By Holly Presswell, Shuangyue Zhao and Tamara Yamamoto
How about treating yourself or a loved one to an exciting new book subscription for Christmas and the New Year? This is the perfect gift for all book lovers! Here is our guide to some particularly noteworthy subscriptions that have caught our eyes this year.
Mr B’s Emporium: 13–15 John Street, Bath, BA1 2JL
Located in Bath, Mr B’s is an independent bookshop opened in 2006, named by The Guardian as one of the ten best bookshops in the world. The shop offers many book gifts, including a monthly subscription option.
The subscription begins with a simple questionnaire in order to get an idea for your reading habits and tastes; this can be done via email or phone. Using this information, the staff handpick your book of the month and deliver it straight to your door! However, do not worry if you receive a book you have already read, you are able to send it back and get a new one. The subscription can last for three, five or eleven months, with the store missing the month of January to let you read all the books you got for Christmas. With the subscription able to ship worldwide along with rave reviews, this would be the perfect gift for a book lover this Christmas.
Prices are as followed (prices differ for hardback books and shipping), three months: £50.00, six months: £95.00 and eleven months: £160.00. Click here to be taken to Mr B’s website!
Libreria Bookshop: 65 Hanbury Street, London, E1 5JP
Libreria is a small but vibrant and soulful bookshop just off a side street to Brick Lane. It's uniquely curated, with shelves organised by themes orchestrated to provoke shoppers into forming unexpected connections. If you want to discover new books each month from a beautiful independent bookshop that encourages exposure to new ideas and interdisciplinary thinking, then look at the monthly subscription from Libreria. Members will receive a carefully handpicked book and some other goodies each month. They offer four different subscriptions, and prices are as follows, a mix of fiction, non-fiction and poetry: £12.49p/m, non-fiction: £13.49p/m, fiction: £12.49p/m, child subscription (9-12 years): £12.49p/m. Browse their website to get more information!
Fairyloot
You may recognise this, as it has become popular on TikTok, this is a no-questions-asked, must-have subscription for all fantasy book lovers. Fairyloot is a UK-based business launched by Anissa and Michael in March 2016. Their mission is to share their love for fantasy with people worldwide and form a passionate community of like-minded readers.
Each and every one of their boxes are designed to create a special and magical experience for the receiver. Fairyloot focuses exclusively on Young Adult and Adult fantasy, and their books are always beautiful and exclusive hardcover editions that you will want to keep forever.
There are three subscription plans, a monthly YA box subscription: £27.50 p/m, YA book-only subscription: £20.00 p/m and an adult book-only subscription: £20.00 p/m. Fairyloot’s website is here waiting for your visit!
Book-ish: 18 High Street, Crickhowell, NP8 1BD
Situated in the beautiful Brecon Beacons, Book-ish is the winner of Best Indie Bookshop UK 2020 and Wales 2022, possessing a huge stock of books, gifts for book lovers and cards selected by an enthusiastic team. Book-ish commits itself to connecting people to books, cultivating children’s lifelong passion for reading and encouraging conversation around books and reading.
Book-ish has been offering unique subscription boxes ranging from Book & Gift to Book & Coffee, whereby you will receive a handpicked new book with some little goodies or a 250g bag of Black Mountain Roast’s Book-ish Blend coffee every month. They will also send out signed or indie exclusive copies of the books where possible, which can be ideal presents for yourself or others. Many different plans are available depending on the type of book, for instance, paperback fiction: £13/month, crime (modern/classic): £13/month, poetry (new releases): £14/month. Check out their website to see all the choices!