On April 21, in the Demuzio Campus Center, Lethologica presented its second ‘Blind Date With A Book’ fundraiser of the year. Lethologica is a student club for individuals who share a passion for creative writing and storytelling.
The premise of the fundraiser was to sell books to individuals without them knowing exactly what book they were purchasing. All of the books for sale were wrapped in paper and contained a short written description of the specific genre to which each book belonged. Individuals could then find a genre of interest and purchase a mystery book to reveal its cover. The books were priced at $5 each, four for $15 or six for $20. For purchases of more than six, the buyer could receive an even greater bargain.
President of the Lethologica Club and senior creative writing and psychology major Katherine Payne, stated that the idea for the fundraiser “has become more popular in local bookstores … And I just thought it would be a really great idea for a fundraiser, for our club”. Payne reported that this was the fourth time Lethologica has hosted a ‘Blind Date With A Book’ fundraiser in the last two years. With the great amount of success that prior fundraisers yielded, the club has continued to utilize the idea. She also commented that, “All of our proceeds go to local writers [and] to the World Literacy Foundation”.
Secretary of Lethologica and junior creative writing major Kaja Carter reported that all of the books for the fundraisers were donated. She stated that, in the past, Lethologica has received books from Catholic Charities as well as professors and that “a lot of the books this year came from members of Lethologica”. She also added that, “Because of the card reader we’ve definitely got a lot more [student] interest. We’ve made several sales”. Carter reported that the Blackburn Business Office loaned the card reader to Lethologica to enable purchases with a debit or credit card.
Blackburn Alumna Elizabeth Quick, who graduated in 2016, was among many of the satisfied customers that purchased books from the fundraiser. Quick commented that, “I like it. I came back especially for it because I heard about it on Facebook”.