This is a bit of prose written by Rosemarie Urquico called “Date a Girl Who Reads”. I first came across this on a bus tour in New Zealand (that’s a story for another time) and I immediately fell in love.
As you may know, I love reading. And as a reader, I was so happy that someone had put my emotions, wants, and relationship aspirations into words. And honestly, it does a pretty great job of making bookworm girls feel like super cool, enlightened creatures.
So I wanted to share this on here, so that other readers can feel super cool, as well. And because I came across it again the other day and it reminded me how much I loved it.
And that ending! Oh my gosh, it gets me every time.
Thanks for checking it out, Enjoy!
“You should date a girl who reads.Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes, who has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.
Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she has found the book she wants. You see that weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a secondhand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow and worn.
She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.
Buy her another cup of coffee.
Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.
It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry and in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.
She has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.
Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who read understand that all things must come to end, but that you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.
Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.
If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.
You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.
You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”
― Rosemarie Urquico
This post was proofread by Grammarly
Thank you, as always, for reading! If you like this please share it with your reader friends and/or pin these quotes on Pinterest!



You’re right this poem does make me feel very happy! Reading is life to me, I would be quite happy to find a man that loves that about me (=
I absolutely agree! It’s always nice when people like something about you that you enjoy so much.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. 🙂
This is so me. I love reading and always have books to read. I have a journal with lists of books I have read. My husband loves that about me and I read in bed every night while he goes to sleep. This post makes me happy 🙂
Aw I’m so glad to hear that is resonated with you 🙂 thanks so much for reading and commenting.
That is very cool.It kinda surprised me. No, it’s not all about clothes. My wife isn’t all about her clothes. GREAT TO HEAR THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TO NZ TOO 🙂
I love this. Don’t where if be in life if I could read. This is why I chose to work in a bookstore!!
Oh a bookstore is like my dream job. Lol.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂
Reading opens up horizons and a person who is an avid reader is a great company to keep. Cheers!
I couldn’t agree more! 🙂 thanks for reading and commenting.
Great story. I used to read a lot but just can’t seem to find the time anymore.
Lol I like the end where it says or better yet date a girl who writes! I love to read. I feel like it takes me out of my element and puts me into someone elses world for a little bit. If I ever find myself overwhelmed throughout the day I find picking up a book, even if it’s just for 15 minutes, is a great way to press the reset button.
Oh I completely agree! Sometimes it’s so much nicer to get involved with fictional problems than worry about real life ones.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting. 🙂
Very nice
Love this!!
hi its amazing really like it