Book Riot and Their Quarterly Co. Surprise Box...

There's kind of a fun program from a company called Quarterly Co. that connects you with "people you find interesting". How they connect you is by having you subscribe to a particular person or "curator" that shares your interest and that person or "curator" sends you a surprise package in the mail very 3 months…

I love surprises, so I couldn't resist giving this subscription thing a try. Book Riot,who has a great website with all sorts of bookish news and has contributors who write about bookish things, was the "curator" I connected to, and last week their surprise package came in the mail…

So, now the question… Was it worth it? First, you need to know that there is a cost to subscribing. AND, you can either subscribe to get the shipments every quarter OR you can just try one shipment. Book Riot's subscription was $50 with free shipping if you subscribed, and $50 plus shipping if you wanted to just try one shipment. Even though I though it was a bit pricey, I couldn't resist. Let's see what's in the box…

Upon opening the box, there was a note from Book Riot about what they packed in the box and how they chose what they did…

Next, I found a really neat poster they included from Melville House, entitled "Read Every Where" and the background is a photo of people in old time book mobile. I like the photo, the poster is 11 x 17 on heavy paper. Unfortunately to get it in the box they had to fold it up a few times, so there are heavy creases, but that's ok with me.

Next, I found a neat little pile of books: Judging a Book by Its Lover by Lauren Leto, Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley, and a galley of The Vacationers by Emma Straub. The Vacationers galley was a bonus advanced copy that Book Riot explains in their letter that randomly selected subscribers would receive. Actually there were 4 other galleys that could have been in my box, including Gemini by Carol Cassella (on my wish list). Here's what the books  included are about…

Judging a Book by Its Lover by Lauren Leto… Want to impress the hot stranger at the bar who asks for your take on Infinite Jest? Dying to shut up the blowhard in front of you who’s pontificating on Cormac McCarthy’s “recurring road narratives”? Having difficulty keeping Francine Prose and Annie Proulx straight? For all those overwhelmed readers who need to get a firm grip on the relentless onslaught of must-read books to stay on top of the inevitable conversations that swirl around them, Lauren Leto’s Judging a Book by Its Lover is manna from literary heaven! A hilarious send-up of—and inspired homage to—the passionate and peculiar world of book culture, this guide to literary debate leaves no reader or author unscathed, at once adoring and skewering everyone from Jonathan Franzen to Ayn Rand to Dostoyevsky and the people who read them.

This looks to be a fun read. It's basically Lauren's take on books, readers and writing. My kind of book, gets a thumbs up from "the box".

Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley… Parnassus on Wheels is the story of Roger Mifflin, a sprite like figure who moves through the New England countryside with his traveling book wagon. His story shows how book selling can be one of the world's highest callings, spreading enlightenment with a dose of delight.

Originally written in 1917, and the prequel to Chistopher Morley's Haunted Bookshop, Parnassus on Wheels was reprinted by Melville House Publishing as part of their Art of the Novella Series. The book is a cute little novella. I love the actual physical printing of the book, which is paperback, with a nice cover that also includes a front and back flap integrated into the cover. I look forward to reading this "bookish" story too! Another thumbs up from "the box".

The Vacationers by Emma Straub… For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and nnew humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.

This was a bonus book thrown in randomly to subscribers. My initial thoughts upon leafing through the book is that it really isn't really my cup of tea. The writing didn't grab me, and the story isn't something I would normally pick out. But that's not the fault of whoever put "the box" together, how can you match every book to every subscriber. A for effort, and it's always nice to receive a galley! (still wish it was the book Gemini by Carol Cassella)

My Thoughts on "The Books"… I love the selection of the two books that are actually part of "the box". They're cool because they are about books- Judging a Book by Its Lover is all about books and Parnassus on Wheels is a story taking place around books.

Now onto the other goodies… which include a cool ceramic mug, beautiful brass book darts, a cool kitchen magnet, and a USB drive from Short Story Thursdays. Here's the lowdown on the goodies...

The Mug… I LOVE the mug! It's a good hefty mug, black on the outside and has printed in bright colors names of Banned Books! On the front of the mug there is also the word "Banned" embossed.

The Brass Book Darts… Love them. Something I would probably not buy on my own, but would appreciate as a special gift from someone. They are small and fit delicately on the top of the page you want to keep bookmarked.

The Kitchen Magnet… It says YAY! BOOKS! and went right on the refrigerator. It's not ceramic, just basically a thick piece of magnetic "paper" like you'd get in an office supply to make magnet business cards, and on top of that is glued a glossy piece of paper with the YAY! BOOKS! printed on it. Cute throw in.

The USB Drive from Short Story Thursdays… This USB drive is basically a promo for Short Story Thursdays.  The USB drive contains a video introduction to Short Story Thursdays and the author/creator Jacob Tomsky, 2 videos of Jacob reading a short story and 2 pdf's of different short stories. I thought it was clever to present the material on a USB drive, but it made me feel a little like it was advertising as apposed to a bookish gift. BTW, What is Short Story Thursdays? It's "a weekly, email-based, governmentally recognized not-for-profit short story organization"  and it's "designed to inject literature into your life on a weekly basis in a way that’s never been done before." You can find out more about Short Story Thursdays on Jacob's Website.

So there you have it, the contents of my Quarterly Co. Book Riot Box…

What do I think on the whole? Well, it was fun getting it in the mail, and for the most part I liked everything in the box. Was it worth the money? The actual value of the box is not suppose to be the actual contents. It's suppose to factor in "the experience" with connecting to the person sending it. Here's my estimate of the physical retail value… Books, $26; Mug, $13; Book Darts, $8, Magnet, $3, USB Drive, $0… for a grand total of $50. Of course that's not including shipping costs, and this box was pretty heavy, and that's an estimate of retail, not what someone in the business would pay. But all in all it just didn't feel like $50 worth of bookishness. What do you think? Would you sign up based on this box? Good value? Fun factor increases the value? Let me know what you think. I'm not canceling the subscription yet, I still like surprises, but wondering if I could spend that $50 better.

