Book of the Month Club

The best little blue box you’ll ever get…

In the world of auto-ship subscriptions, one never knows which ones are worth while. When a close friend of mine mentioned she was getting a new book in the mail every month I was interested and intrigued to see what a book subscription could be like.

As a recent law school grad I have had no time to read for fun since my workload consists of me reading 8-12 hours a day anyway. However, book of the month club makes it easy to go back to reading for fun.

As a kid I loved books and reading, as I went through my education I slowly fell away from the world of books and reading for fun. Now, as I enter my early adult years, this book subscription has been a way for me to enter into new worlds each month and explore new books that I would never have picked up off the shelf myself, AND the step of actually finding a bookstore is no longer necessary and I have no excuses but to read my ever growing pile of books.

Every title I’ve gotten from Book of the Month Club so far has been excellent, easy reading generally and fun light reads for any occasion.

Who is this for?

Everyone! If you like reading for fun and want new titles delivered to you monthly this subscription is perfect for you. This subscription is perfect for people who want to read more and find new titles that may not be released to the public yet!

Titles range from romance novels to historical fiction and everything in between. There is also the option to skip a month at any time if a title doesn’t grab your interest.

What does it entail?

For a set price, you get one book every month and can add two extras in your box monthly for an extra charge. Every monthly selection comes with a book mark and the cover art on each title thus far has been beautiful and I can’t wait to display my new titles.

To sign up, click this link! https://www.mybotm.com/w4e5vpz5k53r3sor 

If you enjoyed this blog, look for book reviews of “Other People’s Houses” and more coming in the next few days.

Book Review: The Postman Always Rings Twice

I loved how fast the novel read, it was easy to follow for the most part and was gripping in all the right ways. I liked how you as a reader wanted to root for Frank and Cora, even though they were kind of the actual worst. Nick never really did anything wrong, but you as a reader still want him to die so Frank and Cora can get together.

 

The whole part where Frank and Cora turn against each other while their fate is being decided after Nick dies in the planned murder/car accident situation confused me a bit as a reader. It added suspense to the story and a bit of a twist to the plot, but they come out relatively unscathed (and 10k richer). Then it comes back to bite them again it seems when Kennedy (I think was his name) comes back and threatens to clean them out in exchange for Cora’s confession. I was confused as to if Cora brought him back as a way to frame Frank or if it was just another part of the plot to draw the reader through the story.

 

I also thought the lady with the cats that Frank ran off with when Cora’s mother was sick could have been done better, she didn’t have a lot of character and Frank didn’t have a lot to say about her in his narrative, even though it ends up being a point of contention between him and Cora at a later stage in the story.

 

In the end, I saw it coming but still didn’t enjoy how it ended. But it seemed that based on the theme of the rest of the novel, Frank and Cora couldn’t live happily ever after, it just wasn’t the plan. The real kicker is the face that Frank isn’t sure if Cora thinks that he purposefully tried to kill her, even though he did indeed love her and was panicking to get her to the hospital to get the medical attention he thought she needed.

 

Overall, the plot – guy falls in love with wrong girl and ends up ending both of them because of that love, I thought was gripping. The story of the characters and their misfortunes was compelling and full of intimate details and description to bring the story to life. Although the characters didn’t have a lot of depth and development in my opinion, the story developed enough to keep a reader entranced for this short story.

Book Review: The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is the kind of book you should read when you are younger and then pick it up again later down the road and you get so much more out of it. I was cleaning my room out a few weeks ago and came across this book and I couldn’t quite remember what it was about so I decided that I might as well read something for fun while I still can (I’m going to law school in the fall so I gotta read for fun while I still can).

At first glance this little book looks like a children’s novel, something that kids use as a stepping stone to longer chapter books. There are drawings scattered throughout the book and the plot initially seems silly. However once you get past the first few pages the words really start to hit home, this little book was exactly what I needed to read at this stage in my life.

Milo starts his journey

Just like Milo, I tend to focus on the little things instead of the big picture. I often forget to stop and enjoy the world around me. My favorite part of this book is when the author describes the symphony of the sun and how if not directed properly nothing goes correctly. This little scene I’m sure when I read it as a child I just read as part of the scene, this time I thought more carefully about everything.

The map of the world that Milo has his adventures through in the Phantom Tollbooth.

In the novel there is a world where numbers are the most important and a second world in where only words reign supreme. Milo ventures through a land where sound has been taken away because no one was using it wisely or enjoying the sounds anymore. Every “land” in the book reminds the reader how easily we skip over the finer little things in life. We stop listening to the beautiful noises of brooks babbling and the wind blowing through the trees and instead rather hear ourselves talk. We tend to get caught up in our careers or hobbies and sometimes become one sided individuals (like those in the land of numbers or the land of words choose to only use one or the other and not both).

Milo meets the Spelling Bee

The whole mission of this book is that Milo is brought into this backwards sounding and very literal world of Wisdom to bring Rhyme and Reason back from the floating castle in the mountains. The task is impossible Milo learns in the end, but because he thought it was able to be done and he hadn’t been told it was an impossible task, in the end is is able to complete his task and learn from his journey through the land of Wisdom.

Milo and the Humbug

To help Milo on his journey to return Rhyme and Reason to Wisdom there are two important characters we must talk about. Tock, a dog with a clock that ticks instead of tocks and the Humbug. These two help Milo throughout his journey and become his much needed friends in the land of Wisdom.

Rhyme and Reason

In the end, Milo is successful and learns so much more about life on his trip to rescue Rhyme and Reason. Milo finds that he has only been missing for an hour and that his life is forever changed from his little journey that the Phantom Tollbooth took him on. He learns so much on his little adventure that we too can take into account in our own lives.

Without a doubt, even if reading books for fun isn’t something you would normally do, I would suggest that any young adult or adult read or re-read this book- especially if you are going through some sort of transitional period or a confusing time. This book really grounds you and brings to life what really is important, it is a very important reminder of how easily we get caught up in the unimportant things and forget the most important things of all.

Happy reading!

Milo, Tock, and the Humbug venture through Wisdom