Why we love it and where it could improve

I’ve always been a big reader. I was one of those kids who had a book light and would read under the covers well past my bedtime. As I got older and life got busier, I found myself reading less and less. I still bought books at an alarming rate — I just didn’t keep up with actually reading them.

After college, I heard about Book of the Month (I know, it’s been around for decades, but I was late to the party). Even though it sounded great, I wasn’t sure I could read enough to warrant getting a new book every month. Plus, I much prefer paperback books and BOTM is all hardbacks. But once I started writing for Mashable, I put together a few roundups focused on subscription boxes and I kept feeling drawn to Book of the Month. I finally decided to give it a try in November 2019, and I’m so glad I did. Although, Book of the Month has had some issues surrounding race and diversity, especially during June 2020 when Black Lives Matter protests were ramping up, which I will go into more later. So, I won’t say it’s a perfect service because there’s definitely room for improvement, but I do like how it’s helped me read more.

How does Book of the Month work?

As a Book of the Month subscriber, you pay either $15.99 per month or a $167.99 annual charge that works out to $13.99 per month. These charges give you a monthly credit to use for your book selection. New subscribers can get their first book for $9.99 instead of $15.99, which is nice if you’re on the fence about becoming a member and you want a cheaper test run of the service. Because the books are all hardcovers, subscribing to Book of the Month is technically cheaper than buying books from other sellers as hardbacks usually cost around $25.

You could spend less if you only bought paperbacks, but sometimes new releases are only available as hardcovers. One thing to note: Book of the Month books do have BOTM branding on the spine and covers, so they will look different than other prints of the same book. I don’t mind it, but it might bother some people who want an original first edition of a book. I kind of like how uniform it makes my bookshelf look.

December 2019’s book selection.
Credit: Book of the Month

The original Book of the Month Club was founded in 1926, and it underwent a total rebrand and relaunch in 2015, making it more appealing to a millennial audience. In its current state, subscribers get a batch of five new books to choose from each month. They range in genre, but you’ll usually see thrillers, romance, fantasy, and contemporary fiction among the mix — there are occasionally some nonfiction books among the lineup, but fiction is definitely more prominent. The book selections are released a day or two before a new month begins, and Book of the Month has fast (and free!) shipping, so you can actually start reading at the beginning of the month. I get other subscription boxes (not book-related) that don’t show up until the 15th or 20th of the month, so I like that with Book of the Month, I get to have the product in my possession for pretty much the entire month.

If you’re not feeling any of the books in a certain month’s selection, you can choose to skip that month and your credit will roll over to the next month. You won’t get charged for the following month if you choose to have your credit rollover. There’s also a selection of add-ons, which are books that aren’t in the regular five-book selection, but are also new releases. You can either pick an add-on to replace your regular choice if you’re not interested in the monthly selection or actually add one on in addition to your monthly selection for $10.99.

Book of the Month is definitely for those of us who have tried e-books and audio books, but just have to have a physical book in our hands while we read. It is a very analog service for reading because you could be getting books on Audible for about the same price every month and Kindle is always having sales where bestsellers are $5 or less. But the reasons I don’t go digital and I stick with my subscription are 1. I like having physical books, and 2. I like that the new releases are curated for me and I don’t have to do any research to see which books are popular in any given month.

Book of the Month’s user interface is top tier

I mostly use the mobile app, but both the app and the website are super easy to navigate. You do have to be logged in to actually see each month’s selection, but that’s not a problem if you’re a member. (Also, you’re able to create an account without paying upfront if you just want to peruse first.)

The selections are clearly laid out and each one has a quick blurb, longer synopsis, personal review from people in the book community and celebrities, and a preview. There’s also a section with basic characteristics listed, like if it’s a slow build or a whodunnit — sometimes there are also trigger warnings if the book depicts storlylines that include topics like sexual assault or infertility issues. Once the book has been out for some time, user reviews are also added to the listing page.

Browsing BOTM’s entire selection, including add-ons, is easy. You can view different categories like new releases, curated collections, or sort by genre. There’s a tab to view your bookshelf, aka all the books you’ve chosen. Here, you can rate and review books and see your progress on Book of the Month’s reading challenge, which I’ll touch on more later.

View books by month, genre, or other curated filters.

Credit: Screenshot: Book of the Month

Your bookshelf is where you can see all of the books you’ve purchased and keep up with the reading challenge.

Credit: Screenshot: Book of the Month 

Book of the Month has a varied selection

Even though there are only five books featured each month, they’re usually pretty diverse in genre, plot, and author. I tend to stick with romance and thriller novels and Book of the Month almost always has something that catches my eye. I’ve also branched out to include contemporary fiction and historical fiction in my regular genre lineup thanks to BOTM. I’m not a huge fantasy fan, but honestly, some of the fantasy books chosen for Book of the Month have piqued my interest.

