A Guide to Book Subscription Boxes

I've never purchased a bookish subscription box, because frankly, there are just so many on the market, and the idea of researching them all scared me slightly. They are all different prices and have different items and aghhhhh how do I choose?

So, I've decided to make a blog post comparing 10 of the most popular boxes so that y'all have somewhere to go to see all the features of the various boxes.All pictures do not belong to me, they're from each box's website.

First, here's a table of all the various boxes and then I'll describe each of them. Enjoy!

 

 

  

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• Signed bookplate (or book is signed by the author)
• 1-2 bookish items
• Handwritten, personalised note

Details

• Monthly
• Ships to US, Puerto Rico and Canada
• $23/month
• Shipping: $6.50 (US) or $22.75 (Canada)
• Box without exclusive bookish items also available, costs $13.99 + shipping

 

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• Bookish keepsakes from small businesses
• Exclusive items from authors and publishers
• A handwritten letter from the author, signed bookplates as much as possible
• Collectable flyer

Details

• Monthly
• Ships Woldwide
• $29.99/month, slightly cheaper if you purchase several months at once.
• Shipping: $6.99 (US), $10.59 (Canada) or $19.99 (Worldwide)

 

  

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• Unique buddy reading hashtag to link you up with another reader
• 5-6 bookish items related to the theme of the month
• Fairyscoop, a mini newsletter
• A letter and signed bookplate from the author, wherever available.
• Promotional items for other YA books
• Packing list with artwork

Details

• Monthly
• Ships Worldwide
• £26/month, slightly cheaper if you buy a 6 or 12 month subscription
• Shipping variable depending on country e.g. UK - £3.95, US - $18.30

  

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• 4+ bookish items
• Handwritten, personalised note

Details

•  Monthly
• Ships Worldwide
• $29.99/month
• Shipping: variable dependant on country

  

  

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• 2-4 bookish items

Details

• Monhtly
• Ships Internationally
• $29.99/month, slightly cheaper if you buy a 6 or 12 month subscription
• Shipping: variable, dependent on country

  

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• 3-6 bookish items
• Branded bookmark

Details

• Monthly
• Ships Worldwide
• $39.99/month, slightly cheaper if purchased in 6 or 12 month subscriptions
• Shipping: $9.99 (AUS&NZ) or $22.99 (Worldwide)

 

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover YA book
• Variable number of bookish items

Details

• Monthly
• Ships Worldwide
• £29.99
• Shipping: £4.99 to £13.99 depending on location

 

Each box contains:

• 1 brand new, hardcover, Sci-fi/Fantasy YA book
• 3+ bookish items

Details

• Monthly
• Ships Worldwide
• $29.99/month, slighly cheaper with 3 month or 6 plans
• Shipping: $7.99 (US), $14.99 (CAN) or $22.99 (Worldwide)

 

Each box contains:

• 1 new hardcover book, filled with handwritten author notes and exclusive content
• 2 books chosen by the author of the box

Details

• Quarterly
• Ships Internationally
• $49 quarterly
• Shipping: Variable based on location

 

• Signed, first edition of a brand new, hardcover YA book
• Selection of YA bookish items

Details

• Run by The Strand Bookstore
• Quarterly
• Ships Worldwide
• $30 quarterly
• Shipping: $3.99 (US), $9.99 (Canada) or $17.99 (International)

I hope this was helpful,guys! Have any of you ever tried a bookish box? What did you think of it? If you haven't, which one do you think looks best? I'd love to know.

Love,

Waiting on Wednesday #7 - Kissing Max Holden by Katy Upperman

When I first saw this book, my first thought was: "What a cute cover, I hope the story is just as cute!". From what I've read from trusted reviewers and book blogging friends, this book is just as cute as I've been hoping for, but also has raw and emotional moments, i.e. my favourite type of contemparary romance. Plus, I've heard that this book includes lots of amazing baking treats (I'm getting serious Lara Jean vibes here) and it's been blurbed by Erin Bowman, who has amazing book taste. She said: "Full of wit, humor, and spine-tingling smooches, Kissing Max Holden combines the classic themes of contemporary romance with riveting family drama. … I literally could not put this book down and would buy a physical copy for my shelf in a heartbeat. I can't wait to read what Katy writes next." Seriously, how good does that sound!?

I'm hoping that this is going to be a wondeful summer read, perfect for reading on my holidays.

Kissing Max Holden was a terrible idea...

After his father has a life-altering stroke, Max Holden isn't himself. As his long-time friend, Jillian Eldridge only wants to help him, but she doesn't know how. When Max climbs through her window one night, Jill knows that she shouldn't let him kiss her. But she can't resist, and when they're caught in the act by her dad, Jill swears it'll never happen again. Because kissing Max Holden is a terrible idea.

