First you look at the title, then the cover art, then maybe the inside cover. And if you’re interested, you might skim through it. If it sounds good, you’ll take it home.
When choosing a book, most people never just choose the first book they pick up without even glancing at it — but what if you can’t judge the book by its cover?
Last month, librarian Ashlynn Lyons implemented an idea that does just that. Students pick up a book and check it out, but they have no idea what book they got. So students know what they’re reading, Mrs. Lyons adds little descriptions on the brown paper wrapping the books are wrapped in.
“Students can come in and grab a book; I have written the numbers on the outside of the wrapping, so I can easily check them out,” Mrs. Lyons said. “You won’t know what the book is until you get to your classroom, but I put small descriptions on each one so you can at least see if you’re interested in them or not.”
Many people choose not to read books due to the overwhelming appreciation and audience for love stories. It may be too much for some, or too cheesy, but Mrs. Lyons confirms that it isn’t just romance on the shelves. Big or small, all books are placed, and Mrs. Lyons chooses what she believes people will like most.
“They’re not all love-centered books, a lot of people have been asking me,” Mrs. Lyons said. “I put out a bunch of books that I know people would be interested in, and then some small ones, because I know some people don’t like bigger books.”
Students aren’t the only ones who get to participate; teachers participate in the half-mystery pick as well, and Jennifer Breedlove decided to try it out of curiosity. After skimming through descriptions, she ended up reading ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.’
“I love a good mystery,” Mrs. Breedlove said. “I like to try to figure out what the book is before they tell me. I started ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’, which is about a student that sets out to prove that what the town believes happened did not happen,” Mrs. Breedlove said. “She does all of this under the illusion of her senior project. I found out that it was a series and bought the series for my personal collection so that I could read the whole set.”
Some people, including sophomore Keyari Jackson, appreciated the gesture of consideration that the idea provided. Once she checked out her new book, it was like a match made in a library the more she read.
“I checked out a book because I wanted to show support. It was just really sweet and nice for Mrs. Lyons to think of something for us,” Keyari said. “I haven’t really finished the book I’m reading, but so far, it’s very good. It’s about this girl who is figuring out who she is, and the more I read, the better it gets.”