Book of the Month May 2016 Subscription Box Review + Coupon

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Book of the Month
Book of the Month

Bookspan’s Book of the Month Club is a  monthly book subscription box. Each month their panel of Judges selects 5 books, which they announce on the first of the month, and members have six days to decide which book (or books) they would like to receive. All books are shipped at the same time, so members can read and participate in their discussion forums as a group. One book per month is included in the membership fee, and members can purchase up to two additional books each month for $9.99 per title. The monthly price is $16.99 per month, $11.99 per month on a year long subscription. Get a 3 month subscription for 30% off! Use Book Of The Month Invitation code MAY30 as the coupon for this deal.

Here are the choices for May!

Josh Rador, star from How I Met Your Mother,  was the guest judge for May.

The May 2016 Book of the Month selections were:

•  & Sons by David Gilbert – Guest Judge: Josh Radnor, star from How I Met Your Mother (OOP – Used copies available for $3 on Amazon – paperback $11.40)
•  The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan – Judge: Alexander Chee, author of Queen of the Night ($16.28 on Amazon)
Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh – Judge: Leigh Haber ($16.19 on Amazon)
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh – Judge: Liberty Hardy ($17.77 on Amazon)
• Eligible: a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld – Judge: Nina Sankovitch ($15.60 on Amazon)
It was an easy choice for me in the beginning. I selected Eligible: a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld. Then I realized that I had an opportunity to read the book later in the month. What to select?

First Look
First Look

I was surprised to see a ring pop!

& Sons by
& Sons by David Gilbert

I selected & Sons by David Gilbert. The books are shrinkwrapped onto cardboard and include a note from the judge. I see a few extra things this month!

May 2016 Book of the Month
May 2016 Book of the Month

 I am sensing a clever homage to Jane Austin!

Bookmark and Curator Letter
Bookmark and Curator Letter

Book of the Month is hosting a fun contest to celebrate Eligible. Comment below if you win! A bookmarker was also included this month.

The proposal and Ring Pop!
The proposal and Ring Pop!

My 7 year old claimed the Ring Pop. T, 17, was not quick enough. Better luck next time, T!

BookOfTheMonthMay1609

The back side of the bookmaker has an excellent Jane Austin quote. I agree 100%! The judge’s letter reads:

This is a book about

Fathers

& Sons

& Husbands

& Wives

& Success

& Failure

& Aging

& Youth

& Life

& Death

& I really enjoyed it

& I hope you do too

(Please forgive my lousy ampersands)

& SOns by
& Sons by David Gilbert
Back Cover
Back Cover

 & Sons by David Gilbert (OOP – Used copies available for $3 on Amazon – paperback $12.88)

The funeral of Charles Henry Topping on Manhattan’s Upper East Side would have been a minor affair (his two-hundred-word obit in The New York Times notwithstanding) but for the presence of one particular mourner: the notoriously reclusive author A. N. Dyer, whose novel Ampersand stands as a classic of American teenage angst. But as Andrew Newbold Dyer delivers the eulogy for his oldest friend, he suffers a breakdown over the life he’s led and the people he’s hurt and the novel that will forever endure as his legacy. He must gather his three sons for the first time in many years—before it’s too late.

So begins a wild, transformative, heartbreaking week, as witnessed by Philip Topping, who, like his late father, finds himself caught up in the swirl of the Dyer family. First there’s son Richard, a struggling screenwriter and father, returning from self-imposed exile in California. In the middle lingers Jamie, settled in Brooklyn after his twenty-year mission of making documentaries about human suffering. And last is Andy, the half brother whose mysterious birth tore the Dyers apart seventeen years ago, now in New York on spring break, determined to lose his virginity before returning to the prestigious New England boarding school that inspired Ampersand. But only when the real purpose of this reunion comes to light do these sons realize just how much is at stake, not only for their father but for themselves and three generations of their family.

In this daring feat of fiction, David Gilbert establishes himself as one of our most original, entertaining, and insightful authors. & Sons is that rarest of treasures: a startlingly imaginative novel about families and how they define us, and the choices we make when faced with our own mortality.

I’m  reading Section 2. I found Section 1 to be a little confusing with the jumping around from first person to third person to an abrupt shift to first person. I was reading it late at night which could play into my confusion. I feel that the stage has been set for the rest of the novel and am looking forward to starting the main part of the book.

I love how Book of the Month paid homage to Jane Austin. It was a pleasant surprise and added more excitement to the package.  Book of the Month is an inexpensive way to build up your reading library of favorite genres or to push yourself into unfamiliar genres! Skip if nothing interests you. Add on up to two extra books at $9.99 a book if you can’t decide! There’s even a discussion group.  Select a book by May 15!

What book did you pick this month? Share below and let us know!

Get a 3 month subscription for 30% off! Use Book Of The Month Invitation code MAY30 as the coupon for this deal.

Visit Book of the Month to subscribe or find out more!

The Subscription: Book of the Month
The Description: The Judges select 5 new books each month, one of which is included in your membership. Visit the site to select your Book of the Month, or leave it up to us and we will choose one for you. Receive, read, and discuss with other members!
The Price: $16.99 per month

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