In case you’ve run out of ideas for creative dates, let me help you out a bit. These will only work if you both love to read – and if you don’t, then maybe you should try one of them out anyway & see if you start loving to read. 😉

And hey – if you don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you could always just pick a book-loving friend and go do one of these things anyway!

1. The Barnes & Noble Date
Perfect for a rainy day … all it requires is a car and about $15!
Find your nearest Barnes and Noble and start by each finding the other’s favorite book. Then order your favorite coffee drinks and spend a little bit of time companionably reading and sipping in the café.

Next, go on a little scavenger hunt to see if you can find the following books …
– The worst romance novel – just by cover & title alone.
– Your favorite books as kids.
– A book on a certain craft or skill you’ve always been interested in.
– The most boring book (for the other person … be that sports or nature, etc.).
– A book that could keep you entertained for hours

Finish the date by buying a book for each other that you’ve wanted, but don’t own.

2. The Smell of Old Books Date
Time to go thrifting in used book stores! Map out where several used book stores are, then drive around, exploring them. See if you can find bargain books for under a dollar or old copies of favorite books – or books you’ve wanted to collect for awhile but haven’t.

3. The Read Aloud in the Park Date
Make a picnic lunch and take a favorite book along. After eating (or during), take turns reading the book aloud to each other.

4. The Librarian’s Hush Date
Go to the library and pick a book at random off the shelf. Commit to reading the whole thing, even if it’s terrible, and tell the other person all about it. Get started by reading for a little while in the library together! [Maybe even sneak a kiss behind a book … 😉 ]

5. The Librarian’s Hush Date II
Find a favorite kid’s book that you used to get from the library that the other has never read. Check it out, read it, and give a review to the other person.

6. Scribbles & Scrawls Date
Get out the crayons, construction paper, and string … and write & illustrate your own children’s book together! The more bizarre the story line, the better. Save it to share with your kids someday (or if you have kids, read it to them as a bedtime story).

7. The British Author Date
Put on your best classy outfits and go have tea together somewhere (a tea house would be best, but if you have to substitute a coffee shop, that suffices. As long as it isn’t Starbucks. Starbucks is great … just doesn’t exactly smack “British class”). While on the date, try to sneak in as many lines from favorite British authors as possible – and they have to make sense in the course of the conversation!

8. Book Page Art Date
Back to that used book store … find old copies of your favorite books and use the pages to make paper decorations – wreaths, flowers, garlands, etc. Don’t know what I’m talking about or how to make them? Just look it up on Pinterest. You’ll find dozens of ideas there. Use them for decorations at a party or just randomly in the rooms of your house.

9. Literary Inspired Adventures Date
Let the adventures of some classic book characters inspire you to have similar adventures! Whether it’s rafting down a river like Tom & Huck or helping French aristocracy escape the guillotine (okay, maybe that’s a little far-fetched!), have fun following in the steps of literary legacies.

10. Book Race Date
Although not an actual one-time “date” and having nothing to do with physical exertion (thank goodness!), this one will bring out the competitive side. Create a list of books that neither one of you has read and then race to see who can finish them fastest. Or if you’re not interested in reading fast, just read them normally & have “book club” discussions about them as you go.

More fun ideas to come in the next installment … be watching for it!