Someone posted this question on Quora recently and I liked my answer so much I thought I’d share it with you. Some of the other answers included responses such as:
- You don’t.
- Not everyone has the same interests.
- You can’t.
- Maybe get her to read the first few chapters of book one?
Here’s my answer, slightly adjusted to make more sense in the broader fandom way:
This is the eternal question of fandom. “How do I get so-and-so to watch my favorite series/read my favorite book/listen to my favorite band,” etc etc ad infinitum. I agree with one responder’s “we’re all different” stock answer. In essence, he’s right. There’s no recipe to get someone to enjoy something the same way you do. However…
As someone who prides themselves on turning others on to new fandoms and fan favorites, the key is timing. You can’t push someone into something, it has to come to them or cross their path. This has been the case for many of my friends with TV shows especially, but the same is true for books. The best way is to give the gift-of and then play the waiting game. Case in pont…
When she turned 9, I bought my niece the beautiful trunk/boxed-set of Potter books. While she was already a dedicated reader, the books did not exactly speak to her and after reading up to halfway through the second book, she decided to stop.
But after my brother (her dad) began reading them from start to finish, she then began reading them along with him. They have since completed the fifth and will be starting the sixth this summer. Was I successful? The measure of success depends on what I expected. She’s not a newborn Potter fan. Maybe some day, but not today. You can’t expect people to enjoy something as much as you, but you might be surprised and elated when they do.
I’m not saying buy your girlfriend all of the books or an expensive boxed-set of the films, but you should first pick that which you’d rather share with her and then give her a small piece of that bit. This is true for nearly anything in the world of fandom. Pick either the first bit or the best bits to share with that someone and then commnicate it. Write them a heartfelt note saying how much the books have meant to you. Talk to them about how much it might mean to you if they gave them a try. Then, you wait.
This is all any of us can do to get someone to watch Battlestar, read Game of Thrones, or listen to Joy Division. Good luck.
