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. You can also add up to 2 additional books for only $9.99 each.
We were sent this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
Check out all of our reviews of Book Subscription Boxes for more options, too!
The Subscription Box: Book of the Month
The Cost: $14.99 a month (less with 3 and 12 month subscriptions)
Use this link and coupon code FRESHSTART to sign up for Book of the Month and get a FREE book credit!
The Product: Subscribers get to pick from a selection of hardcover books each month. Skip any month you aren’t interested in. Add up to two additional books for $9.99.
Ships to: US Only
Check out all of our Book of the Month reviews!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wish list!
This month, subscribers picked from the following 5 books:
I’m reviewing Maid:
Maid by Stephanie Land
Book Summary from Amazon:
At 28, Stephanie Land’s plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unexpected pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren’t being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. Of living on food stamps and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) coupons to eat. Of the government programs that provided her housing, but that doubled as halfway houses. The aloof government employees who called her lucky for receiving assistance while she didn’t feel lucky at all. She wrote to remember the fight, to eventually cut through the deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor.Maid explores the underbelly of upper-middle class America and the reality of what it’s like to be in service to them. “I’d become a nameless ghost,” Stephanie writes about her relationship with her clients, many of whom do not know her from any other cleaner, but who she learns plenty about. As she begins to discover more about her clients’ lives-their sadness and love, too-she begins to find hope in her own path.Her compassionate, unflinching writing as a journalist gives voice to the “servant” worker, and those pursuing the American Dream from below the poverty line. Maid is Stephanie’s story, but it’s not her alone. It is an inspiring testament to the strength, determination, and ultimate triumph of the human spirit.
I’ve seen this book in a few must-read lists and highlighted in magazines, and I was planning on buying it, so it was an easy pick for me this month! I had read Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickle and Dimed in college and it was an eye-opening read for me, and this felt like it would be a similar experience, but more as a memoir.
I’m about halfway through, and I’m so impressed with Land’s writing. It’s an easy read (especially for this subject matter), and I think she does an excellent job of helping the reader fully understand her situation, her obstacles, etc.
(Also, I noticed a lot of reviews for this book mentioning Evicted by Matthew Desmond, so that’s on my reading list next. If you recommend it, please let me know!)
And Book of the Month includes a bookmark every month, too!
If you picked this book this month, please let me know what you think of it!
Verdict: The value of the Book of the Month subscription is great. The variety of new books offered is awesome and the prices are still better than Amazon for new hardcover releases. If one book a month won’t cut it, you can also add-ons books from previous months for $9.99. I like that you also have the option to skip a month.
To Wrap Up:
Use this link and coupon code FRESHSTART to sign up for Book of the Month and get a FREE book credit!
What do you think of the Book of the Month subscription? Which book (or books) did you pick this month?