How do you judge a book when you can’t see its cover?

Elizabeth’s Bookshop in Newtown are betting a few carefully chosen words will be enough to pick out the perfect Valntines Day gift.

The King St store started wrapping staff-selected books in brown paper, handwriting a few key words on the front and calling them Blind Date Books last April.

Customers can buy the book either for themselves or as a present and store manager Melanie Prosser said it encouraged people to move outside their literary comfort zone.

“People have such a hard time choosing what to read and you do tend to judge a book on what you see, so this takes all the choice out of it,” she said.

media_camera Customer Jessica Baker thinks Blind Date Books from Elizabeth’s in Newtown would be a great Valentines Day gift.

“You get a few words to base your decision on and it gives you a chance to try something new instead of going for what you know.”

Ms Prosser said the store had a rush on the Blind Date Books just before Christmas and expects Valentines Day to be much the same, for one particularly good reason.

“It’s great as a gift because it takes away all the blame,” she said. “You can say ‘I got you this and if you don’t like it, it’s not my fault.’”

media_camera Can you guess what either of these books might be?

Customer Jessica Baker, visiting Sydney from Perth, said she would be delighted to receive one of the books for Valentines Day — or at any time of year — and would consider buying them as a gift for someone else.

“I think it’s a good idea, especially for those people you’re not sure what to get for,” she said.

“If you know they’re into reading then it’s great because it saves you having to pick things for them. It’s not something I’ve seen before.”

Ms Prosser said there were occasions where staff could guess the books from the clues and added that she had broadened her own tastes with Blind Date Books.

Elizabeth’s allows customers to return the books within seven days if they have already read them.

BLIND DATE BOOKS

■ Buy a book based on the description written by staff on a plain brown paper cover

■ Books are usually priced between $7 and $10 and are selected by staff

■ Elizabeth’s bookstore is at 257 King St, Newtown