Blind Date with a Book
Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis
March 2020
For the month of February, my local library had a table set up with "Blind Date with a Book" offerings. Although I have seen these displays in the past, I was usually in the middle of a trilogy or a series when February rolled around. This year, I had just finished a book, so I decided to give Blind Date with a Book a try.
Blind Date with a Book first appeared in 2013 at Elizabeth's Bookshop in Australia. It is a secondhand bookshop, where customers frequently came to browse and ask for recommendations. During a time when audiobooks and buying books online were becoming more popular, Elizabeth's Bookshop came up with a novel way to get people to buy books. They wrapped the books in plain brown paper and wrote a few keywords about the book's genre or major themes on the front. People were no longer able to judge books by their covers and it added mystery and fun to book buying. Blind Date with a Book still exists at Elizabeth's Bookshops locations. It also has an online platform to send Blind Date books to readers worldwide.
My library opted to cover the books in wrapping paper, mainly pink hues for Valentine's Day. I deliberated for awhile, but ultimately decided on the book with the butterfly wrapping paper. The description said: Genre: Historical fiction; Parallel narratives. Theme: Web of connections (from NoveList Plus). The book was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. It was a much heavier book than I anticipated that told the story of a painting from the first World War and its worth in the present day. The historical part of the story was much more compelling, but it was nice to see how everything fit together at the end.
For the month of February, my local library had a table set up with "Blind Date with a Book" offerings. Although I have seen these displays in the past, I was usually in the middle of a trilogy or a series when February rolled around. This year, I had just finished a book, so I decided to give Blind Date with a Book a try.
Blind Date with a Book first appeared in 2013 at Elizabeth's Bookshop in Australia. It is a secondhand bookshop, where customers frequently came to browse and ask for recommendations. During a time when audiobooks and buying books online were becoming more popular, Elizabeth's Bookshop came up with a novel way to get people to buy books. They wrapped the books in plain brown paper and wrote a few keywords about the book's genre or major themes on the front. People were no longer able to judge books by their covers and it added mystery and fun to book buying. Blind Date with a Book still exists at Elizabeth's Bookshops locations. It also has an online platform to send Blind Date books to readers worldwide.
My library opted to cover the books in wrapping paper, mainly pink hues for Valentine's Day. I deliberated for awhile, but ultimately decided on the book with the butterfly wrapping paper. The description said: Genre: Historical fiction; Parallel narratives. Theme: Web of connections (from NoveList Plus). The book was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. It was a much heavier book than I anticipated that told the story of a painting from the first World War and its worth in the present day. The historical part of the story was much more compelling, but it was nice to see how everything fit together at the end.
When I visited the library again, it was nearly the end of the month. Since my previous selection was deep, I decided to choose a shorter Blind Date book. The description read: Genre: Cozy mysteries; Gentle reads (from NoveList Plus). It turned out to be The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I'm only a few chapters into the book so far. I liked how the first chapter jumped right in with a case and the setting of Africa is different than my usual book selections. There are actually twenty total books in this series. It reminds me of The Boxcar Children and Magic Tree House mystery series that I read when I was younger.
Overall, my Blind Date with a Book experience was positive. It helped that these were library books and not books that I was buying to keep. I also discovered that my library card gives me access to NoveList Plus, a database maintained by librarians to help you look for book recommendations. I'll definitely look for Blind Date with a Book again next year!
Overall, my Blind Date with a Book experience was positive. It helped that these were library books and not books that I was buying to keep. I also discovered that my library card gives me access to NoveList Plus, a database maintained by librarians to help you look for book recommendations. I'll definitely look for Blind Date with a Book again next year!