In the Library: Book Speed Dating!

 So what topic is guaranteed to entertain/embarrass/interest a bunch of middle school students??  Dating!  :)  And since February is the month of love, I designed a book speed dating activity where the students moved from table to table of different genres of fiction books.  Just like in the real world of dating, sometimes you meet a great "book" and want to get to know it better and sometimes you have to let the book know that it's not personal, you just want to be friends.  
The students got 3 minutes at each table to try and make a "connection" with a book that they would like to get to know better and maybe check it out.  Needless to say, the kids LOVED it!  I really hammed it up with lots of horrible puns and jokes, like telling the kids they had to give their chosen book all 3 minutes of its allotted time--don't be caught looking at your neighbor's book!  We don't need any cat fights in the library over a jealous library patron!  And you have to kiss a lot of frogs before finding a prince (and read a lot of books before finding one that sticks with you).  I ended up having so many books checked out that week.  It was definitely a successful activity.

The 8 tables were divided into:  scary fiction, sports fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, action/adventure fiction, realistic fiction, graphic novels, and mystery fiction.