This NYT article and related comment thread suggest that expressing appreciation for Ayn Rand during your date with a pretentious NYT editor or reader is an instant "dealbreaker" that will destroy any chance of a relationship with the other party.
And that, of course, is a good thing!
I've always stated my potentially "deal-breaking" tastes, ideas, and preferences up front, with dates or anyone else. If they walk away, you've learned what you need to know about them with a minimum of time and expense.
The article says, "Naming a favorite book or author can be fraught. Go too low, and you risk looking dumb. Go too high, and you risk looking like a bore — or a phony."
Or maybe you could just say what you really enjoy and risk looking like who you are.
That single New Yorkers can't handle that simple idea tells you all you need to know about them.
