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Book of the Month Subscription Review + 50% Off Coupon – Nov 2015

Liz Cadman
ByLiz CadmanNov 12, 2015 | 18 comments

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Book of the Month
4.1 overall rating
37 Ratings | 13 Reviews

Book of the Month is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, 5 curators pick out their favorite new hardcover books, and you can choose which one you want to receive on the first of the month.

They are currently having an amazing deal on 3-month subscriptions (deal details below), so I had to sign up. (Plus I love book subscriptions so I probably would have signed up for this one with or without a deal!)

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).

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The Subscription Box: Book of the Month

The Cost: $16.99 a month ($8.99 a month with 12-month subscription).

The Product: Subscribers get to pick from a selection of hardcover books each month.

Ships to: US Only

Check out all of my Book of the Month reviews!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wish list!

For November, subscribers picked from the following 5 books:

Book of the Month November Selections

Also - current subscribers got the opportunity to fill out a survey for an additional book of their choice at no cost this month, so that's why this box has two books.

First up:

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So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson - Retail Value $27.95 (On Amazon for $17.78)

Book Summary from Amazon:

Now a New York Times bestseller and from the author of The Psychopath Test, a captivating and brilliant exploration of one of our world's most underappreciated forces: shame.

'It's about the terror, isn't it?'

'The terror of what?' I said.

'The terror of being found out.'

For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made a joke on social media that came out badly, or made a mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed, collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane and the next thing they know they're being torn apart by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes even fired from their job.

A great renaissance of public shaming is sweeping our land. Justice has been democratized. The silent majority are getting a voice. But what are we doing with our voice? We are mercilessly finding people's faults. We are defining the boundaries of normality by ruining the lives of those outside it. We are using shame as a form of social control.

Simultaneously powerful and hilarious in the way only Jon Ronson can be, So You've Been Publicly Shamed is a deeply honest book about modern life, full of eye-opening truths about the escalating war on human flaws - and the very scary part we all play in it.

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And each book is selected by a judge - this book comes with a letter from guest judge Joel Stein. I like that he describes this as the opposite of a self-help book. I'm only just a few chapters in, but I'm already engrossed!

And here is my bonus pick for completing the survey:

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Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes - Retail Value $27.95 (On Amazon for $17.58)

Book summary from Amazon:

A fresh, honest, and darkly funny debut collection about family, friends, and lovers, and the flaws that make us most human.

Fearless, candid, and incredibly funny, Lauren Holmes is a newcomer who writes like a master. She tackles eros and intimacy with a deceptively light touch, a keen awareness of how their nervous systems tangle and sometimes short-circuit, and a genius for revealing our most vulnerable, spirited selves.

In “Desert Hearts,” a woman takes a job selling sex toys in San Francisco rather than embark on the law career she pursued only for the sake of her father. In “Pearl and the Swiss Guy Fall in Love,” a woman realizes she much prefers the company of her pit bull—and herself—to the neurotic foreign fling who won’t decamp from her apartment. In “How Am I Supposed to Talk to You?” a daughter hauls a suitcase of lingerie to Mexico for her flighty, estranged mother to resell there, wondering whether her personal mission—to come out—is worth the same effort. And in “Barbara the Slut,” a young woman with an autistic brother, a Princeton acceptance letter, and a love of sex navigates her high school’s toxic, slut-shaming culture with open eyes.

With heart, sass, and pitch-perfect characters, Barbara the Slut is a head-turning debut from a writer with a limitless career before her.

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I normally don't read short stories (no good reason, just don't), so I thought a free bonus book was the right opportunity to give a short story collection a try!

 

Verdict: I'm happy with my selection this month. I've seen So You've Been Publicly Shamed on so many recommended book lists, and I finally have my own copy!

I'm also very pleased with the value of my Book of the Month subscription so far - I still can't believe I got this book for only $6.99!

What do you think of the Book of the Month subscription? Which box did you pick this month? (FYI - if you sign up for Book of the Month now, your first book selection month will be in December).

 

Starting at $17.99
Subscribe Now

Book of the Month is a popular online subscription service for books that helps millennial women discover the best new reads. We announce a curated selection of between 5 - 7 new and early release hardcover books every month. Members choose one on the site, and we ship it to them in a bright blue... read more.

Liz Cadman
Liz Cadman
Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

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18 comments

Michelle

I want to get this for my grandma for Christmas. If I purchase it now, is there an option to delay picking the first book until January so I can present her with a voucher on Christmas?

Thanks!

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Luisa

FYI – there’s a Gilt City deal for BOMC:
19.99 for 3 months
99.99 for one year
I don’t see anything in the restrictions about having to be a new member.

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holgad

I had a hard time choosing because they ALL sounded great! I ended up getting the watchmakers and can’t wait to get started.

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Gail

I decided to go with Home Is Burning, seems like such a good memoir and I’m dying to read it. Just have to finish the book I’m currently on. Did anyone else get Home is Burning?

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Amanda B

I didn’t get the survey. 🙁 Would have loved it because I was torn between two books this month. Couldn’t really pay for the second one because funds are short and with the holidays coming up… well.
Really bummed.

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Jill

So bummed they forgot to include my bonus book. I sent an email. Hopefully they’ll fix it quickly because it’s a box I’ve been dying to read for like 6 months plus.

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LisaB

I just got my first box this month. I am really excited to read the book I picked. I picked The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. I can’t wait to start the book. It looked very interesting in the review.

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Ragan

I really like the first half of that book. The ending, not so much. But the author did such great research and I liked her writing style.

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Tamara

Liz, did you have to do anything special for the free book this month? I filled out the survey last month just for the extra free book but there was no follow up and I didn’t see an option for the free book when I chose my November selection. 🙁

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Liz Cadman

I just added an additional book like you would if you were buying an additional book. Now I need to go double check and make sure I wasn’t charged for it! 🙂

Good news though – they have excellent customer care. I think if you email them they will send you the bonus book you want asap.

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Ashley

They charged me for the free book so definitely check, I’m waiting on a response from customer service

Sara

I got The Witches too it sounded very interesting. I also picked The Wilderness of Ruin as my free book, also sounded interesting.

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Keri S.

I bought two different subscriptions at the special three month price. (I wish I would have ordered a month sooner to get the extra book.) Today I received “The Witches” and “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed”. “The Witches” is about 500 pages long and looks like it will be a slow, but interesting read. I had not heard about “SYBPS” before. I opened it to read the first page, and about an hour later, finally came up for air. It’s a book I probably wouldn’t have gravitated to before, but, I’m so glad it was chosen as a selection. I love that this is a monthly subscription so that it fills in the time between Powell’s Indiespensable shipments. ?

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Andrea

I did the same thing with “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed”!! It reads like a friend telling you a gossipy story (which I assume is the point, if not a happy coincidence). Definitely glad I picked this one!

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Serena

I got The Witches too. It was on my higher excitement level to read list so it combined with the deal got me to sign up. Can’t wait to read it. On another note I love the packaging…the lined box looked great!

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Brandy

I got The Witches and can’t wait to read it. All of the books looked good though. Im loving this sub! I signed up for the 3 month deal a couple weeks ago and was planning to cancel after it was up… Not sure if I’ll still want to! 🙂

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Liz Cadman

Let us know if it is good – I was eyeing that one too! It’s tough to pick only one book a month! 🙂

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