Page 1 Books is a book subscription service that sends a book (either paperback or hard cover) and some bookish goodies to you each month. You can sign up for a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription and you also pay a flat-rate shipping fee up front. This works out to around $23.33 a month for the 3 month subscription. Plus, your book is guaranteed to be perfect for you! FYI: Page 1 Books donates a children’s book to Books for Bedtime for every subscription sold!
Consider us your online indie bookstore.
Page One Books is a book subscription service that hand-selects books for you based on your preferences and our knowledge. Because we know you are more than an algorithm.
DEAL: Get 10% off your first box! Use coupon code FRIEND10.
There are several genres to choose from such as “For the Janeite” (all things Austen), “For the Proud” (LGBT), and “For the Wee Ones” (for children). I went with “For the Sleuth” since I am currently on a mystery kick. I answered some questions and gave a link for my Goodreads account. I said I like books that take place in the U.K., ghost stories are good, but I didn’t want any gore. I mentioned that I like historical romance and Gone Girl types of stories.
I received a personalized card and loved the description of the book in my box!
If you already own a book sent or are just not loving it, then pass it along to someone else and let Page 1 Books send you another title.
Everything in my box! My book was wrapped separately and I received some other book-related items.
I received one of one hundred postcards available in Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box (20¢). It turns out this was the very first book ever published by Penguin Books and it is a fictionalized account of Percy Bysshe Shelley.
The back is a classic postcard.
Unfortunately, my card had stains of some kind on it and it isn’t fit to send to anyone.
I received a Page 1 Bookmark.
The back of the bookmark featured a quote from Louisa May Alcott. Did anyone else catch the recent showing of Little Women on PBS?
Theo Organic Fair Trade Cherry Almond 70% Dark Chocolate ($3.43) I think it was a daring move to send a chocolate bar in June – my box sat in the mailbox for several hours and it was well over 100 degrees that day. I’m surprised it wasn’t melted but it was in perfect condition.
Cherries, almonds, and dark chocolate? Yes, please! Very delicious with the tangy cherries and toasted nuts blending well with the dark chocolate.
I love the book presentation, I have to restrain myself from ripping it open.
Again, some mysterious stain was on the wrapping and ribbon.
The Essex Serpent By Sarah Perry ($13.59) is a historical gothic novel that takes place in Victorian England, and is exactly the type of novel I would choose for myself so I am so surprised that I’ve never heard of this one before!
An exquisitely talented young British author makes her American debut with this rapturously acclaimed historical novel, set in late nineteenth-century England, about an intellectually minded young widow, a pious vicar, and a rumored mythical serpent that explores questions about science and religion, skepticism, and faith, independence and love.
When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was not a happy one. Wed at nineteen, this woman of exceptional intelligence and curiosity was ill-suited for the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space in the wake of the funeral, Cora leaves London for a visit to coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.
While admiring the sites, Cora learns of an intriguing rumor that has arisen further up the estuary, of a fearsome creature said to roam the marshes claiming human lives. After nearly 300 years, the mythical Essex Serpent is said to have returned, taking the life of a young man on New Year’s Eve. A keen amateur naturalist with no patience for religion or superstition, Cora is immediately enthralled, and certain that what the local people think is a magical sea beast may be a previously undiscovered species. Eager to investigate, she is introduced to local vicar William Ransome. Will, too, is suspicious of the rumors. But unlike Cora, this man of faith is convinced the rumors are caused by moral panic, a flight from true belief.
These seeming opposites who agree on nothing soon find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart—an intense relationship that will change both of their lives in ways entirely unexpected.
Hailed by Sarah Waters as “a work of great intelligence and charm, by a hugely talented author,” The Essex Serpent is “irresistible . . . you can feel the influences of Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Hilary Mantel channeled by Perry in some sort of Victorian séance. This is the best new novel I’ve read in years” (Daily Telegraph).
I loved the book selected for me by Page 1 Books, it ticks all of those boxes of what I prefer in a book – historical, a setting in the UK, and a mystery to figure out. I look forward to reading it soon! I also loved my candy bar, it will last for several days as only a bit is needed to feel satisfied. I am always looking for bookmarks so I am always happy to get new ones but the postcard had to be trashed due to the weird stains.
Are you getting the Page 1 Books too? Let me know your favorite book genre in the comments!
Comments
Meg, I had no idea of the media mail rules, that is a very interesting point!
Page1 should know you can’t mail nonbook items like chocolate bars via media mail. I was thinking of subscribing, but I’d probably be one to get stuck paying the extra postage — or worse, having the post office return it to sender.