Book of the Month – A Monthly Book Delivery Service

If you’ve checked out my resources page lately, you may have noticed the recent addition of Book of the Month under the “book buying” section. (I’ve also been Tweeting about it the past few weeks!)

I think I may have mentioned before that I prefer real, physical copies of books over electronic or audio versions. I have a few reasons for this, but to name a few: if I’m going to be listening to something I’d much rather listen to podcasts. And if I’m going to be reading, I want to flip real pages, and read words that are not on a screen.

Anyways, Book of the Month is a monthly membership service for people like me – cool people who love to read real, physical copies of books. And for readers who are constantly asking their friends what to read next.

Not only does BOTM provide you with a real book, they choose new titles that you haven’t already read – which answers the old ‘what should I read next’ question! It’s perfect!

I mean… A company wants to pick out new books and then ship them to your house every month!? Don’t threaten me with a good time!

They pick out new books and ship them to my house?! Don't threaten me with a good time! Click To TweetIt reminds me of that shoe service people used to sign up for – where you’d get a new pair of shoes every month. I never understood why people would need that many shoes… but books! Books every month is something I can get behind!

I’ve been signed up with Book of the Month for about a year so far, and it’s been simple and awesome.

They send me an email at the beginning of the month to let me know my about book options. I log on and make my choice and about a week later I get my book in the mail! Easy peasy.

And for those wondering, I chose American War by Omar El Akkad – a post-apocalyptic fiction story about America in chaos.

The other choices were a young adult book, a crime novel, a memoir which looked pretty interesting, and a funny looking one about a start-up (I almost picked that one). The genres vary each month, sometimes there is never a YA book, sometimes there us historical fiction, and someitmes it one fo your favorite authors! 

*I’ve finished that book! Check out my review of American War here. 

Here’s How It Works

Each month the BOTM panel of judges selects a limited number of exceptional books to offer to their members.

They announce those selections on the first of the month, and send you an email reminder. Then you have six days to decide which book (or books!) you want to receive.

One book per month is included in the membership fee, but you can purchase one or two additional books for just $9.99 a piece – and you’re getting a hardcover book, so that’s an amazing deal!

Oh and they also have a discussion section! So you can hop on and chat with other people reading the same books. It’s like a virtual book club with people all over the country!

Don’t love the selections one month? No problem, man!

You can skip a month. And if you do skip a month, your membership expiration date will automatically extend one month past when it was set to expire.

Worried you’ll forget to make a selection? No sweat!

If you login to the site between the 1st and 6th of the month, a book is automatically selected for you. If you do not log into your account by the 6th of the month, they’ll skip that month on your behalf.

Here’s What It Costs

Unfortunately, nothing awesome is free.

When you join Book of the Month, there’s 3 standard enrollment offers:

• 1-month for $5.00, then $14.99 per month
• 3-months for $9.99 per month, then $14.99 per month
• 12-months for $11.99 per month

In Conclusion

All in all, I’m thrilled that I’ve found Book of the Month! I mean, inevitably, there will be books on there that I don’t care for, but I’ll just skip that month.

And because I know that every one has different tastes, I’m seriously considering purchasing it as a gift for Mother’s Day or perhaps keeping it in mind for a Christmas gift option.

As far as gifting goes, I think books are always a great choice! But this way the recipient has some control over the book they get, and you can rest easy knowing you didn’t make a bad choice.

Books = great gifts! Here's a way to give the gift of reading, while letting the recipient choose the book! Click To Tweet

Honestly, it’s pretty sweet that so many products can be shipped to people now-a-days in the form of a subscription box! I always look at those boxes and think they’d be neat, but eventually you’d have enough of the thing they’re sending you, right?

I suppose even with books, someone might be crazy enough to think that they have enough. And if that’s ever the case, you can always cancel your membership. But I just don’t see ‘too many books’ as a legitimate problem that someone can have. (lol… but seriously.)

Tell them I sent you and start getting a monthly book yourself!

Are you a member of any subscription boxes? What are your favorites?! Let me know in the comments!