This Valentine's Day, why not make a date with a book?

After a year hiatus, Read Tasmania is bringing back silent reading parties and we are returning to last year's Valentine's Day location, the wonderful Stábla!

Stábla is a cafe that has kindly agreed to open exclusively for us so that you can enjoy a date with a book this Valentine's Day. The venue will be open from 5.30pm with the silent reading part of the evening falling between 6.15pm–7.15pm. When the hour is up, you are welcome to hang around for more drinks, chats or more reading.

Do I need to book?
Yes! This helps us to ensure we don't go over capacity.

How much are tickets?
At previous events, we have charged for tickets that are redeemable for food however we have found that this can sometimes cause delays when everyone turns up at the same time.

This year, we have two options for tickets:

Pre-order food and get free entry
To avoid the queues and delays experienced last year, we ask that attendees pre-order their food when booking a ticket. This will help Stábla to prepare the food in advance and ensure attendees can quickly and easily order drinks from the bar, grab a seat and start reading. When pre-ordering, please select the food you would like as well as selecting the number of tickets you require. A copy of the menu is at the bottom of this page. Pre-ordering must be done by 11.59pm on Tuesday 13 February 2024.
Paid tickets
To ensure costs are covered for holding the event, attendees not pre-ordering food will need to pay to attend. Each ticket comes to $5 once booking fees are applied.

When you arrive, make sure to let us know so that we can note your attendance and/or process your food order.

Can I buy drinks?
Yes, there will be hot drinks, non-alcoholic drinks, wines and beers available to order on the night – there might even be a special Valentine's cocktail! These can be ordered and paid for at the bar.

What will I read?
That's entirely up to you. You can bring your own material – a novel, magazine, comic, biography, collection of short stories ... it's your choice! For a gold coin donation, you can even have a blind date with a book. We have a number of books wrapped up with clues on the outside so take your pick and hopefully you'll find your perfect match.

So there's no talking?
There can be plenty of talking before and after but during 6.15pm–7.15pm when we're reading, we ask that everyone is quiet (but yes, you can go to the bar to get another drink – we're not monsters!)

Can I bring a friend (or even a date)?
A mix of people attend these events, some alone and some in groups. It's up to you as long as your companion/s don't mind if you ignore them for an hour while you're reading (those are the best kind of friends).

We hope you'll join us!