If you're a literary lady looking for a guy, then you know it can be a great expectation (pun intended) to want him to be as into reading as you are. And writing? Ugh, forget it. Unless you're dating exclusively in the writing community -- which can lead to a whole slew of other problems, like hearing, "Will you look at my manuscript?" 12 times a day.

But when you ask that inevitable question, "What are some of your favorite books?" these are the answers that will make you cringe, in order of how painful the face you make when you cringe is.

12. Any written work by Hemingway

The problem with this answer is that the problem is so small, it's hard to explain. Yeah, Hemingway isliterature. You've definitely read it for a class, but it's also something you'd pick up on your own. Ernest Hemingway is a man's man, and he writes for manly men. Traditionally, Hemingway's portrayal of women hasn't been on-par with, say, D. H. Lawrence. Chances are your blind date doesn't know that. You could give him another shot or hand him a cat and run away.

11. "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars" by Max Brooks

Kudos to you for sticking to your own, but this book isn't going to win you many literary ladies today. War novels can be excellent novels, and we'll probably suggest you search up some actual historical war novels to take a look at. The problem with this book isn't that it's about war -- it's the zombie part. This should probably go on your guilty favorites list, like "Pretty Little Liars" as a TV series or "Mama Mia" as a movie. It's fantastic, yeah, but it's not what you'd say should the question come up in a job interview (or a first date).

10. "The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies that Threaten to Take Over America" by Jim Marrs

Hello, Mr. Conspirator! Nice to meet you, I'm slowly backing away! I can understand enjoying this book, or one like it. You pick it up to skim through like it's the "Guinness Book of World Records" or "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." It's not serious literature, but hey, sometimes our favorite books aren't. As a pronounced favorite book, though, this points to a certain...mindset...that might not be conducive to dating. It's not you, it's the conspiracies. I just can't hear another one.

9. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Oh, you poor old sport. What was it about a man pining for a woman he couldn't have, and then not wanting her once he could, that you identify so much with? What's that? Every single part of it? We know. We understand. The problem with this book is that if you aren't in it for the metaphors and the accurate depiction of the "Roaring Twenties," then you're in it for the wrong reasons. Come back to us when you've read a little bit of Zelda Fitzgerald's work, and had time to re-think that green lantern's resonance.

8. "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

I don't care that it won the Newbery Honor, it also won all of our hearts...in the fifth grade. Either this guy is admitting he hasn't truly enjoyed reading literature for fun since before puberty (in that case, pray for his soul) or he actually holds this YA survival story as the prime example of "Literature" with a capital L. In either case, by this point, you're thinking it's time to move on.

7. "The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers" by Harold Schechter

Maybe this is an enthralling nonfiction book that he just happens to enjoy, like a person just likes watching "Grey's Anatomy," but isn't actually a surgeon. Maybe he's not a serial killer! But then, there's something to be said to a man whose favorite book in the whole wide world is one that highlights gory details and storylines as its main drawing point. And that something is, "Goodbye."

6. "I don't know. It was by a woman, I think, but I don't remember her name."

You'll notice that there haven't been a lot of female writers on this list. That's probably because most men have been told, by society and their high school reading lists, that women writers just "aren't for them," -- like a female perspective or narrator will somehow inhibit their manliness. If a guy isn't into reading to begin with, then he probably isn't going to pick up something by Jane Austen on his quarterly library trip. And if he does stumble upon something by a woman, but neglects to remember her name or the title (but also believes this will impress you), then this probably isn't going to work out.

5. "Ulysses" by James Joyce

Nope, sorry. This guy is lying or he's...no, he's lying, and you say, "See ya' later!" and spend the time you could have been with him actually attempting to make it through Ulysses for the thousandth time.

4. "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac

Oh. The awkward silence that follows the title of this book as it is spoken into the air between you two speaks for itself. The poor guy doesn't realize it, but he has just pigeon-holed himself into a single cringe-worthy category: The Woe Is Me Boy. Different than a "Bang Boy" on so many levels, "Woe Is Me Boys" will still leave you with the same sour taste in your mouth. These are the boys who will have existential crises every weekend and simultaneously think they understand the universe better than anyone else. Wave goodbye as they hitch-hike away and don't look back.

3. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov

This is a tough one. It's high-quality literature, but it's also not something you go parading around. "My favorite book is about a pedophile, but it's also got wonderful language and is very funny, the main character may lack morals, but I swear I have some." This book is a tough-sell on this list because it is excellent, and you should read it. It's still on this list, though, because this imaginary guy chose to tell you it was his favorite book, above all the others. He wanted you to know he had read, and enjoyed, passages like this one: "...my moaning mouth, gentlemen of the jury, almost reached her bare neck, while I crushed out against her left buttock the last throb of the longest ecstasy man or monster had ever known." No thanks!

2. "The Feminist Mistake: The Radical Impact of Feminism on Church and Culture" by Mary Kassian

A million frowning faces burst behind your eyes when you hear him name this book, or any book like it. While "The Feminist Mistake" regards 'traditional' feminism as coming from a good place, it also says that modern day feminism is wildly out of control, that feminists have no theology, and that they are essentially man-hating, godless heathens who can't accept a little chivalry and have scared men into being jerks. Apparently, it's all our own damn fault. Beware the "good guy" who brings you a copy of this book on the second date you accepted, fearing for your safety should you say no. Not only is this something you don't need on your bookshelf, you certainly don't need it in your life.

1. "Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

This is the one book you've heard more times than you can count. And, to be quite honest, at this point, you want to hold the guy's hand and say, in a deadpan voice, "You are a phony. I am not your Jane. I am not your Sunny. You are not Holden Caulfield, no matter how much you identified with him in sophomore year of high school. Sorry, nope, not today." It's almost laughable to hear this listed as a favorite book because it speaks to a certain lack of understanding of what the novel is actually about. We've all been there. We all thought we were the one true human, above all the other phonies. But then we grew up a little, read some criticism and learned about the concept of self-pity. Goodbye, Mr. Caulfield. We've had enough of your shenanigans.