Bookish Date Ideas For Valentine's Day

Sometimes it’s easy to feel like you’ve been swept off your feet just by the words of a character in a book. Other times, you might wish that the out-of-this-world romantic dates in books that have enchanted you for years would happen in real life. The Rowanvale Books team are, as you might expect, all avid and passionate readers, dreaming of Valentine’s Days similar to those we’ve read about in our favourite romance novels. To help you (and us!) out in achieving this, we’ve put together this list of bookish date ideas for you and your loved ones, be that romantic partners, best friends or housemates! 
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• Book- & Coffee Shop Date  
• Book-to-Film Movie Night  
• Art Galleries & Museums  
• Audiobook Walks  
• Literary Dinner & Cocktails Night  ​

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• BOOK- & COFFEE SHOP DATE  ​

Going out for coffee might seem like an obvious date option, whether that’s for a first date or if you’ve been together for years. Try making it more bookish by visiting a local, independent bookseller first! If you’re just starting to get to know each other, you could each pick out your favourite book to give to the other person. It’s a great way to give you something to get you talking while you’re cosied up in your favourite coffee shop. If you’re in Cardiff like a lot of the Rowanvale Books team, try Troutmark Books and its maze of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in the Castle Arcade for the second-hand bookshop of your dreams, or Oxfam Bookshop round the corner on St Mary’s Street to know you’re doing that extra bit of good while buying your books! Wherever you are in the world, the FourSquare app is a great way to find independent shops that have been highly rated by customers. You might already have your own favourite, but it’s almost always worth trying out new places, too! 

• BOOK-TO-FILM MOVIE NIGHT  

Be careful with this one – I’ve certainly had some, shall we say, ‘heated’ discussions about whether or not a film was better than its original book! If you and your partner already have fairly frequent movie nights, giving them a theme can be a great way to mix it up a little, and there are so many book-to-film adaptations to choose from that there’ll easily by something to please everyone. From historical fiction such as The Book Thief to absolute classics like Harry Potter, this is a date idea you’ll be sure to repeat. Get yourself some popcorn or ice cream as well for the full cinema experience that I’m sure we’re all longing for at the moment! 

• ART GALLERIES & MUSEUMS  

While not directly bookish, there’s often a correlation between those who enjoy getting lost in another world in the form of a book and those who enjoy getting lost in the world of the past in a museum or gallery. Looking at art can bring up a whole range of different emotions and give you limitless things to talk about and connect over. Moreover, the quiet stillness of a gallery or museum can make it feel like a very private and personal setting for a date.  

• AUDIOBOOK WALKS  

This past year especially, I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves out walking more than usual. While it’s of course lovely to have a chat and debrief about the day ahead or the day just gone, if you’re living together 24/7, you might not always feel like there’s all that much to talk about. An hour a day of audiobook walks (or runs) will bring so many benefits! It’ll up your steps on days when you’re otherwise just sat at your desk and hopefully make exercising more enjoyable if it’s not something you particularly look forward to; you’ll hit your reading goals much quicker (the average audiobook is only 10 hours long – this means you’d be ‘reading’ an extra book roughly every two weeks!), and it provides a time and space specifically dedicated to you and your partner doing something together.  

• LITERARY DINNER AND COCKTAILS NIGHT  

Whether you already consider yourself a master chef or are looking to develop a new skill, dinner dates are another option which can easily be made more bookish simply by choosing recipes from or inspired by some of your favourite books. Julie & Julia is an obvious option, but there’s also a Harry Potter recipe book and even one for Jane Austen (a great list of literary themed cookbooks can be found here). If feel like dressing up for a fancy cocktail evening, you can even find recipes for literary cocktails – our favourites include ‘The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose’ and ‘A Rum of One’s Own’!  
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We hope you’ll be able to take some inspiration from these ideas when planning your Valentine’s Day this year and in years to come, or whenever you fancy adding a bookish spin to your dating life all the way through the year!