Buying books is becoming much more challenging than to go to a bookstore and browse the shelves looking for your to-read list of authors and titles. Germany, not a shopping-friendly country, if compared to North America or the Middle East, seems to be less inhibited when it comes to shopping for books. No need to hurry up to the next bookstore dreaming about some amazing offers of 'pay for one and get one for free', or at least at 'half-price'.
Still, some bookstores are becoming creative, such as Thalia.de, one of the biggest retailers of books in Germany, with big 2-story shops in the most important cities. Its promotion is called: 'Blind Date with a Book'. The buyer accepts to buy a book without knowing what exactly he or she is buying. All you are offered is a short, hand-written description of the genre and eventually the ISBN. Thus, if you really burn of curiosity to know what book is in the paper bag, you can do a speedy Internet search, but I still believe in bookish surprises and whatever the temptation will not give up to the lures of certainty. The prices are between 10 and 15 Euro. The target of the books are adults and young curious readers.
What do you think? Would you buy a book without not even knowing its cover?
Photo made at the Thalia.de in Augsburg, Germany
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