Blind Date with a Book will spice up your Valentine’s Day reading

A great date can sometimes start with a great pickup line? But a bad one? That can be the cup of cold water that makes fast work of any sparks that might be smoldering.

If you're looking for a good pickup line this Valentine's Day, however, one that could spark a new and different kind of love, head over to the Aurora Public Library (APL) for a blind date.

APL's Blind Date with a Book program is back and organizers are confident it will be “love at first line.”

On now through February 15, you can select a specially wrapped book from APL's teen and adult collections by only its first line. You're taking a chance, but you might discover an author, genre or story out of your normal comfort zone, but one that hits just the right spot.

“This is a fun way to spice up our readers' lives by offering the opportunity to check out a book by only its first line,” says Reccia Mandelcorn, Manager of Community Collaboration for the Aurora Public Library, who has spent the last month making interesting selections for the Blind Date program. “I compare those lines to a line somebody might drop you at a coffee shop or a pub. Do you continue the conversation, or do you stop it dead in its tracks? It all depends on how engaging that line is.”

If you decide to continue the conversation, APL wants to hear all about your date. You're invited to log onto Facebook or Twitter, to comment, like, tag or share in order for your name to be entered into a draw for APL swag.

“Make your post public so we can vicariously enjoy your date – good or bad!” says Ms. Mandelcorn with a laugh. “Last year, some of our customers wrote in saying they discovered a genre or author they don't normally read and then went back to find more by the author. The whole thing about Blind Date with a Book is it is fun, kind of cheeky and a different way [for readers' feedback].

“With Blind Date with a Book, we're giving people the opportunity to have a serendipitous read and to fall in live with someone unknown. We're not matching them up at all. It is different and when people are surprised because maybe they only read romance and suddenly they find themselves loving psychological horror, which they never thought they did, or all of a sudden they find out that science fiction is something they really enjoy, then they have opened their eyes to a new experience and a new date.”

By Brock Weir