Blind Date with a Book proves popular at Barnardo’s in Grantham

A new book project aims to encourage people ‘not to judge a book by its cover’.

The Blind Date with a Book project has proved popular with customers at Barnardo’s in Grantham, since it launched at Christmas.

A book, which is covered in brown paper, is sold with a bookmark and either a sachet of hot chocolate or a face mask for £2. There is also a sticker with the genre on it.

Charlotte Lovely, who launched the project, said: “We started it just before Christmas and it went really well, so we decided to carry it on.

“I first saw this on TikTok. We get a lot of books, I’d say at least 500 a week.

“I thought it would be a really good idea to reduce the amount we get.

“Normally, we charge £1 a book but these are £2. So, we are making money for the charity, but also getting rid of more books.”

The books that are covered are a mix of genres, and are aimed at readers from older children up to adults.

Charlotte also hopes the project encourages more people to read.

She added: “The whole idea is to not judge a book by its cover.

“You tend to find that books with brighter colours tend to do better. I also hope this will get more people into reading.”