Since beginning my subscription, I’ve read more books from authors of color than I did in the past. Though, it’s important to note that the author selection could stand to be even more diverse as CIS, white authors tend to outnumber authors of color or those in the LGBTQIA+ community. That said, I have been introduced to books and authors that I might not have naturally come across if I were just browsing at Barnes and Noble. In a bookstore, I’m very much a “judge a book by its cover” type of person, but when there are books pre-selected for me, I actually read the synopsis and reviews for all of them and spend time deciding which one I want, even if the books don’t catch my eye at first glance.

Even if the five main books aren’t super diverse every time, the add-ons usually feature a decent selection of newer authors and minority authors. And if you want to actively read underrepresented authors, you can always choose an add-on as your monthly pick if that month’s books aren’t cutting it.

But it could do better

Though Book of the Month aims to feature a diverse selection of authors, the subscription service does have some shortcomings. There has been backlash about the fact that diverse voices are cast to the side as add-ons instead of being featured prominently as part of the main selection.

Also, in June 2020, while Black Lives Matter protests were dominating news feeds, Book of the Month made a post featuring two nonfiction books by Black authors on its Instagram feed. People left comments criticizing Book of the Month for not amplifying Black voices sooner, or using the current events to propel diverse voices. The company then faced even more critique after the person running BOTM’s Instagram account deleted comments from The Stacks podcast host, Traci Thompson, and even blocked her account. The Instagram post now has an updated caption apologizing to Thompson and addressing what happened.

Another controversy that caused friction with Book of the Month subscribers is the company’s choice to feature American Dirt as a monthly choice in February 2020. If you aren’t familiar with the book, it follows a fictional story of a Mexican mother and son trying to make it to the U.S. border after a cartel leader comes for their family. It was a highly anticipated read, but it’s written by a white woman. The book has since been criticized for cultural appropriation and stereotyping.

However, it was still chosen as a BOTM feature and even sold out. The listing on Book of the Month’s site does include a disclaimer acknowledging that it was a controversial pick, but that they stood by the decision to include it because although members expressed disappointment in the choice, the team thought it was “more productive to encourage conversations around these issues than to sweep them under the rug.” They said they wanted to leave the decision up to members whether they wanted to read the book or not. I chose not to read it.

Book of the Month helps me meet my reading goals

As I mentioned earlier, Book of the Month has an annual reading challenge and if you complete it, you get a fun little prize. The reward for 2020 was a candle. To complete, you need to read and rate 12 BOTM books, and five of them need to be different genres, while three of them need to be debuts. These requirements have influenced which books I select each month because I have to make sure I am switching up the genres and reading books from brand new authors.

The reading challenge only applies to Book of the Month books that you have bought through the subscription service. You can find the challenge in the “bookshelf” section of the app, where you’ll see all the books you’ve gotten through BOTM, divided into which ones you’ve rated and which ones are available to rate. It is a little annoying that you have to rate and review books in order to mark them as read, but you can skip writing a review and just select whether you loved, liked, or disliked each book to make it count for the reading challenge.

I do read books that I get outside of Book of the Month, so I keep track of all my reading in a note on my phone, but the reading challenge is still a fun incentive to actually read these hardback books that I’m spending $16 on each month.

Being a long-term subscriber comes with perks

Once you’ve ordered your 12th BOTM box, you gain BFF status, which comes with some nice bonuses. Once you’re a BFF, you’ll get a Book of the Month tote bag that has a special pocket designed to fit a standard hardcover book so you can publicly show how much of a book nerd you are. Though, as we’ve learned, cotton totes are actually not that great for the environment and require tons of water to produce. And, if I’m being honest, I’d use about six of my other totes before I’d reach for my BOTM bag. But if you don’t already have a huge collection of totes, this could be a nice perk. During your birthday month, you get a free add-on book. And each year, BOTM chooses five finalists for Book of the Year, and as a BFF, you get your choice of one for free.

It does take a year to reach BFF status if you order a box consistently each month, so it requires some dedication. But if you’re an avid reader, you’ll want to subscribe for that long anyway. Since becoming a BOTM member, I feel more in the know about the book world because I’m reading new releases every month — even if it does take me longer than a month to read my selections sometimes. And I’ve found some of my favorite authors through my BOTM choices. It goes without saying that service has some areas that need improvement, but overall I really enjoy it and would recommend it to a friend. (BTW, if you become a member, you can send referral links to friends and get free book credits if they sign up too.)