With a new baby sibling on the way, her parents fighting all the time, and her dream of culinary school up in the air, Jill starts spending more and more time with Max. And even though her father disapproves and Max still has a girlfriend, not kissing Max is easier said than done. Will Jill follow her heart and allow their friendship to blossom into something more, or will she listen to her head and stop kissing Max Holden once and for all?

Hardcover, 304 pages

Expected publication: August 1st 2017 by Swoon Reads

Doesn't it sound SO CUTE?

  Are you guys excited for this one too? Let me know, I'd love to chat!

Love,

 

My Bookish Pet Peeves - Cover Changes, Stickers and Movie Covers

Generally, I'm a pretty tolerant person, but sometimes, there are bookish things that drive me CRAZY! For a bit of fun, I decided to list these things which drive me mad. Maybe they'll change, maybe they won't, but I know I can't be the only person that gets annoyed by these things <3 
P.S. I've found some wonderful posts on this topic by lovely bloggers, so all credit goes to them for coming up with this topic before me. Here's some links: here and here and here and here.

 

There are a few exceptions, but generally cover changes in YA series are THE WORST. It's even worse if the covers change mide series, so that the books DON'T EVEN MATCH. The worst offender for this is probably The Diviners series by Libba Bray. The first book had the most incredible cover, with a beautiful under-cover gold design of roses and lines (ooh, ahh). But then, typically, they changed it for the second book. At least the cover was still pretty, but it had none of the beauty of the first book. Then, imagine my horror when I found that they've changed the covers again (WHY!?) for the third book! *cries* 

 Other nightmare-ish cover changes include The Winner's series by Marie Rutkowski (but at least the publishers listened in this case and ended up releasing the last book with the beautiful original cover and the Across the Universe series by Beth Revis. The inital covers for this series were so beautiful, so WHY OH WHY did they feel the need to change them mid-series?!

 

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, of course. Namely, the Anna and the French Kiss series and the Shatter me series. Seriously, both of those books badly needed a cover change and they ended up with beautiful covers. 

 

Isn't it THE MOST ANNOYING THING when you get those oddly sized books that just don't fit anywhere on your shelves? One of the worst offenders are international editions, which I tend to buy if I can't get the US edition (I'll explain this in the next section). Like, why can't they just have a default size for books - paperback size, hardcover size and large hardcover size. Also, WHY DO MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS EXIST? I don't think I know a single person who likes them, and they're just so little and not floppy and ughhhhhhhh.....

A book series that is really bad for this is the Poison Study series by Maria V Snyder. Not only is it a nightmare to get similar covers since some of them are out of print, the last three books in the series are a completely different size from the first three!

 

 This one I'm pretty sure I'm alone in. But....I kind of hate the UK/AUS book format.... The covers are always horrible, but worst of all, they come in this petite size which is completely rigid and has no floppiness to it, so it's impossible to read without breaking the spine. I actually kind of hate them. There are only three UK editions I like equally to the US editions - Caraval by Stephanie Garber, Nevernight by Jay Kristoff and Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Even so, I bought the US edition of all three. And I've never found a UK paperback which I've liked. This is kind of a problem for me becuase I live in the UK, so US editions are super rare and it's a nightmare to get ahold of them. I've never met any other bookworms who feel this way, so.... If you love UK covers, I am so jealous of you, I wish I did! <3

 

Seeing a person's face on a YA book is an automatic NO for me. It looks so cheesy and generally the models are making dramatic faces which totally ruins the cover. This was a huge thing a few years ago, but thankfully seems to be fading out now. I'm Team "No Faces on Covers" XD 

 

Movies covers are just the worst. I think that the fact that I hate movie covers so much is due to my love of simple covers, usually with typography. Movie covers are completely the opposite, usually cluttered and covered in faces (uh-oh). I would never buy a movie cover, no matter how much I loved the book. This might also be because I think it's important that people can imagine the characters however they like, so that they can relate to them more. Here are some of my most hated movie covers:

 

This one annoys me so much, I can't really say much about it without getting mad. One of my least favourite book tropes is when A main characters has a mental illness or disability, which upon the appearance of the love interest, disappears. Yes, having a supportive partner can mean the world in coping with your difficulties, but your struggles are yours alone and cannot be "fixed" by someone else. I particularly hate when characters with anxiety disorders suddenly become outgoing and not anxious at all after falling in love. THAT'S NOT HOW ANXIETY WORKS.

 

 I work full-time as a bookseller every year and it pains me to sticker up books. I know when I find a book I want in a bookstore and see that pesky sticker on it, my heart sinks a little. I know they're supposed to be "fully removable" and "non-marking", but the truth is, sometimes they're not. I have a copy of Jenny Han's The Summer I Turn Pretty which will be forever marked with a sticky mess in the upper right hand corner where I tried to unsuccesfully remove a half price sticker. WHY? WHYYYYYY????

Do you guys have any weird bookish pet peeves? Do you agree with any of mine? Let me know.

Love,