Book Nerds

The Best Valentine’s Day Dates for Book Nerds

By Jenny Kawecki / February 12, 2016 at 3:00 pm

The good news: You’re dating a book nerd. You are a book nerd. A wise move on both counts; we compliment you on your mental and emotional fortitude (and physical, too, because books are heavy). The bad news: Valentine’s Day approaches, and you have some pretty strong competition—the books. Because we all know how hard it is to focus on a night on the town when all you can think is I’d rather be reading. The best way to keep your mind on your Valentine and off your Everest-sized TBR stack at home? Celebrate your book nerdery with one of these literary dates!
Brunch at a Bookstore/Café
What’s the best way to eat? Surrounded by books, of course. Why brunch? It’s a well-known scientific fact that book nerds are at their best in the late morning (after the book hangover from the night before has had time to wear off), plus bookstores cafés are known to be good with the tea and scones. Feed your stomach and your brain by drinking a latté while you bathe in the glorious glow of beautifully shelved novels, and while you’re at it, name your favorite literary couples (canon or not), quote some poetry, and discuss which book best represents your undying love for each other.
Oh, and if you live in Columbia and/or own a private jet, please go to the 9 3/4 Bookstore + Café and let me know how it is because I’m dying.
Re-create Your Favorite Romantic Scenes
Does your Valentine have a favorite love scene? Do you? Spend the day re-creating them, complete with costumes and over-the-top acting and lots of chocolate for fuel. Pretend you’re your favorite fictional couple and behave like them for the entire date. Don’t have a favorite? Try picking the worst fictional dates you’ve ever read; 10/10 you’ll both be laughing so hard your hair hurts, plus you’ll both appreciate your actual relationship even more. Here are a few suggestions:

Find a Live Reading
Search all the literary hotspots in your town for a literary reading (bonus points if it’s poetry). Then get dressed up and take your Valentine out to enjoy some words with other book lovers, and have a glass of wine or four. Afterward, you can grab something to eat and talk about which authors you’d most love to meet, who your favorite audiobook readers are, and, you know, how much you love each other.
Library Hop
Save the library! Track down the coolest-looking, most romantic libraries in your area and spend the day going from one to another. Explore the stacks, browse the shelves, and make note of all the books you have to add to your “must-read” list. Each pick a book for the other to read. Or, you know, act out the fantasy that every single has deep in their hearts: find a dark, secluded corner and make out for a while—and then go back to the books, because come on. They’re books.
Go on a Literary Scavenger Hunt
If you’re competitive at heart, make a list of literary tasks like re-creating your favorite book cover, getting a stranger to quote Shakespeare to you, finding someone who has been sorted into each Harry Potter house, build a stack of books at least twenty books high, get someone to admit their favorite book is Fifty Shades of Grey, etc. Then race to see who can check off all the items on the list first; loser has to buy the winner a book of their choosing.
Have a Read-In
This might just be the ideal date: set up a romantic atmosphere with candles, soft music, blankets, pillows, rose petals, and (of course) bowls full of munchable snacks. Sit down with your one true love and a tall stack of books and spend the day reading away—because, really, it’s what you both want to be doing, anyway. Read in silence or read out loud to each other, or take turns sharing your favorite passages; just enjoy the chance to be introverted and happy together.
Go to a Bookstore and Say Those Magic Words
“You can get as many as you want.”
Hands-down, guaranteed best date ever.
What are you and your favorite book nerd doing this Valentine’s Day?