About a year ago I discovered something magical and life-changing: An online book subscription. Can you believe I hadn’t discovered online book subscriptions until last year?!
I was bored one day just scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I came across an ad for something called Book of the Month (BOTM). I was immediately intrigued and clicked the link. All I had to see were the words “online book subscription” and I was already signed up. It was very impulsive, but I just couldn’t seem to help myself.
Feel free to comment your opinion on BOTM and other book subscription services below 🙂
What is Book of the Month (BOTM)?
It’s an online subscription service for books, which makes it so much more special than all the other subscription services.
This is how it works: BOTM features 5 different books each month for you to choose from, you select which book(s) you want to read, and then you get to read it. They do all of the research, so it’s easy breezy.
Some of the featured books are early releases or are highly anticipated novels from debut authors. No book is from the same genre, so you have a variety to choose from, which is nice. These aren’t just randomly chosen books either. The people at BOTM do all the research for which books to select each month. The only work you have to do is select the book and checkout.
The History of BOTM
Believe it or not, BOTM didn’t originally begin as an online subscription service. It originated in the 1920s and was known as Book of the Month Club. Subscribers would pay around $2 monthly for the book of the month. The book was chosen by a panel of judges, and whatever book that was chosen was usually a new release. The Book of Month Club became notorious for selecting books that were very well received by the public. For example, in 1950 the club chose Gone with the Wind as its book of the month, which as you know, has become a cult classic.
Everything changed for the Book of the Month Club when Amazon changed the way books were consumed. More and more people seemed to read their books using a Kindle. This new trend forced Book of the Month Club to temporarily close its doors in 2012, but thankfully they reestablished the club to be an online subscription service in 2015. They also changed the name to Book of the Month (BOTM). Much classier, eh? The man who relaunched BOTM figured since people (primarily women) were getting their clothes through online subscriptions, why not get their book that way too?
The sole purpose of the new BOTM was to stay true to its roots. A panel of judges would select not just one monthly book, but five monthly books for subscribers to choose from. BOTM didn’t want to just focus on highly anticipated books from well-known authors either, they also wanted to give new/debut authors a chance to get their books read.
Learn more about the BOTM’s history here.
How much does this cost?
Your first month is only $9.99 and after that, the subscription is $14.99 a month. Here’s the fun part: if you don’t like any of the book selections for the current month you can choose to skip your BOTM. When you skip a BOTM you will not be charged the subscription cost, and you can skip however many times you want. How neat is that?! Shipping is also included!
What Are Add-ons?
You have the option to add two additional books to your BOTM box each month. You can select from the current BOTM selection, or from the top books of any previous month. That means you can get up to 3 books for the price of $14.99 each month. As I mentioned before, you can also choose to skip the month if you don’t like any of the book options.
Is it worth it?
I’ve been subscribed to BOTM for almost a year now and I have loved every book I’ve gotten from them. I’ve skipped a few months here and there too, which is a nice perk of the service.
One thing I really like about BOTM is that it forces me to explore other genres besides my usual YA romcom or Fantasy Adventure books. I’m sure I’ve passed on a lot of good books at bookstores or on Amazon because the genre wasn’t something I’d usually read. You also get introduced to books by debut authors.
All in all, I like BOTM, and I don’t think it hurts to try it yourself. If you end up trying it and love it as much as I do, then you are welcome. If you end up hating it, then I’m sorry, and please don’t blame me.
Happy reading!
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