About a month ago, I received a special discounted offer through NetGalley to try Quarterly's fall literary box. Quarterly is a box subscription service that offers curated boxes based on a variety of interests; such as cooking, crafting, and genre literature. Truly, there is a box for everyone. They reached out to me with this offer, because their Fall Literary box was curated by first time novelist, Brit Bennett. I had shown an interest in reviewing Bennett's novel, The Mothers, which has been receiving rave reviews. Although I did not get approved for an advanced copy of Bennett's novel, this offer was enticing enough to make me jump on the opportunity.
I fell in love with my Quarterly box, before even opening it up. Look at the packing tape: adorable.
I opened the mailing box, to find a smaller box, with another cool sticker. It was wrapped up like a present.
And then I opened my box to discover my literary loot nestled in ribbons of packing cardboard.
Here is a welcome letter from Brit Bennett.
The edition of The Mothers, from Quarterly, is annotated by Bennett, adding both limited edition value and giving readers a deeper insight to the story.
Also included in this box curated by Bennett: Jane Austen themed tea, Toni Morrison's, Sula, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's, We Should All Be Feminists, a window cling, and a mug with a quote from, The Mothers. I love the quote on the mug - " All good secrets have a taste before you tell them." Isn't that the truth?
Was the box a success? I'm excited to read Bennett's novel and love that it's annotated. I groaned at adding yet another mug to my colossal collection ( doesn't everyone have an abundance of mugs?), but I've been using it daily, and the quote is wonderful. I still need to try the tea. I read Sula in college, but it has been many years, and Morrison's work is always worth a repeat. I'm not familiar with Adichie, so I'm happy to have it recommended to me. I have no idea why the window cling was included, but I'm guessing that I will discover the connection when I read, The Mothers.
Will I try Quarterly again? Absolutely. My to-be-read pile is overflowing and I need more books like I need a hole in the head, but if the next box is curated by an author that catches my interest, I'm subscribing.