Blind Date With a Book… In a Mason Jar
“I think books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them.” - Emma Thompson
One of the biggest conundrums for avid readers is deciding what to read next.
You know the feeling. You finish a book and either love it, hate it, or go, “It was meh.” You sit with it, process your feelings about it, while subtly figuring out what book you’re going to read next. You look at your overflowing TBR pile, your sprawling bookshelves, and think, “Damn!”
This happens to me more times than I can count. Over the years, I’ve pared down the number of physical books I own. I went from having five full bookcases to having only two. I sell books I’ve read on PangoBooks to make room for new ones, save for a few that I know I will read again. And now with a Kindle and access to Libby’s free ebooks, I have endless options at my fingertips.
I’ve spent days trying to decide what book to read next. I’ll slide one out of its spot, read the synopsis, and wonder, Are you the one?
Doubt encourages me to put it back and try another one… or two… or six.
Finally, I’ll get so fed up with not reading that I’ll grab anything, only to realize I wanted to read the first book I looked at. Seems the saying, “Always go with your gut,” is onto something, huh?
Well, I got tired of always ending up in this position and decided it was time to try something different.
Back when I worked at Barnes & Noble, I initiated the “Blind Date With a Book” program. Mind you, I didn’t invent the concept, but I introduced it to Barnes & Noble’s stores. We initially started with used books, then expanded to include new books as well.
This idea stems from that, but wrapping all of my books and shuffling them around on my shelves felt like too much work. I keep my books in alphabetical order by last name, mixing fiction and nonfiction. The only books that are separate are the few writing craft books I have.
I needed a simpler option and quickly discovered one.
To begin, I went through my physical and digital shelves and typed all the titles into a Google Doc. Then, I printed the pages out, cut them up, folded them, and dropped them into a spare mason jar I had. If the book is in my Kindle library, I mentioned that on the slip of paper for reference. Everything else just has the name of the book—or series—and the author’s name.
The jar sits on my bookshelf, and once I finish the book I’m currently reading, I plan to shake it up, reach in, and pull out the slip of paper that holds my next read.
No matter what, I will read the book I’ve pulled and continue the pattern for as long as it takes to get through the entire jar.
My goal with this method is twofold:
I want to focus on reading the titles I have before buying new ones. I’ve been buying a lot of books lately and really need to go through the ones I have.
I want to eliminate decision fatigue, and this system will help me do so.
Now, you might ask, “But what if you’re not in the mood to read the book that you pick?”
Truth be told, I may never be in the mood to read half the books on my shelves. I’ve also never been the kind of reader who lets my mood dictate what I read. The only caveat is that if I know I’m going to travel, I make sure to have something on my Kindle that I haven’t read before, as it’s easier to travel with.
Other than that, I read spooky books in the middle of summer, feel-good contemporary stories in October, and nonfiction throughout the year. All I need is a book to hold my interest. It doesn’t matter what time of year I read it.
How will this work for a book series? To prepare for this, since I do own a few series—some of which I’ve started and haven’t finished yet—I simply wrote the name of the series, the author’s name, and the note “next book” on the slip of paper.
I want to avoid reading the series out of order, so this ensures I won’t do that. Once I finish the next book and there’s more, I’ll toss the paper back into the jar until I’ve finished the entire series.
For example, say I’m reading The Hunger Games trilogy. (Sidenote: I’ve read all of them; this is purely for an example.)
If I were to write each book individually and drop it in the jar, there’s a chance I could pull the third book before having read the first two. Having the paper simply say, “The Hunger Games Trilogy (next book) by Suzanne Collins,” I’ll know to pick up the next one. I’ll then throw the paper back into the jar and wait to read the next book until I pull it again.
Because I also want to continue to use Libby and support libraries, I’ve also added two slips of paper in there that say:
Libby (available Fiction)
Libby (available Nonfiction)
If I pull the fiction one, I’ll look to see what fiction titles are available to borrow and read one of those. The same rule applies to nonfiction. Once I’m done, I’ll toss that slip of paper back into the jar because I have a ton of books saved on my Libby app, and I’ll need it a few times.
I recognize there may be moments when I read a lot of the same genre in a row, but I’m a pretty eclectic reader and have a wide variety of genres on my shelves, so that shouldn’t happen often. And if it does, I’ll go with it.
I’m excited to try this method, and it’s easy to maintain because when I add new titles to my shelves, all I have to do is add the name to a slip of paper and toss it in the jar. The ultimate goal here is to get through everything on my shelves, particularly those books that have been sitting there for years, waiting to be read.
As I said earlier, I’m gonna do my best not to add too many new books to the mix until I’m at least halfway through the jar. But being an avid reader means new books are part of my daily diet, and it’s too hard for me to walk into a bookstore without walking out with something new.
I believe this experiment will introduce me to reads I’ve been itching to get to for a long time. I’m certain there will be titles I’ll start, decide aren’t for me, and not finish them, which is fine. I’m of the mind that there are too many good books out there for me to waste time on one I’m not enjoying. If a book doesn’t have me by page 75-100, I have no issue abandoning it for something better.
In the weeks to come, as I progress through this system, I’ll share updates on how it’s been going. I do genuinely feel like it’s going to be worth the time it took to type up all the titles because the books we love most tend to be the ones we least expect. And several books on my shelves could be that unexpected new favorite; I just haven’t given them a chance yet.
And, in the end, so long as I’m reading a good book, I’m happy.
How do you go about picking your next read? Are you a mood reader? Have you ever tried a Blind Date With a Book? Don’t forget to check out my PangoBooks shop. Who knows? You might find your next favorite read there.
I normally scroll through my Kobo and pick a read. I also tend to search for book lists on a topic or genre I'm in the mood for and try to choose a book I already own. I also keep a list of books that I've read reviews of, and I want to read soon. I like the mason jar idea, it eliminates all the decisions and encourages you to read what you own.