The Sunday Salon and Feeding Your Soul with a Good Book

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! Yes, it's that day of the week we put aside  a little of our time to talk books… So, grab a cup of joe, find a comfy chair and relax.

My reading week had been engrossed in a book I talked about in last week's Sunday Salon - All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which takes place during WWII about a blind girl who is raised by her father in Paris and a German orphan boy who grows up to be part of the Nazi intelligence. Their two stories merge when the girl and her father flee to the port city of Saint Malo, when Paris becomes part of the German occupation, and the German boy, now a man, lands in Saint Malo. The writing is wonderful, the story is so interesting and I cannot put it down. More on that after I finish it, but I think it's going to be one of those great stories that will stay with me for a while.

There are a few books that hit my radar when I did manage to poke my head out of the pages of that book…

Our Happy Time by Gong Ji-young… "Already a wildly popular bestseller in South Korea, this gripping and passionate debut novel is a death row love story of crime, punishment, and forgiveness"

Yu-Jung, beautiful, wealthy, and bright, is lying in her hospital bed, recovering from her third suicide attempt, when she receives a life-changing visit. Her no-nonsense aunt, a nun, appears by her side and suggests Yu-Jung accompany her on a charitable visit to death row. At her lowest ebb, Yu-Jung is resistant. But something compels her to go to the prison. There she meets Yun-Soo, a convicted murderer who will soon be put to death. Though she is repulsed by his crimes, something about the depth of his suffering strikes a chord in her. Shaken by their encounter, she returns to visit him the next week. And the next… Through their weekly, hour-long meetings, Yu-Jung and Yun-Soo slowly reveal to each other the dark secrets of their pasts and the hidden traumas that have shaped their lives. In doing so they form a deep, unbreakable bond, helping one another overcome their demons. But Yun-Soo’s hands are always in cuffs, the prison officers are always in the background, and they can never lose sight of the fact that their happy time together is tragically brief.

This book is already a smash hit in South Korea and has gotten rave reviews. In fact, Gong Ji-young is a best selling author in South Korea and this is her first book translated into English. I have a eGalley on my Nook and can't wait to start reading to see if it's going to live up to all the hype. I did take a peek at some of the first few chapters and I loved the intro…

"I am going to tell you a story. It is a story of murder. It is a story of a family that was only capable of destruction, where screaming and yelling and whippings and chaos and curses were their daily bread…"

I'll be sinking my teeth into this book next, so stay tuned for my review!

The Moon Sisters by Therese Walsh… After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz take steps to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia—who can see sounds, taste words, and smell sights—is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to lay her spirit properly to rest. Already resentful of Olivia’s foolish quest and her family’s insistence upon her involvement, Jazz is further aggravated when they run into trouble along the way and Olivia latches to a worldly train-hopper who warns he shouldn’t be trusted. As they near their destination, the tension builds between the two sisters, each hiding something from the other, until they are finally forced to face everything between them and decide what is really important.

This is touted as a coming of age novel. I like the idea of the sisters going on this adventure together, and look forward to how the story wraps itself around these two.

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman… Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister impresario behind The Museum of Extraordinary Things, a Coney Island boardwalk freak show that thrills the masses. An exceptional swimmer, Coralie appears as the Mermaid in her father’s “museum,” alongside performers like the Wolfman, the Butterfly Girl, and a one-hundred-year-old turtle. One night Coralie stumbles upon a striking young man taking pictures of moonlit trees in the woods off the Hudson River. The dashing photographer is Eddie Cohen, a Russian immigrant who has run away from his father’s Lower East Side Orthodox community and his job as a tailor’s apprentice. When Eddie photographs the devastation on the streets of New York following the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he becomes embroiled in the suspicious mystery behind a young woman’s disappearance and ignites the heart of Coralie.

Alice Hoffman is a great storyteller and this novel sounds like a quirky love story, with all the elements of a innocent girl being rescued from her evil captor and whisked off to mysterious other world. I look forward to reading, which was published this past February.

Other bookish things this week include my surprise box from Book Riot. Book Riot is part of a program  from Quarterly Company that boxes up little surprise boxes filled with stuff you're interested in. You can subscribe yearly or try one box. Book Riot is all about readers, so they box up bookish things. This was my first "box" and I subscribed because I just love surprises, and couldn't resist a surprise box filled with bookish things. It's a bit expensive - $50 a quarter if you subscribe, $50 plus shipping if you just order one box to try. Was I impressed? Come back Monday and we'll look at what came in the box and I'll tell share my thoughts on fun versus value.

In The News… Amazon Prime members dues are going up. Yes, the fee Amazon Prime members pay for free shipping, free Kindle lending and other member only perks is going up $20 to $99. I have been a Prime Member from the beginning and have more than made my "dues" up in free shipping, but $99 is pushing it just a little. I don't think I'll be unsubscribing, but it did make me pause since I'm using the library more, downloading more eBooks and not ordering as much as I once did of "other things". If you aren't a Prime Member and were considering joining, if you join before the new price is in effect, April 17th, you'll get a whole year at the old price of $79.

How was your reading week? Reading anything you've just got to share with someone?! I'd love to hear about it! I'm always on the lookout for great reads! And what do you think about Amazon Prime? Are you a member? Worth the price?

Have a great week! And don't forget to stop back this week to see what bookish things I got in my Book Riot box!

Happy reading… Suzanne