This year I am trying out at our Central branch a Blind Date with a Book display the first 2 weeks of February. We have RFID at our libraries so this will work particularly well so that we do not have to make a cutout in the wrapping for a barcode.
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| Lots of great colors to choose from |
Once the book is wrapped I printed out, filled out and glued these cute book profiles to the outside. I made these to look like the dating profiles on OKCupid (a popular dating website.) The 3 questions are even right from the website. Please see below for my list of book profiles. Here is the link to the public Canva document I made for the 2017 profiles below. This is the link for the 2018 profiles.
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| For the cover of each bag |
To find good titles I used Novelist but Goodreads can be great too. The reviews on Goodreads can help you get to know a title a little bit better in order to fill out the profile for each book better. I also tried to select titles we owned multiple copies of or that were not in high demand (since they can't be found for holds.)
Book Profiles 2017:
Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
My self summary: I'm an amusing story of starting over and finding your passion when you least expect it.
On a typical Friday night I am: Experimenting with new dough recipes
You should take me home if: You are looking for a delicious mental vacation
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My self summary: I create technological virtual utopias so I don't have to deal with the real world of famine, poverty and disease.
On a typical Friday night I am: Playing Space Invaders at the arcade by my house
You should take me home if: You like to solve a good puzzle
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
My self summary: I know my name is a little unorthodox for a teenage girl but you'd get it if you lived in the world I do.
On a typical Friday night I am: Searching for a cure to save my brother (I like to party too, but not much time for that these days.)
You should take me home if: You want to join my band of nomads
The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
My self summary: It is hard for me to trust you at first. I have demons in my past but I am working through them.
On a typical Friday night I am: Looking for the next big scoop
You should take me home if: A little suspense and secrets do not scare you
Homer & Langley by EL Doctorow
My self summary: I live with my brother in New York City in our 5th avenue apartment. But don't worry, my parents are out of the picture.
On a typical Friday night I am: Working on my newspaper and hosting tea dances
You should take me home if: You loved the film Grey Gardens as much as I did
So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
My self summary: We've all seen it happen -- someone makes a bad decision in the public eye and people pile on in judgment.
On a typical Friday night I am: Trolling the comment sections of You Tube
You should take me home if: You own your shame and don't enjoy public humiliation. Let your freak flag fly!
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
My self summary: I'm no guru but I do have a lot of sweet wisdom I will impart on anyone who asks.
On a typical Friday night I am: Sitting down to my Macbook and catching up on emails
You should take me home if: You need some down to earth advise on some of life's hardest questions
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My self summary: Sometimes I lay awake at night wondering if there is a world beyond this place. I dream about the world my parents told me existed before my birth.
On a typical Friday night I am: Traveling with my musical theater troupe across the wasteland
You should take me home if: You can get down to "It's the End of the World as we Know It" by REM
Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin
My self summary: I was left for dead, I was the one who got away. No, seriously.....
On a typical Friday night I am: Not answering the phone and making sure the deadbolt is locked
You should take me home if: You like a fast paced thrillers that span a lifetime
Love in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Judd Trichter
My self summary: Single white male seeks Android for long walks on the beach
On a typical Friday night I am: Wandering the streets of this cesspool of a city that I loathe but could not live without
You should take me home if: You are a fan of the TV show Westworld
Say You're One of Them by Akpan Uwem
My self summary: I a collection of short stories as intense as Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart."
On a typical Friday night I am: Working to make enough food to feed my brothers and sisters
You should take me home if: You enjoy haunting, gritty and complex stories
Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
My self summary: I'm working on building my career as a writer and working kitchen jobs on the side.
On a typical Friday night I am: Peeling potatoes and scraping plates
You should take me home if: You enjoy witty behind-the-kitchen memoirs
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
My self summary: My son and I are always on the move looking for food and shelter. It would be nice to have a special partner to share that burden with.
