{"id":2248,"date":"2020-05-05T22:55:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T22:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2020-12-07T22:14:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T22:14:08","slug":"blind-dates-with-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/blind-dates-with-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Blind Dates With Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BookWho doesn’t want to be set up with an enchanting stranger — particularly one you can simply put down on the shelf if you don’t find a spark?\u00a0 In the spirit of a charming book marketing gimmick<\/a>, we’ve taken the liberty of writing up “dating profiles” for a few books we enjoy, both classic and contemporary.\u00a0 If you’re interested, click on the link to meet your “date” and prepare to be swept off your feet.\u00a0 Links are provided to Internet Archive and to Overdrive (the latter requires a participating public library).<\/p>\n

Bonus points if you can guess the titles from the descriptions!<\/p>\n

Contestant #1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Long walks on the beach, long walks in the garden\u2026 long walks, really.\u00a0 If you want a companion who\u2019s earnest, thoughtful, and sensitive (and you can live with a few hang-ups), crack open the first volume of this epic novel and prepare to lose track of time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison: Karl Ove Knausgaard before it was cool<\/span><\/p>\n

Available: Internet Archive<\/a>, Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

Contestant #2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Thrillers, scammers, and grifters!\u00a0 If you\u2019re intrigued by and suspicious of people who seem a little too smooth, this one\u2019s for you — and it\u2019s got interesting thoughts about gender, class, imitation, and desire lurking behind its compulsively readable plot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison: <\/span>The Great Gatsby<\/span><\/i> as a Lifetime Original Movie<\/span><\/p>\n

Available: Internet Archive<\/a> (as trilogy), Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

Contestant #3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Gender fluidity, and science fiction that\u2019s more interested in different possibilities for humanity than in futuristic gadgets.\u00a0 Almost more \u201canthropology fiction\u201d than science fiction, really; it\u2019s a guided tour of an alternative world that makes us think about our own in a new light.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison: Isaac Asimov with a better ear for dialogue (no offense, Asimov fans)<\/span><\/p>\n

Available: Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

Contestant #4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Sad songs, childhood memories, and quiet melancholy.\u00a0 This strange coming-of-age story ruminates on love and loss in understated, wistful prose, creating a feeling that lingers long after the final page.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think: <\/span>The Fault in Our Stars<\/span><\/i> as written by Franz Kafka<\/span><\/p>\n

Available: Internet Archive<\/a>, Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

Contestant #5<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Poker, beef jerky, and death, as the subtitle puts it — or someone who can make you laugh and think at the same time.\u00a0 This novelist\u2019s witty nonfiction account of his participation at a professional poker tournament is a perfect virtual road trip: time flies and you won\u2019t want it to end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison: A too-cool-for-school David Foster Wallace<\/span><\/p>\n

Available: Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

Contestant #6<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick me if you like: Tortured antiheroes with mysterious pasts, love triangles, and psychological drama!\u00a0 If you feel drawn to gloomy mansions and characters described as “brooding,” pick up this classic that reads like a thriller.<\/p>\n

Comparison: Jane Austen by way of Alfred Hitchcock<\/p>\n

Available: Internet Archive<\/a>, Overdrive<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"Tag<\/a><\/h5>\n

See the full list of online resources<\/a>, such as eBooks, audiobooks, videos, and newspapers.<\/p>\n

<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who doesn’t want to be set up with an enchanting stranger — particularly one you can simply put down on the shelf if you don’t find a spark?\u00a0 In the … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":449,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,32,34,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cookreads","category-rugrat","category-staff-picks","category-stressbusters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBlind Dates With Books - Books We Read<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/blind-dates-with-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blind Dates With Books - Books We Read\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who doesn’t want to be set up with an enchanting stranger — particularly one you can simply put down on the shelf if you don’t find a spark?\u00a0 In the … Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/blind-dates-with-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Books We Read\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-05T22:55:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-07T22:14:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/248\/2020\/05\/BlidDate-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nicholas Allred\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nicholas Allred\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/blind-dates-with-books\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/blind-dates-with-books\/\",\"name\":\"Blind Dates With Books - 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