Fresno State students had a “blind date” with a book on Wednesday in which they were able to pick a mystery book, make friendship bracelets and design their own bookmarks.

Spotlight Events handed out 37 random books and 40 tote bags to students as part of their “Blind Date with a Book” event.

The event began at 3 p.m., but students lined up as early as 2:15 p.m. with the anticipation of receiving a free book.

“I’ve gotten into reading very recently and just seeing this posted on Spotlight Events, I thought ‘This would be a good opportunity to see what blind dating with books is like,’ because I’ve seen it all around and I think it’ll help me explore a little bit more on different genres,” said Noreen Lopez, a Fresno State pre-health nursing major.

Each book was wrapped in brown paper and labeled with the book’s genre, including three to four bullet points of description and the tropes that were in the story. The label also displayed whether the book was a standalone or part of a series.

“We have all of the different tropes that are in it [the book], like grumpy times sunshine, small town romance, book one of eight,” said Bethanie Braun, Spotlight Events committee member.

The event also offered free refreshments such as energy drinks, soft drinks and water.

Following the refreshments table, students were able to pick out their mystery book and then head over to the bracelet and bookmark making station.

Readers throughout campus showed up to the Resnick Student Union Event Plaza to find their next read and some were excited to pick out their first blind book.

“When I saw that they were doing a blind book, I’ve always wanted to get one at Barnes and Noble, but never had the opportunity, so I thought this was a pretty good opportunity to come out and get a free blind book,” said Miranda Gonzales, a Fresno State marketing major.

Book lovers had the opportunity to trade their books with each other after opening them.

Annotation materials, including colorful sticky tabs, were also provided for bookworms who enjoy marking up their books.

“This event was really just created to embrace book lovers and to bring out people that love to read and just create a sense of community,” Braun said.

Spotlight Events’ next event will be “Nostalgia Night” on April 24 from 7-9 p.m. in RSU Room 207.

“We are going to be making plastic string lanyards, beaded bracelets and drawing on scratch paper,” according to Spotlight Events’ Instagram. “We will have an ‘about me’ icebreaker, coloring pages, a polaroid station and a movie playing in the background.”

Correction: The date for the upcoming “Nostalgia Night” event was incorrect due to an inaccuracy on social media, but has now been corrected.