Other bookish fun

Book subscription boxes?

Emily Rose

Book Subscription

Hello world! Yes, yes I am considering starting a subscription to a book box. I have done my research as to the cost and contents of the major boxes and I’ve decided to outline them for you here, and also ask YOU which ones you prefer and why. I think I’ve already decided which one I want, but I can be swayed. The list below is by no means exhaustive; it just lists the ones I’ve considered. Here are my contenders:

OwlCrate (USA): Genre: YA; Price: $29.99 + shipping

This is probably the most popular box, so it has that going for it. They pick great new YA titles each month and the swag they include is pretty adorable. Strong contender.

FairyLoot (UK): Genre: YA; Price: £22.99 + shipping

This one is appealing because I love fairies and the theme of the box; however most UK boxes are out of my price range, unfortunately, due to the exchange rate and shipping.

Illumicrate (UK): Genre: YA; Price: £29.99 + shipping

I would choose this box in a hot second if it wasn’t a UK box. They have great titles and great swag. Maybe I should just move to the UK…I like that idea.

Book of the Month (USA): Genre: Adult Fiction; Price: $16.99 (free shipping!)

This one is interesting because you get to chose the title they send you from a choice of 5. All you get is the book, but you know you’re getting something you want. Also free shipping. This is a very attractive option.

Uppercase (USA): Genre: YA; Price: $17/$23 + shipping

Uppercase is cool because they let you pick from 2 plans: book only or book + swag. They are also a YA box that picks good titles and has great swag. They include a signed bookplate from the author. They also put sticky notes throughout the book to unlock content online, and that seems pretty neat.

Book Riot Quarterly (USA): Genre: YA or Adult Fiction; Price: $50.00 + shipping

This box is quarterly rather than monthly, and it includes multiple books as well as swag. You can choose either the YA or adult fiction option. I like the fact that is one is quarterly, so this is a very attractive option, because once a month seems like a lot.

Muse Monthly (USA): Genre: Adult Fiction; Price: $21.00 + shipping

This is a delightful box because it is for books and tea! They pair a book with a type of tea and send that along in a pretty box. Tempting…

Prudence and the Crow (UK): Genre: Your choice; Price: £15.00 + shipping

This is a super cool box because each box is unique – they send you used vintage books and you choose the genre! I love old vintage books, and this box is cheaper than the other UK boxes, so it could be an option.

And the winner is…

Uppercase! I think I’m going to start a subscription to Uppercase because I like their titles, the signed books, and the interactive reading experience they advertise. Also, I’m not sure why they seem to be slightly cheaper than the others. And let’s be real, price is the real decision-maker.

Let me know if you get Uppercase or any other book sub boxes and what you like/dislike about them!

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31 thoughts on “Book subscription boxes?”

  1. This is so awesome! I’ve been thinking about doing subscription boxes for a while, so seeing this kind of motivates me to be more active in figuring out if I want it or not. I think I’d personally like the book + swag option only because I think it’d be cool to experience the same type of thing with different people and try out the types of swag that are put in these boxes that I may not have experienced before.

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  2. I am so incredibly tempted by Illumicrate. I’ve always thought book subscription boxes sounded so cool, but they were mostly USA based and the price of shipping is heartbreaking to say the least! So I don’t even know what’s stopping me from subscribing to it at this point haha!

    I’d never heard of Prudence and the Crow! I love that they use vintage books, I’ll definitely be looking into that one.

    I’d be interested to see how you get on with Uppercase!

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  4. Great list! I’m so happy for you, hope you enjoy your subscription boxes. I have been wanting to also get subscription because all those goodies are just so tempting but I’m very poor at the moment and the shipping price to my place is not affordable (and ideal). Can’t wait to hear from you when you receive your first box!

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  5. I subscribe to Muse Monthly and have love love loved the tea I’ve gotten! I’ve only read one of the books so far (Sudden Death) and it was an interesting read, the other two look good as well I just haven’t gotten around to them yet. My to read pile has gotten a little out of control but I keep forgetting to stall the subscription. No regrets, the teas is tasty and my pile of books doubles as a bedside table 😉 Can’t wait to hear what you think of Uppercase!

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  6. This is so funny, I was just watching an unboxing video for a subscription box. It’s called My Book Box, have you heard of them? I think they might be new, not sure. You get two books for $39.95 (I think) and free shipping. They give you an option of 6 genres and you can choose two, then they send you one book from each genre (total of 2) and one other thing. Personally, I would choose OwlCrate because I’m all about the accessories they send. Uppercase is good too though their goodies aren’t as appealing to me as OwlCrate’s.
    However, because I’m too poor, I do a fake subscription box type thing with my friend lol

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  9. This is a great list! I hadn’t heard of Prudence and the Crow before, but it looks wonderful. I’d love to know how you find your first Uppercase box 🙂

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  11. I’m subscribed to three boxes right now (this will probably change soon) and I really enjoy all of them (ironically though, Uppercase isn’t one of them at the moment). One of them that you didn’t mentioned is called <a href="http://www.fantasyandscifibooks.com/"Fantasy and Sci-Fi, which is an awesome box, but limited to purely Sci-Fi and Fantasy books (or just fantasy if you so choose).

    I’m excited that you chose Uppercase though! It’s a really, really solid subscription box. You will not be disappointed, and I can’t wait to see your thoughts in your unboxing post!

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      1. Lol 😛 Yeah, I’ve heard of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy one, but their site wasn’t working for me when I was researching for this post. They seem like a really cool one, too! So many to choose from!

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      2. I know! It’s almost a good thing that some boxes do individual boxes. That way you can try them all out and see what fits your tastes the best. Though the costs are slowly killing me I think. 😛

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  12. I’m so late to this post :(! It’s pretty cool doing a roundup of them to decide. I saw some that I didn’t know about. I recently signed up for the Book of the Month box because they had a cool 50%-off deal and I never say no to book deals or coupons. I also like that they provide a selection and I get to choose or even skip the month because I’d rather get books that I want to read (even if they languish on my shelves for years before I do read them).
    I did the Book Riot YA Quarterly box before and I loved it. Sometimes you get up to 3 books and the swag is pretty cool too. If I was on time, I would have recommended that one.

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  13. Pingback: First unboxing: Uppercase June 2016! – Rose Read

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