Book Riot by Quarterly is a seasonal subscription box made for book lovers. In each box they include a mix of bookish things, plus at least one or two books. (Sometimes three).
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Book Riot by Quarterly
The Cost: $50 a box (ships every quarter) plus $8 shipping to the U.S.
The Products: Books and book-related items selected by Book Riot
Ships to: US and Worldwide (Additional shipping costs for International shipping)
Check out all of my Book Riot Quarterly Box reviews!
Each Quarterly Box comes with a letter from the curator detailing the items included and why each was selected. A quote from Book Riot on this theme:
Whether you prefer to kick it old-school with print books and actual phone conversations or like to read and interact digitally, we hope you'll find something to relate to and something that will challenge you."
This box also included a $20 coupon code toward a Book Riot Live ticket.
The World Exchange by Alena Graedon - Retail Value $15.95 (On Amazon for $12.93)
Book Summary from Amazon:
A dystopian novel for the digital age, The Word Exchange offers an inventive, suspenseful, and decidedly original vision of the dangers of technology and of the enduring power of the printed word.
In the not-so-distant future, the forecasted “death of print” has become a reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers, and magazines are things of the past, and we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication but also have become so intuitive that they hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order takeout at the first growl of a hungry stomach, and even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called the Word Exchange.
Anana Johnson works with her father, Doug, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL), where Doug is hard at work on the last edition that will ever be printed. Doug is a staunchly anti-Meme, anti-tech intellectual who fondly remembers the days when people used email (everything now is text or videoconference) to communicate—or even actually spoke to one another, for that matter. One evening, Doug disappears from the NADEL offices, leaving a single written clue: ALICE. It’s a code word he devised to signal if he ever fell into harm’s way. And thus begins Anana’s journey down the proverbial rabbit hole . . .
Joined by Bart, her bookish NADEL colleague, Anana’s search for Doug will take her into dark basements and subterranean passageways; the stacks and reading rooms of the Mercantile Library; and secret meetings of the underground resistance, the Diachronic Society. As Anana penetrates the mystery of her father’s disappearance and a pandemic of decaying language called “word flu” spreads, The Word Exchange becomes a cautionary tale that is at once a technological thriller and a meditation on the high cultural costs of digital technology.
Smarter Than You Think by Clive Thompson - Retail Value $17 (On Amazon for $15.21)
Book Summary from Amazon:
A revelatory and timely look at how technology boosts our cognitive abilities—making us smarter, more productive, and more creative than ever
It’s undeniable—technology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better? Amid a chorus of doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding “yes.” In Smarter Than You Think, Thompson shows that every technological innovation—from the written word to the printing press to the telegraph—has provoked the very same anxieties that plague us today. We panic that life will never be the same, that our attentions are eroding, that culture is being trivialized. But, as in the past, we adapt—learning to use the new and retaining what is good of the old. Smarter Than You Think embraces and extols this transformation, presenting an exciting vision of the present and the future.
These books both come with bonus extras. Alena Graedon wrote a special coda (for reading after you read The Word Exchange). And Clive Thompson write a new essay for Book Riot about reading War and Peace on his iPhone.
Pop Chart Lab Literary Genres Map - Value $24?
The size of this print is a little smaller than the version Pop Chart sells, so I'm estimating on the value. I love this print and can't wait to frame it - it belongs next to a stack of books!
Grid-It by Cocoon - Value $12
We have a few Grid-Its thanks to subscription boxes, but I never thought to use them for beauty products until I saw the picture on this one. This might be my new beauty travel tool!
Verdict: This box has a value of about $64. (More if you count the retail prices of the books and not the Amazon prices). I'll use all the items in this box, but the Grid-It doesn't seem too bookish to me. I love the print, and I'm interested in reading both of the books - especially Smarter Than You Think!
What do you think of #BKR07?
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