On a typical Friday night I am: Scavenging the wasteland for food, same as everyone else
You should take me home if: When the end of the world comes, you are one of the good guys
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
My self summary: I'm darkly funny, and very heartfelt living in Newfoundland.
On a typical Friday night I am: Hopefully finding a sitter for my girls and going on a date with you
You should take me home if: You welcome a little melodrama at a leisurely pace
Fool by Christopher Moore
My self summary: Looking for NSA fun. Rodent-faced muck-suckers need not apply.
On a typical Friday night I am: Entertaining a court of hypocrites and buffoons
You should take me home if: Offbeat British humor and wordplay turns you on
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs
My self summary: I may have a degree from Yale but I never forgot the streets I came from
On a typical Friday night I am: Hanging out with my friends, smoking, joking
You should take me home if: You like a good gritty story about a young man's rise to the top and eventual descent
Lost Girls: an Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
My self summary: I may not be as famous as Jack the Ripper but we do have something in common
On a typical Friday night I am: Trolling Craigslist for my next victim...
You should take me home if: You are a fan of true crime novels
The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
My self summary: I'm a straight talking PI that don't take no poppycock from nobody
On a typical Friday night I am: Hanging out in the parking lot of the Motel 6 with my zoom lens
You should take me home if: You are a fan of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe private eye novels
The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
My self summary: I am the story of two women from very different backgrounds that forge a friendship in an unlikely way.
On a typical Friday night I am: Cooking a pot of Beef Vindaloo to share with my friends
You should take me home if: You find flawed but likable female characters compelling
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
My self summary: I am new to your country. I find much of it very strange. Could you help me?
On a typical Friday night I am: Helping Charlie fight the baddies
You should take me home if: You see scars as beauty
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
My self summary: I just moved to this town to live with my grandfather and am looking for new friends.
On a typical Friday night I am: Exploring this new town by moonlight
You should take me home if: Big family secrets, romance and a touch of magic pepper this novel
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My self summary: There is something a little different about me. I am a pond as big as an ocean
On a typical Friday night I am: Keeping the dark and the light balanced
You should take me home if: You want to help harvest kitty turnips (just promise to not let go of my hand)
This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff
My self summary: It is amazing I turned out the way I did after the childhood I had!
On a typical Friday night I am: Going on bad dates with women who are no good for me (hopefully you can change that)
You should take me home if: If you like memoirs about dysfunctional families
In the Garden of Beasts: love, terror, and an American family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larsen
My self summary: I have taken this high power job in a new place with a new language. I am wondering if I am cut out for this
On a typical Friday night I am: Staying up late waiting for my daughter to return home. Teenagers! Am I right?!
You should take me home if: You are interested in a long distance relationship. I may be in Germany for a while
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
My self summary: I am a single librarian and I love my job but am a bit of a misanthrope
On a typical Friday night I am: Trying to decipher this book my father left behind to me
You should take me home if: Do you know anything about Tarot? I'll pay for the drinks
Third Angel by Alice Hoffman
My self summary: Why am I always finding the wrong men at just the right time!
On a typical Friday night I am: Haunting the halls of foreign hotels
You should take me home if: Stunning, simultaneous stories with a common thread is something you can get down with
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My self summary: If I were a flower I would be a Rhododendron. I can help you figure out what you would be too
On a typical Friday night I am: In bed! I have to get up super early on Saturdays to make it to the flower market in time
You should take me home if: You may enjoy a fairy tale in parts with a sprinkling of grit
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
My self summary: I cannot stand these rich, pretentious people around me
On a typical Friday night I am: Reading Tolstoy and Kant
You should take me home if: You might like a leisurely paced, reflective novel with quirky characters
Book Profiles 2018:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My self summary: I moved to your country to find refuge and attend university
On a typical Friday night I am: Writing insightful razor sharp observations about the state of this county in my blog
You should take me home if: You think we are living in a post racial United States
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My self summary: I am a writer and I just moved to New York City. Where can a girl get a drink around here?
