Review: Blue Spider’s Attic (book subscription box)

I love subscription boxes. It’s like having a personal shopper and my birthday at the same time! I’ve never tried a book subscription box before, but Blue Spider Press offered to let me try their Blue Spider’s Attic program free in exchange for (honest) review, and here we are! The concept is really cool — “All the magic of a used book store, delivered.” In each box you get three gently-used books, a sample package of coffee, and assorted goodies. You have the option of subscribing month-to-month at $19.99 per box plus shipping, or you can get variously discounted rates for prepaying up to six months in advance.

I must say the box delivers on its promise, no pun intended. It is like a used book store by delivery. Mine came very well packaged, and I love that the books are individually wrapped too. It prolongs the giftlike excitement and kind of creates that sense of stumbling on books one at a time.

Initial unboxing.

Box contents. Cat belly not included.

I got the promised three books, a Fairwinds Coffee sample in chocolate raspberry, a bunch of cool stickers, a bookmark, some coupon codes, and a pretty beaded book spider that Mo (the cat) immediately tried to eat. Fortunately he failed. I’ve tried the coffee and it’s delicious — there’s meant to be enough for a full pot, but I use an espresso machine and it’ll last me four or five cups probably. I also super love the stickers, because that’s not something I see often and I’ll totally use them. I can’t wait to think of the perfect place for that zombie hand.

Of course,  you want to hear about the books. First up, The Ashes of Eden by William Shatner! Read it and love the series but didn’t own this one, so thrilled to get that. Next, Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I’ve seen the movie, haven’t read the book, but I’ll have to decide just how strong my constitution is before I give it a go. Finally, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It’s a classic from 1958, but I’ve randomly heard several people talking about it in the past couple weeks and am excited to read it myself. So, two super excited and one not-sure-but-can-always-toss-it-in-a-Halloween-gift-basket, I call that a win. All three were again nicely packaged and in excellent used condition.

Deciding whether or not Blue Spider’s Attic is for you, it probably depends on your reading habits. Not even counting library stuff, I own several thousand books already, most of which I haven’t read. So, I don’t really see subscribing to a box like this because I really don’t need a random selection of books being added to that list every month. But, if I had the money and time to spend, I’d definitely say it’s worth it. Plus, if you don’t have a local used book store or if you’re not able to visit one for whatever reason, then this could be awesome for you!

Get more info or sign up here. Use code THINGSMATTER15 at checkout for a discount — doesn’t do anything for me, only does something for you!