PageHabit is a book subscription box that sends a title in the genre of your choice with annotations from the author, a bookmark, and other book-related goods. Choose between the monthly genres: Literary Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Horror, or Historical Fiction, and quarterly genres: Literary Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, or Cookbook.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
This review is of the PageHabit Horror genre, $29.99 a month, box.
About PageHabit
The Subscription Box: PageHabit
The Cost: $29.99 a month + shipping
The Products: One new-release book annotated with notes by the author, a letter from the author, a bookmark, short work of fiction, and 2-3 bookish goods.
Ships to: the US for $4.99, Canada for $14.99, and Everywhere else in the world for $19.99, plus any local taxes that may be applied.
PageHabit July 2018 Horror Genre Review
Each PageHabit box has a letter from the author, which makes these boxes extra special. This month’s letter from Emily Devenport, written in what she calls her “crummy scrawl,” muses over what the book is really about. Revenge and power are two major themes for the book, and while she recognizes these, she also mentions that readers might even pick out themes that she hasn’t even considered yet! At the end of her message, she lets us know how to pronounce the main character Oichi’s name, which I found really helpful.
PageHabit Bookmark
Each PageHabit box also includes a bookmark, and this month’s features a quote from American essayist Anne Fadiman, which is the same bookmark that I received in my June box. I appreciate the sentiment here of getting solid use out of a book and using it in every way you can, but Anne, we must part ways on the muffin crumbs. I haaaaate finding food in my books – yuck!
Talking Bubble Sticky Notes – Retail Value $10.66
Hello, again, friends! I received a pack of these in the February PageHabit box this year, so these will serve as a refill pack if you will! These have a great surface for writing notes quickly and sticking them someplace where I’ll see them. They’ve been working great for to-do lists in particular!
Star-Shaped Pencil
“Onward if You Dare” - okay, if you insist! I don’t have too many opportunities to use a pencil in my day to day activities, but I really like having them on-hand in case I’m in the mood to sketch or doodle. This will look great in a cup on my desk when it’s not in use - it’s definitely eye-catching!
Feather Pen
I receive a lot of pens throughout the month, and I wasn’t prepared for how much I liked this! It’s lightweight and feels almost like silicone, and it’s nicely balanced in my hand. And I love the pen’s tip! It’s super-thin, which is my preference, and it’s almost kind of marker-y, with black ink that I can use for anything.
Read Books Socks
Another pair of socks! I received a pair of these previously in the April box, and as I said then, I really like the black-and-white motif. So, since I have a pair of my own, I will likely be gifting these to my mom. She’s a big reader, too - and a fiend for a pair of fun socks!
Bookmark Magnifier
I’ve encountered a lot of bookmarks this year, but this one is the first to actually magnify things! It’s not a super-powerful lens of course, but it’s a neat added function to this, though, thankfully, my eyes don’t need the extra boost while reading (not yet, anyway!).
Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport - Retail Value $16.99 (found here for $11.59)
This month’s book is from American Sci-Fi author Emily Devenport. She’s written under several other names, including as Maggy Thomas and Lee Hogan. This book is 320 pages long and was released on May 1st, 2018. It’s high science fiction, from the “generation ship” a subgenre of science fiction that’s actually pretty popular right now.
Summary from Amazon:
“My name is Oichi Angelis, and I am a worm.
They see me every day. They consider me harmless. And that's the trick, isn't it?
A generation starship can hide many secrets. When an Executive clan suspects Oichi of insurgency and discreetly shoves her out an airlock, one of those secrets finds and rescues her.
Officially dead, Oichi begins to rebalance power one assassination at a time and uncovers the shocking truth behind the generation starship and the Executive clans.“
This book is a fairly easy read, in the first person past tense, but there were time jumps that I could understand if other readers found confusing. The timeline in this story is pretty vast, and the reader has to continually ground themselves with the current events of the story to keep the timeline straight. Our main character is Oichi, a member of the servant class, known as “worms,” denied a full education as a child and instead has mental access to a database of information thanks to her parents. This book tackles a few issues of class and privilege, and although it’s a story of an assassin trying to right wrongs, I found the attitude of our narrator to be empathetic and balanced enough that the story didn’t get too dark.
Verdict: I was glad to see more items inside than past boxes, but I was a little confused by the repeat items, to be honest! I also was surprised that there was no poem or short story in this month’s box As you’ll see below, each item averages in cost to be $5.83. The additional items were enjoyable, but it’s important to note that while the average price is low price for a book or socks, it’s a lot for say, the pencil or magnifying bookmark. It’s just a little all over the place, but thankfully I really enjoyed the book this month. I don’t tend to read as much sci-fi as I do other things, and I liked the submersion into a world very different from my own.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Sadly, no. You will receive the October box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $29.99 + $4.99 shipping, which means that each of the 6 items (not including the author’s letter and PageHabit bookmark) in the box has an average cost of $5.83.
Be sure to check out our PageHabit reviews and the rest of our Book Subscription Box reviews!
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