Blind dates with a Book now available for your heart’s desire
Seguin) — You might want to grab and enjoy a blind date before they are all gone. The Seguin Public Library is getting a head start on February, the month of love, by launching its Blind Date Books program.
Individuals are invited to stop by the local library and pick out a blind (book) date. After getting to know their date, individuals will then be asked to submit a review of their story. Their love for reading will culminate at the end of the program with a special holiday gathering.
Assistant Library Director Silvia Christy says the idea was not only a way to celebrate the month of love but also to spice up your reading life.
“People come in and we have set aside some books and they are covered so you don’t see the cover of the book. You don’t know much about it — the author or the title. You are going blindly on some of the headings and some of the themes that we are describing for each book so in a way, people are stepping outside their comfort zones and picking something that they probably would have never read before just based on our little book recommendations of what is inside of this covered package and then we are asking people to read the book. Give it a chance and tell us how it went on the date with this secret book and then on the date of the gathering, then everybody can listen to the other peoples’ choices, what the books were about and then maybe find a new author, a new title, a new genre that they would have never tried before,” said Christy.
Christy says it’s been seven years since the library has hosted the program. She says each year, the book choices become more and more exciting.
“We have about over 50 books that we have selected. We try to increase a little bit every year so we have over 50 books that are available for choosing. Each title is different and they go across a wide spectrum of genres. There is going to be fiction materials and non-fiction as well,” said Christy.
Christy says in all the years it has hosted the event; the library has enjoyed watching as folks step out of their comfort zones with a book that they might not have originally selected.
“I know that sometimes people look at the little words that we provide to describe the book and they say ‘oh, this sounds interesting’ and they take it home and they might have taken it because of a location that we mentioned, and they are like ‘I lived in this area and the book described the area so well that it was like almost being back there. I would not have picked the book if it had just been on the shelf. I would not have given it a chance’ but they liked it. It opens their eyes to a new world that they had not thought was possible before,” said Christy.
Christy says the library will close out its celebration on Feb. 12 with a Valentine’s Day party and book discussion. There is no cost to participate in the Blind Book Date program.