Foyles is running a book-themed speed-dating event for Valentine’s Day, which has been sold out for weeks; there’s a popular bookshop meet-up run by the company Bored of Dating Apps in New York; and, on the dreaded apps themselves, there has been a noticeable uptick in men asking, “Tell me about the book you’re reading” on their profiles.
I am a self-confessed book obsessive, as well as a romantic who has watched Notting Hill too many times, and finding someone with the same taste in books feels like shorthand for finding someone with the same outlook on life.
Kieran wanted a reason to finish a book, but he was also tired of the dating apps where people are often looking for something casual.
We skipped the small talk and dove straight into the audacity of the men who hadn’t opened the book, horror stories from previous in-person events, and why Britney’s memoir destroyed our opinions of Justin Timberlake.
This is the issue with any in-person dating event: you get caught up in conversations with people you don’t fancy but, unlike on the apps, you can’t just walk away – or talk to multiple people at once.
