Until this year I’d never experienced any of the subscription packages run by publishers or book shops. But somehow in 2018 I’ve ended up as a customer for three of these with mixed experiences.
The Random Book Club
At the end of last year a blogger (wish I could remember who you are) talked about a second hand book shop in Scotland that had decided to start a subscription service as a new way of generating much needed income. It was called The Random Book Club and promised a hand-picked book each month in return for £59.
Here’s how they described the service
Sign up and we’ll send you a hand-picked book once a month from our shop, the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland. And with an element of surprise. You won’t have any idea what it’s going to be until it arrives.
Of the twelve books, roughly half will be fiction, half non-fiction. Every book you receive will be hand-picked from our shop; there will be no Book Club, Readers Union or Reader’s Digest reprints and all books will be in good condition. And you get to keep the books.
The serendipity aspect was what really appealed to me.
I wish I could say this has been worth doing but sadly it’s not the case. The books I’ve received haven’t really been of interest. The first was a biography of Richard Burton that I’d already read. Then came a little dictionary of the origin of words in the English language. I can’t remember the ones in the middle but the most recent was about the migration West in the United States. All of them have gone unread to the charity shop. Not one has been fiction so, since I have a few months left to go, I’ve asked if the remaining books can be fiction.
Asymptote Book Club
“The best of
global literature
delivered to you
monthly”
I think it was Marina Sofia at Finding Time to Write that first put me on to the Asymptote Book Club. They promised to give me “fiction which will inspire and challenge” via “exciting new works by emerging voices and beloved authors … from all over the globe” My own attempts to read from a broader range of countries had stalled a little so this seemed like the perfect way to get back on track.
Ok full disclosure here.
I’ve managed to read only one of the books they’ve sent so far.
We’ve had, for example, Aranyak, which is from a Bengali author and I Didn’t Talk by the Brazilian author Beatriz Bracher. In between we’ve been taken to to a small village in northern Norway during an Arctic winter, and a Naples apartment filled with haunting memories of the past.
There are different packages available: a three months’ subscription for people who just want a taste of what’s on offer before, possibly, committing fully. I went for the year thinking I needed that time to fully appreciate whether this is for me. At the moment, even though I haven’t actually read the books, I’m thinking I’ll continue into next year.
Bookishly
My subscription to Bookishly came as a birthday gift from my sister. This is a company that started up in 2009 under a different name and sells various book-related items like prints and stationery. They have different book subscription packages. The one I have is their Tea and Book Club package where each month I receive a little bundle containing some stationery, a speciality tea, a bookmark and a vintage book (ie used).
The package is beautifully packed. I like the way they wrap the book separately so you get an additional surprise. This is the most recent delivery: two sheets of very high quality wrapping paper (almost too nice to use!); a bookmark, 4 tea bags containing Egyptian Camomile tea.
Inside the package is a Penguin Edition of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. I’ve read the book three times already but still like the idea of having a Penguin edition. Last month’s package was also a Penguin edition – of The Fall by Albert Camus, which is one I’ve not read.
Overall I’ve enjoyed getting these little surprises through the letterbox though my gift subscription is now at an end. I’m unlikely to continue, not because I don’t rate the service, but there are only so many books I can read in one year and I don’t want my reading choices too heavily dictated by what other people select on my behalf.
And my overall verdict on book subscriptions?
A mixed reaction really.
On the positive side, there’s an element of fun in receiving books that you haven’t personally selected.
The downside is that you could end up with a lot of books which are not to your taste and which you would never have selected for yourself. No matter how good the price of the package sounds, if you end up giving away half of them then it’s money wasted that you could have spent on books you really do want. I may buy another subscription at some point in the future but I’ll know then to be a lot more particular in choosing the service.
What’s been your experience with subscription services? Have you actually read the books you received? Any companies or service providers you would recommend particularly?