Once Upon A Book Club

I believe in finding ways to reward myself for accomplishments. So after completing my goals for the 2018 Book Riot Challenge I decided that I needed to find a bookish way to reward myself. I decided that I was going to take the plunge and get Once Upon A Bookclub box. This is a book subscription service where you open gifts that are supposed to interact with the book that you are reading as you go.

I have to begin by saying that the book is meant to be a surprise…but I looked in the list of their previous boxes that they were selling and found that the November 2018 selection was Lost Queen and that they still had some boxes left available for sale.  The way I tend to gobble up newly released books through the library and Book of the Month selections quickly it felt like too much of a risk to purchase a book without knowing anything about what is coming in advance. They do mention on their website that you can email them in advance if you need to plan your reading accordingly and that they do not offer returns for books you may already have read. I suppose if I really wanted, I could have emailed them and asked what they were planning on having for an upcoming selection, however I was really excited that Lost Queen was a selection because this was a book that I really wanted to read anyway. It was a book that was released in September and if I had the means to purchase a hardcover copy of it when it first released I would have bought it right away. So I was thrilled to receive a hardcover copy of this book in my box.

I felt like the objects aligned nicely with the story.  To indicate when I should open different things, post it notes  were placed in the books when items were supposed to be opened. I thought it was very clear when to open things, my biggest complaint was that the first gift I opened was on page 175 of a 574 book…which is a third of the way into the story. For a service where the point was getting the gifts along with the book that was putting in a lot of trust that I was going to still be interested in reading more of the book at that point in time. But the gift was a really nice gift: when a character was getting a small bronze mirror from her cloak, I opened a small bronze mirror which I now display on my bookshelf. When the main character “noticed the crest of a white tipped feather half buried in the grass” I opened a feather necklace. When the main character talked about a green ring she wore there was a green costume ring waiting for me.  Toward the end when the main character was writing a letter with a feather pen I opened a feather ballpoint pen.

While the feather necklace didn’t initially strike me as my style I realized that I had the perfect sweater to wear it with.  I knew the perfect place for the mirror and put the pen to good use right away.  The only item that I am clueless about whether I will use or not is the ring…but I still think that the ring is beautiful.

I also got a small print of one of the lines in the story: “We may not always have the choice we would like but we always have a choice” with beautiful lettering. I decided to tape the print into my reading journal.

The book is about the twin sister of the man who inspired the Merlin character in Arthurian legend. I found it a very enticing, magical read. It was one of those stories that I just wanted to be able to crawl into the story for and have it come to life before my eyes. I would agree with the reviews that it was reminiscent of The Mists of Avalon however its own voice.  While Mists of Avalon is more concerned with retelling Morgan La Fey's story this dives more into the neglected story of Langoureth.    I felt like the story was very magical and enchanting.  The objects  I received while doing this experience really enhanced my experience with the story quite a bit.

While I do usually lose myself into my world of imagination when I read, I do not always have the concrete experience of being able to touch something that is linked to a story. There is something very powerful about being able to hold something in my hand that is also being used as a prop in a book.

If I had gotten the box on the subscription schedule there would have been opportunities for online discussions and a meet and greet with the author. But in terms of when I received the box and immersed myself in the experience I did not get to participate. That was a real down side to taking the more controlled route of making sure that I purchased a box that featured a book that I was excited to read.

Would I do this book box again? It was a very special experience having objects accompany what is going on in a story that I really, really wanted to read. However I am not sure how I feel about having a book prescribed for me in a subscription. The reason why I love my Book of the Month service is that I can choose the book I want and I can also choose to skip a month if I want. I would also love to try Night Worms which is a horror based book box where they are good at revealing the theme and main titles in a box before you go ahead and purchase it.  The price point is just high enough that the uncertainty on whether or not I would receive a book I would want seems like a gamble. I know that I cheated on the experience by purchasing a box where I knew the title.

 I really, really loved the items that I received in this box my disdain for clutter is always a concern.  The experience of having things that I can touch that relate to the story was neat. If I received this on a regular basis I am afraid that I would have a lot of items that would start to generate clutter.  This is meant to be a monthly service but I would not want to receive this on a regular basis.  However ordering a back box that I was interested in once in a while could be a real treat. I do not regret that I did this. I loved my experience with this box but it honestly felt more special to me knowing this was something that I was receiving once.

I wonder what I will choose for my bookish reward if I complete my reading goals this year…