Quarterly.co is a company that sells a multitude of subscription box services. They have everything from cooking to fitness, reading to DIY. Their Quarterly Literary YA Box holds multiple books plus 2 or 3 other bookish goodies chosen by that month’s curating author and it comes out four times per year. I ordered the October box curated by S.J. Kincaid. Read on to see what was inside.
My subscription was shipped in a plain brown box with Quarterly logo tape. Inside, everything was packed in shredded cardboard for a safe arrival.
At the top of the box was an envelope that held a letter from the author telling me about the items in the package. There was also a photo sheet about the curator and an ad for a new book by one of the included book’s authors. I like that they include a letter in every box so you get a feel for what the curator wanted you to notice about the reads and goodies.
Under the paperwork were a game and a bookish pin. The card game seems interesting – full of royal intrigue. You have to choose a messenger to get a love letter to the princess before dawn. It included the cards, place holders and instructions, and is good for 2-4 players.
The stick pin is a dragon, or wyrm, holding a book in its teeth. It’s called a book wyrm. I really liked it, but when I tried to put it on my purse, I realized that the rubber backer isn’t tight and it immediately fell off. I’m hoping I can buy a new rubber stopper for it so I can still get some use out of it. Not really worth much otherwise.
Every month the box includes a book by the curator plus two books they choose by other authors. This month’s additional novels were The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow and Unwind by Neal Shusterman. They are both dystopian novels that inspired S.J. Kincaid. I read Bow’s novel shortly after receiving it and I absolutely loved it. It was a unique and emotional read. I haven’t gotten to Shusterman’s book, but I hope to enjoy it just as much.
Last in the package were Kincaid’s newest novel, Diabolic, and a signed book plate. I haven’t read the book yet, but it’s supposed to be great. It’s a dystopian sci-fi that claims to be The Terminator meets Game of Thrones meets House of Cards. How can you beat that?
The really nice thing about the Literary YA Box is that not only do you get a signed book, but it also includes copied handwritten sticky notes from the author scattered throughout the story that give you more insight into the tale including how and why various parts were written. I read A World Without You by Beth Revis from their July box with these notes and it really immersed me further into the story. I can’t wait to read this book with the stickies.
The contents of this box may not add up to more than the $50 price of the service, but I think it’s still well worth it. The care they take to include a letter from the author, signed book plate, and sticky notes plus adding additional reads and items that mean something to the curator makes it less of an activity and more of an experience. Bookworms will understand where I’m coming from. The deeper you can get into a story, the better.
If you’d like to try the box for yourself, click here for more information. They’ll be updating soon with information about their January box.
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