Is your library doing this?

Wow. That's creative

They do the same in National Trust second hand book shops. I've never been tempted but I may see if our library is doing the same. Probably the only blind date I'm likely to get these days.

yes a woman sells them on a market by us £5 each one they have started appearing on Vinted too

That wouldn’t work for me, I’m fussy and specific about my reading matter.

No, but my local library has a big section of Scandinavian crime fiction. I thought all libraries did this till I asked in another library where their Scandi crime was- and they seemed very puzzled!
It seems that my small library in rural Ireland has a readership which enjoys Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic and even novels based in Faroe Islands!
Anyone else with interesting library selections?

Yes, ours does.

Anything that gets people, especially the young, reading gets a thumbs up from me. I even approve of the Victorian 'penny dreadful' as it got the maids engaged with reading. And who knows where a love of reading will take you.

Next thing, supermarkets will be selling plain unmarked tins packets and bottles .

Turning spam, barley and laundry detergent into a tasty Valantines dinner is so romantic.

butterandjam

That reminds me of the 70s, we had a Co-op canning factory in town and staff could buy cheap, sometimes dented, unlabelled tins of food. Trouble was you never knew what you were opening, you might be expecting a tin of beans, only to find it was cherry pie filling 😂

Ooh, cherry pie filling, sounds better than baked beans.

It all sounds like a Lucky Dip or a raffle prize where you couldn't choose, invariably you were disappointed.

I had an unlabeled tin. Told it was 🍒 pie filling but it was mandarin oranges 😍

Our local independent bookshop does this, but it wouldn’t work for me, as I like to make an informed choice and would worry that I had read it already.

There was a company called Blind Date With A Book, I bought a few from them as presents. It doesn't exist now

labazs

yes a woman sells them on a market by us £5 each one they have started appearing on Vinted too

£5??
Libraries are free, so if it is not to your liking it is no effort to take back
Our local charity shop goes 50 or £1 and the dogs trust fundraiser just asks for donations

This must be their latest gimmick.
How much does this cost in terms of public money.

What a load of old tut.

Oh that might be a useful way to flog some of my books.

A couple of years ago a local second hand bookshop did similar. I think it was a pack of about 4 books and you chose the genre. My husband told them I like dystopian novels so they made me up a pack in plain wrapping. It was a lovely idea, but I already had 3 of the books! But as others have said, anything that gets people reading is good. And I love our local library.

With NobsOnIt - it costs nothing in public money- I’ve done it myself in the library I work in.
What possible cost could there be?
I reused brown paper packing paper.
I personally didn’t find it very successful, but nonetheless it didn’t cost anything.

my library years ago did a summer holiday idea. they had white small carriers with summer suns on and inside 3 books ideal for reading in the sun, holiday etc. i did try it a few times but it was mostly chic lit which is ok but not really my choice. good idea though

I kind of get what this is about, but I want to choose my books. There are a lot of fairly trashy books about on which I wouldn't waste my time.

Our local bookshop did that sort of thing. Also secret Santa.

Sadly now closed

Our library did this a couple of years ago. I prefer to choose my own books so didn't participate.

I am another that wants to choose my own. I am in a book group and some of the books they send us are awful Ihave to say.

hollysteers

That wouldn’t work for me, I’m fussy and specific about my reading matter.

That's the point really. Our library do it to tempt people to try a different genre.