Quarterly Literary Box #LIT01 Summer 2016 Subscription Box Review

Quarterly Co. Box has just launched their new Literary Box – this replaces Book Riot. I had to order it when I saw that the curator of the debut box was Lauren Weisberger. Here’s Quarterly’s description:

The wait is over. We are so excited to announce the launch of our Literary Box, curated by a different author each quarter, complete with exclusive content. With Literary Box, readers will learn the innermost thoughts of their favorite authors through annotated books, deleted chapters, thought provoking essays, and even unpublished work.

Here’s what you can expect in each box:

Three (3) books: one brand new release from the featured author and two additional titles 

Personal handwritten annotations by the author

Exclusive bonus content from the author

Fun bookish goods

All for just $50, plus shipping!

The box arrived while I was playing hooky out in Amish country. I had my sister open it because I NEEDED to know what was in it which is why the box was unsealed in the first picture.

The Curator Letter gives a better understanding of the box. Quarterly boxes are personal to the curator. The extra insight makes the box comes alive. Besides, how could I miss out on why Lauren Weisberger selected the other two books? The theme is:

“Grab your beach bag and a margarita, and let’s settle in to read together.”

Here are The Literary Box by Quarterly Summer 2016 items. I am sensing a great summer read box.

The spoiler was The Singles Game by Lauren Weisberger ($15.60) which initially I wasn’t too sure about because it involved tennis. However, I enjoyed other reads by Lauren Weisberger and had confidence in her ability to deliver a great chick lit book. Will I be disappointed or enthralled? According to Amazon:

The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada—a dishy tell-all about a beautiful tennis prodigy who, after changing coaches, suddenly makes headlines on and off the court.

How far would you go to reach the top?

When America’s sweetheart, Charlotte “Charlie” Silver, makes a pact with the devil—the infamously brutal tennis coach Todd Feltner—she finds herself catapulted into a world of celebrity stylists, private parties, charity matches aboard mega-yachts, and secret dates with Hollywood royalty.

Under Todd’s new ruthless regime, Charlie the good girl is out. Todd wants “Warrior Princess” Charlie all the way. After all, no one ever wins big by playing nice.

Celebrity mags and gossip blogs go wild for Charlie as she jets around the globe chasing Grand Slam titles and Page Six headlines. But as the Warrior Princess’s star rises on and off the court, it comes at a cost. In a world obsessed with good looks and hot shots, is Charlie Silver willing to lose herself to win it all?

Sweeping from Wimbledon to the Caribbean, from the US Open to the Mediterranean, The Singles Game is a sexy and wickedly entertaining romp through a world where the stakes are high—and no one plays by the rules.

I greatly enjoyed the book. The book title is a double entendre of Charlie’s love life and tennis life. I enjoyed the tennis part of the book which created a heady backdrop of what goes into being a world ranked tennis player and how tennis players are also celebrities.  All the fun parts of a chic lit read were there including a makeover, celebrities, sparkles, sexual tension, and living vicarious through the protagonist.

Imagine being able to ask an author, “What inspired this scene? Why was it included?” The book is annotated with her thoughts!!! I pick an innocuous note, so not to spoil the book.  The amount of notes was perfect. It was enough to add to the book but not be a distraction. It even explains the ending!

I found it comical that drink recipes were included because it was stressed over and over again that tennis players rarely indulge in drinking at player parties. Still who couldn’t use a good drink while relaxing by the pool or beach while reading a book?

I cannot wait to finish reading Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave (Paperback – $8.92). I enjoy reading books that combine family, love, and marriage along with learning about something new. Laura Dave’s research into wine making is weaved throughout the book. I will let Amazon explain:

Heralded as “impossible to put down” (Elle), and named a Best Book of the Summer by Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire, and Us Weekly, Eight Hundred Grapes is a heartbreaking, funny, and deeply evocative novel about love, marriage, family, wine, and the treacherous terrain in which they all intersect.

There are secrets you share, and secrets you hide… What if your beloved fiancé, he of the crinkly smile and irresistible British accent, had kept a life-changing secret from you? And what if, just a week before your dream wedding, you discovered it?

Georgia Ford, bride-to-be, hops in her car and drives through the night, from Los Angeles to Sonoma, to her safe haven: her family, and the acclaimed family winery. Georgia craves the company of those who know her best, and whom she truly knows. Better yet, it’s the eve of the last harvest—the best time of the growing season, and Georgia knows she’ll find solace—and distraction—in the familiar rituals. But when Georgia arrives home, nothing is at all familiar. Her parents, her brothers, the family business, are all unrecognizable. It seems her fiancé isn’t the only one who’s been keeping secrets…

Eight Hundred Grapes is a story about the messy realities of family, the strength (and weaknesses) of romantic love, and the importance of finding a place to call home. “This winning tale will both satisfy on a literary level and encourage oenophiles to pour themselves a glass of a recent vintage to enjoy while reading; it’s a tasty treat for wine lovers and teetotalers alike” (Publishers Weekly). You won’t be able to put this “addictive” (Us Weekly) novel down.

I am only a couple chapters into the book,  and it lives up to its promises. Lauren Weisberger selected it because

In Eight Hundred Grapes, Laura Dave has created one of the most delicious novels I’ve read in some time about family, marriage, love, and -of course-wine.

I was thrilled to see that Still Alice by Lisa Genova (paperback – $9.62) was included because it is on my to read list. As Amazon explains:

In Lisa Genova’s extraordinary New York Times bestselling novel, an accomplished professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease learns that her worth is comprised of more than her ability to remember. Now a major motion picture from Sony Pictures Classics starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart! Look for Lisa Genova’s next novel Inside the O’Briens.

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life—and her relationship with her family and the world—forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People.

I have not read it yet because I need to be in the right frame of mind. I am picturing myself crying throughout the book while reading it all in one sitting.  I am sure I will read it within the next month once my schedule settles down.

Lauren Weisberger selected the book because:

Genova has created in Alice a deeply moving, insightful and painfully human story about what it menas to live and love.

The curator letter is six pages long. I excerpted a couple of sentences from the letter to provide additional information on why the two books were selected by Lauren Weisberger. Greater detail is provided in the curator letter.

Every great drink needs a fun straw! The Jasmine Green Chevron Paper Straws (25 straws, $3.99) are biodegradable and won’t interfere with your party decor. It goes well with the summertime theme.

The Always Reading White Sunglasses (appx 10.00) will protect your eyes from the UV rays while reading.

T is gamely modeling the sunglasses for me. I don’t think white sunglasses is his thing.

Quarterly did an excellent job with the first Quarterly Literary Box. The book selections are excellent, and the fun bookish items fit the theme well. I loved The Singles Game and reading the author’s thoughts throughout the book!!! My only quibble is that the spoiler stated that the box would ship on July 12th. My box did not ship until July 20th. I am used to Quarterly’s wacky shipping schedules and am glad it shipped in the same month! The value of the box comes in at around the cost of the box or higher depending on the value assigned to a book with annotated notes. The Amazon value of The Singles Game does not include that value which is worth something additional in my eyes.   I am very happy with my box and am waiting for Quarterly to announce the curator for the fall box!

Visit Literary Quarterly Box to subscribe or find out more!