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Blind Date With a Book 2022 Revealed!

Thank you to everyone who took a chance on literary love and let us set you up on a Blind Date with a Book!

The Blind Date with a Book Program has ended for 2022 so if you missed out this year, don't fret, we will be back at it next year.

Our staff picked out books we adore, wrapped them up to hide their identity, and gave short descriptions to entice you. All of these books were thoroughly vetted—and came with our heartfelt recommendations.

Look below to see the books behind the wrapping. If one of these titles catches your eye, give it a click to find out more.

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Blind Date with Literary Fiction

  • Coming of age in the 1980's
  • Neurodivergent narrator
  • Perfectly captures the exquisite awkwardness of adolescence 
  • First cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths
  • England at its least charming

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Blind Date with Contemporary Fiction

  • Multi-generational perspectives
  •  Family mystery leads to Grade-A Identity Crisis
  •  Exploring the impact of leaving home
  •  Mother always knows best (but not really)
  •  A love triangle amidst grief

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Blind Date with a Comedic Genius

  • Talented television writer-actor pens short stories
  • And they're hilarious!
  • Perfect combo of literary prowess, heart, and wit
  • Short and plentiful—a good anytime pick-me-up
  • You deserve the lightness of this book!

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Blind Date with Heartbreak

  • A riveting, complex page-turner
  • Genre-bending: a gothic historical crime thriller
  • Queer protagonist in age of slavery, opium, and imperialism
  • Set against the backdrop of nineteeth-century London
  • Knockout debut novel you might have missed

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Blind Date with Historical Fiction

  • A story of two sisters—with all the love and drama therein
  • Steeped richly in time and place, spanning decades and countries
  • Cosmopolitan in feel, while addressing the hardships of immigration & otherness
  • Strong, fierce women, each in their own way
  • Family = love (even when hard)

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Blind Date with a Detective 

  • (Badass) female private eye
  • Murder within a rich and powerful community
  • Whimsical storytelling, but dark realities
  • Showcases an uncommon culture/world
  • Wide batch of unique (and sus) characters
  • Told from multiple POVs and points in time
 

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Blind Date with a Classic & Classy P.I.

  • A quick, coffee date-size book
  • Full of humor and sarcasm
  • Will keep you guessing
  • Conversational
  • Top-notch relationship dynamics

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Blind Date with a Spicy Thriller

  • When we say thriller, we mean THRILLER
  • Steamy, forbidden romance
  • Paranoia at its max
  • Dark, flawed, but relatable protagonist
  • Stomach-churning twists

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Blind Date with Post-Societal Sci-Fi

  • Fictional memoir about a very realistic apocalypse
  • Lesbian storyteller 
  • Found family, grief, and love
  • How does society rebuild after an apocalypse?
  • Psychologically manipulating
  • A dystopia like no other

 

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Blind Date with a Horror-Comedy

  • Girlboss, gatekeep, gaslight
  • Book about a fake movie based on a fake book based on a real book
  • Spooky, but make it gay
  • Lesbian boarding school
  • Sunny Hollywood meets chilly New England
  • Ensemble of perspectives

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Blind Date with Dystopian Sci-Fi

  • Elaborate, physics-based magic system
  • Conversations with inanimate objects have never been more interesting
  • Dystopian world in the aftermath of a long-lost, powerful civilization
  • One of the main characters is a talking key, literally
  • Sapphic relationship
  • A gigantic relic heist!

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Blind Date with Myth & Romance

  • Three women in a sleepy town looking for a change
  • Celtic mythology with a modern twist
  • Featuring the BEST doggo
  • Ages old curse must be broken
  • Female friendships = power
  • Funny and *steamy* romance

 

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Blind Date with Ornithology

  • Conservation fieldwork meets vodka shots
  • A decades-long search for a very large but very elusive bird
  • Adventure into backwoods Russia
  • Science at its most visceral and thrilling
  • Extreme birdwatching

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Blind Date with a Hilarious Memoir

  • Laugh-out-loud funny
  • Intersection of personal and political
  • Disability justice is everybody justice
  • Poetic and thoughtful narration
  • Tender and give-no-f*cks

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Blind Date with Gen X Romance

  • No holds barred, creative-nonfiction personal essays
  • Gen X pop culture love fest
  • Unflinching self introspection & bold vulnerability
  • Might make you blush
  • A psychedelic trip on Valentine's Day
  • Adventures in online dating gone wild
  • Lascivious and lovely
  • At times both hilarious and heartbreaking
  • Black girl magic

 

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Blind Date with a YA Fantasy Anthology

  • Short story anthology
  • Features 16 female and gender nonconforming authors
  • Black Girl Magic 
  • Vampires, mermaids, aliens, and more! 
  • Romance, adventure, and drama-- something for everyone!
  • Stories of the past, present, and future

 

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Blind Date with a YA Romantic Comedy

  • Brooding artists
  • Elite art school
  • Love triangle!
  • Subverts rom-com tropes
  • Fan fiction culture

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Blind Date with a Riveting YA Novel

  • YA novel that gives you all the feels
  • But perfect for the reader of any age!
  • Lyrical writing and vague setting are transportive
  • Voiceless girl finds her strength
  • A love story AND a mystery—impossible to put down!

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Blind Date with a Middle Grade SFF

  • Young girl leaves home with a dream and a song
  • Friendship with fire lizards
  • Incredible world building
  • Perfect for those who loved Serafina
  • Timeless classic (no, really!)

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Blind Date with a Beauty Pageant Contestant

  • Learning to be comfortable in your own skin 
  • 1980s goodness 
  • Friendships
  • Pageant historical firsts
  • Thriving in the face of adversity 
  • A treasure for middle grade readers