On a typical Friday night I am: Contemplating the Rosenbergs in my room
You should take me home if: You feel as thought the world itself is a bad dream
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
My self summary: The world as we knew it is over and I am trying to survive and adapt like the rest of us.
On a typical Friday night I am: Sitting with my boy and girl inside our safe home making plans for our journey.
You should take me home if: Do you know what it is outside the window?
The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
My self summary: I am looking for a nice girl who shares the same interests as me.
On a typical Friday night I am: Reading comics and playing video games. Care to join me?
You should take me home if: A little old family curse doesn't bother you
The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
My self summary: I am low key, pragmatic, serene and kind (or so I am told)
On a typical Friday night I am: Hitting up used bookstores to find awesome rare cookbooks for my collection
You should take me home if: You are looking for a modern day Jane Austen
The Fall of Princes by Robert Goolrick
My self summary: I am a young trader who is able to "trade shit for silk"
On a typical Friday night I am: Finding the hottest party in town and hitting it hard
You should take me home if: You want swim with the big shark
Fast Girl: a Life Spent Running from Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton, with Sarah Tomlinson
My self summary: I am a three time Olympic runner, mother and wife ( I hope that isn't a deal breaker)
On a typical Friday night I am: Probably going on a date or spending time with my family
You should take me home if: You can relate to feeling highs and lows at the extreme
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
My self summary: Life in the circus ain't easy, especially when my whole family works there
On a typical Friday night I am: Traveling to a new town and saying "step right up" about a 10,00000 times
You should take me home if: You enjoy dark humor with a healthy dose of perversion
Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
My self summary: It has been a year since my wife passed away. I am not sure I am ready to get back out there
On a typical Friday night I am: Working through my grief in a most unexpected way
You should take me home if: You enjoy poetic prose and allegories
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
My self summary: I used to have a life, I used to be a mother, a wife. Now.........
On a typical Friday night I am: In my Master's study playing scrabble and pretending to lose
You should take me home if: I probably shouldn't even be on here but I am desperate to get pregnant
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
My self summary: Some people say where I live is bleak. I love the quiet and the solitude of it though. It has made me who I am
On a typical Friday night I am: Canoeing across the lake, hanging in the woods with my dogs or babysitting my neighbor
You should take me home if: You enjoy character driven literary fiction
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
My self summary: Terrible dark secrets run deep in these mountains. Ohh if the trees could talk...
On a typical Friday night I am: Trying to solve this mystery so everyone can be at peace
You should take me home if: You like dazzling language, mystery, and a profound belief in the human capacity to love and seek forgiveness
Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen
My self summary: They say they are flooding this valley but that will be over my dead body
On a typical Friday night I am: Spending time on the farm with my family and shut-in aunt
You should take me home if: You aren't one of those yellow-bellied government officials!
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
My self summary: I just moved here from the Midwest. I'm adapting to my new back waiter job (and the long hours)
On a typical Friday night I am: I usually work every Friday night. But if you are a night owl and want to meet me and my co-workers for post shift drink at the Park Bar message me
You should take me home if: You can appreciate a new foodie trying to find her way in the world
Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders
My self summary: Drug experiments, living lawn ornaments and family friction are just a few things inside me
On a typical Friday night I am: Contemplating things like "is life fun or scary" and "are people good or bad"
You should take me home if: Highly interesting and well written short stories appeal to you
Welcome to the Circus: Stories by Rhonda Douglas
My self summary: I was written in Canada and this is my first book of short stories
On a typical Friday night I am: Exploring the themes of love and escape
You should take me home if: Are you intrigued if I tell you that inside me are stories of Mata Hari, an unfrozen Neanderthal, teenagers in Newfoundland and cancer
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
My self summary: I am an artist and school teacher in Cambridge, MA. My trash is always tidy and I will smile at you if we pass in the hall
On a typical Friday night I am: Working in my art studio creating one-of-a-kind dioramas
You should take me home if: You want to grab a cup of coffee and discuss the tortured psyche of a conflicted soul
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