Love in the Stacks

Jimmy Buffett: "Love in the library, quiet and cool
                          Love in the library, there are no rules
                         Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
                         I fell in love in the library once upon a time." (1994)


The sign was enticing and immediately caught my eye: spice up your literary love life.  Adding to the mystery was a cart piled with beautifully gift wrapped books, adorned with hearts that teased family dysfunction on the high seas or meet someone who loves to eat or simply, love poems. 

My library is running its own literary dating game.

Library patrons are boldly invited to go on a blind date with a wrapped and unknown book. Much like a blind date in college, the descriptions are few and light on details. A cookbook? It could be about eating fewer carbs or it could be a culinary stroll through Rome. Fiction? It might be Danielle Steel or Virginia Woolf. Want a date with a thriller? Stephen King or Harlan Coben will make your heart beat a little faster.

Consider setting up your own literary not-quite-as-blind date. Wander into an unexplored section of your library or bookstore. Discover a different genre or author.Science fiction, westerns, romance (it's Valentine's Day, after all), could be that handsome/beautiful stranger that makes your literary life sizzle. Read serious fiction or travel essays or an actor's memoir. Just take a chance, pull a book off the shelf and read something not usually found on your book list. 

What's the worst that could happen? 

I took my own advice and checked out a novel that drew me in by promising a "rip-roaring period adventure." My blind date is Clive Cussler's "The Striker." I've never read any of Cussler's work. His character, Isaac Bell, is an inexperienced detective in Pittsburgh, who is going up against "two ruthless opponents" in the coal mining industry, according to Cussler. The tale will transport me back to the early 1900s with slang such as "swells," "classy joint," and "bigwig politicians." It's too early to predict whether or not there'll be a second date. 


Friday, February 14 is Library Lover's Day. Curl up with your literary blind date and decadent chocolate. Happy Reading!