Reading ‘Blind’

I have been a voracious reader all my life. At any one time I may be in the middle of 4-6 books at once, across a wide range of genre (all fiction, though). For me, reading has moved beyond purely for enjoyment. It has become an important aspect of my healthcare as well. A mental health break as well as actually a part of my chronic pain management. As such, I am always watching for interesting new authors/books to read.

Recently I found a list, made by accomplished authors, of “The 100 greatest fantasy novels”. Many of the list’s authors were familiar, and I had already read several of them, but the rest were and are completely new to me. When it came time to start working my way through the list, though, I decided to add an additional spice to things. I have been reading them completely blind. I don’t read summaries, cover flaps, etc., so I quite literally have no idea what the book will be about. Normally I might not have the confidence to try this, but since they were recommended by authors that I know and respect, I trust enough to try it out. So far I have enjoyed all of the new ones I have read (I am on something like number 26 out of 100), and discovered some new favorite authors.

Has anyone else tried reading blind? It really adds something extra special.