Blind Date With A Book encourages reading at the SLO Farmers' Market and beyond 

In the post-pandemic era, Sandra Hardridge is bringing people a new way to go on blind dates, minus the germs.

Blind Date With a Book is Hardridge's pet project that eventually turned into a full-blown business. Blind Date with a Book is exactly what it sounds like: books are wrapped in brown butcher paper, tied with twine, adorned with a red wax seal. The only thing that distinguishes one book from another is the four descriptive words written on the packaging.

"It's almost like going on a blind date in real life. You know a few things about that person before you meet them," Hardridge said. "So on your book, you only know a few things about it before you open it up to read it."

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• Photo Courtesy Of Trey Hardridge
• READING IS FUN Last year, Sandra Hardridge embarked on a journey to encourage others to enjoy reading as much as she does by founding Blind Date with a Bookk, selling wrapped books at the SLO farmers' market.

She started the business a year ago as a way to get people to be as passionate about reading as she is.

"And when I finish the books, they are still in really new condition, but I try to figure out what I can do with this book and then get someone else to love reading as much as I do," Hardridge said. "And so I started out just selling them on Facebook. But I didn't really like that, it just wasn't the right thing."

So one day, Hardridge decided to wrap up the books to make them a surprise to potential readers. Then, she took a set of wrapped books down to the Thursday night farmers' market in downtown SLO to see how many people would be interested.

"I just went ahead and was selling at farmers', and I sold out immediately. And people loved them and asked if I'd have more next week, so I just started bringing more and more," Hardridge said.

As more and more people started to visit Hardridge's booth on Thursday nights, the larger her business grew. She said she's now part of a wholesale website, selling up to a hundred books to coffee shops, hair salons, and 7-Elevens across the country.

"It never, never was a plan to make it like this. And I'm so excited about it. Because people are loving to read, and it's spreading to different cities ... and that's what makes me really happy," Hardridge said.

Her son now helps her manage her business, setting up shop at other local events around SLO County throughout the year, such as Morro Bay's Waterfront Market.

"I just thought I was going to do this as a little part-time thing just for fun. And it's grown into my full-time business now," Hardridge said. "I used to work, and I stopped working because it's just been so busy."

Such surprise outings with books have been a trend since as far back as at least 2013, according to trendhunter.com. Independent bookstores, libraries, individuals via Etsy, and even larger chains—including Barnes and Noble in SLO—have gotten in on the fun, selling wrapped books with minimal descriptions as clues.

Locally, Hardridge came up with her blind date idea independently and handpicks books ranging from her personal favorites to newer releases.

"I've been reading my whole life, so I know authors really well, so I know what kind of different genres people will like and what authors people will like," Hardridge said. "I just make sure the books are in really good condition, and my hope is always ... that they'll pass it on to somebody else after they read it."

It doesn't matter whether it's a hardcover or paperback, every book Hardridge sells is priced at $10 so anyone can buy a book without breaking the bank.

"It's not just about the money. It's about people liking to read and wanting to come back and get more books to send to people they know who would love the book," Hardridge said.

Because so many people who aren't from SLO purchase her books at the downtown farmers' market, Hardridge also launched a website so people can continue purchasing her books or join a subscription service for monthly surprises.

Visit blinddatewithbooks.com to find your next blind date.

Fast fact

• With the help of the San Luis Obispo County Department of Social Services, the SLO Food Bank will be helping those looking to sign up for California's food assistance program known as CalFresh. The first event will take place on Nov. 2 from noon to 4 p.m. at the SLO Public Library and at the Coast Unified School District Office. Additional dates can be found at slofoodbank.org/event/calfresh-application-assistance-sites. Δ

Reach Staff Writer Shwetha Sundarrajan at [email protected].