, I can bet that he spends the rest of his time well. It will be obvious that he has a job that makes ends meet, a job that he takes seriously.

A man who reads, I would like to believe, knows how to put every resource he has into good use, and with every page he turns, I will see a promising future.

He will also be a man who will understand my tendency to almost die with excitement every time I walk into a bookstore. This man will know better to buy me a book on my birthday, on Valentines Day, and on any anniversary we will have together.

When we become wealthy, I will not need to tell him that I prefer a walk-in library, rather than a walk-in closet for my shoes and bags.

I also have a feeling that he will be handsome. I cannot imagine an ugly man who reads. He will have a hint of a smile lost in the story, or wear a seriously attractive demeanour if what he is reading is serious stuff.

The very sight of his nose buried in a book will be the ultimate turn on for me, and I will know that I have found my prince charming. I tell you, a man who reads is a heavenly sight to behold!

I am one of those people who always have a book in the bag, and I am always on the lookout for a chance to get it out and get lost in it. How I wish to find a man who shares my passion.