Fancy a blind date with a book?

Thursday 16 February 2023

After the excitement of Valentine's Day, the thought of going out for another meal or eating another chocolate might make you feel slightly sick... but what about a blind date that promises to leave you feeling cosy and relaxed?

After seeing the idea on Pinterest, Sarah Evans decided to bring the 'blind date with a book' initiative to Jersey to encourage readers to branch out from their usual literary picks whilst also raising money for charity.

Paediatric eye specialist, Mrs Evans is currently on a mission to raise money to fund a trip to Pakistan alongside two of her colleagues - Sarah Lake and Asim Shami.

Whilst there, the trio hope to spend eight days providing eye tests and glasses for over 500 underprivileged children in the region who may not otherwise have access to eye care. 

Pictured: Optometrist Sarah Lake (left) and orthoptist Sarah Evans (right) will be heading to Lahore in Pakistan at the end of the month with ophthalmologist Asim Shami.

As the trip is entirely self-funded, the two Sarahs had to get creative in coming up with ways to raise money for the trip.

Last week, they organised a stall in their workplace - the Jersey General Hospital - selling baked goods, trinkets, and books.

However, instead of just displaying the books on the stall, they took inspiration from Pinterest and decided to wrap each one in brown paper and write a short description on the from to prevent people from 'judging a book by its cover'.

Pictured: The books first appeared on a fundraising stall in the hospital, which raised over £1,000.

"I spent an evening with my friends wrapping all the books and writing descriptions on the front," said Mrs Evans. "We had a huge mix of different genres, including some books by local authors which was really nice. There were loads of books I happily would've kept for myself!"

One of the descriptions was 'A classic with hairy feet!" (The Hobbit) which Mrs Evans said "people kept picking up and putting back as it reminded them of their husbands!"

Mrs Evans said that the initiative was a huge success and the books "flew off" the hospital stall, with most people buying more than one.

They managed to raise over £1,000 and Mrs Evans decided to donate the few remaining books to Silkworth to allow as many people as possible to enjoy a "blind date".

"I was under strict instructions from my own husband not to bring any more books home," she laughed.

As a avid reader herself, Mrs Evans was excited that the 'blind date with a book' initiative might encourage people to read books they wouldn't have picked up otherwise.

She said: "We know what sort of books we like so people always gravitate towards the same sort of genres. Having someone else essentially pick the book for you takes the pressure off and means that you might enjoy something new!"

Pictured: The remaining books are available to buy from the Silkworth charity shop.

"It's also really nice to have a physical book to hold," she added. "Nowadays, everyone has a kindle but there's something special about holding and smelling a real book."

Mrs Evans said that she's already had people get in touch with her who have opened their books and admitted that it something they wouldn't have chosen before, but are looking forward to reading it now!