Blind Date with a Book

One of the libraries near me is doing something super fun for the month of February: they’re doing blind book dates. I wish I’d gotten a picture of the whole display, but basically they’ve wrapped up some books and then give a short teaser on the outside. You can grab one, check it out and then unwrap it at home and find out what you’ve got! The one I grabbed says, “I have consumption…the most romantic of diseases.” I didn’t know whether to take it literally as in this book is about consumption or more figuratively as in this book will consume your life because it’s so awesome and engaging. All of the other books had similarly fun blurbs–some more revealing than others. The only thing I didn’t like about the display was that I was unclear whether I was to checkout the book still wrapped or if I was supposed to unwrap it and then check it out? I just needed a little more instruction. Granted, there was a little plaque/paper thing by the display that may have had more instructions…but I didn’t pay attention to it what with all of these beautifully wrapped books in front of me.

Anyway, I checked out my book and then waited until I got home to unwrap it. This is what was inside:

Definitely not a book that I ever would have just checked out on my own. I mean, yeah, it seems interesting enough, but I just have so many other books to read that this one would be somewhere near the bottom of that list. Overall, I think this “blind book date” idea is really fun. It’s a great way to perhaps promote some of your lesser circulating books that you would like to circulate more. I loved just having the uncertainty of not knowing what exactly it was that I had picked up. I’ll definitely pick up at least one more of these before February is over–I might even make my husband get one too just for fun.

What are some fun things that libraries near you are doing for Valentine’s/February?