In the chaos of life, finding ways to slow down, breathe, and give your brain a break from all of your obligations and activities can be difficult but well worth it. For readers across the globe, diving into a good book is the perfect “brain break,” allowing them to escape for a while and return feeling refreshed. While there are many ways to appreciate a good book, one of the more unique options is to order a book box. This genre of book buying has grown in popularity, with multiple book box companies sprouting up in the last decade.
For those interested in exploring book boxes, we have compiled a list of five book box companies that will enhance your reading experience. Each of the companies listed below offers subscriptions, special edition books, bookish goodies, and more!
Co-founded in 2016 by Alixandra Lewis Burrows and Kelly Dearth after meeting through a book club in 2015, this Utah-based company proudly works with authors to offer its customers a colorful assortment of literary products and a bookish community hub.
The creative team at LitJoy has taken many beloved books and celebrated them with gorgeous redesigns, including new covers, foiled hardcovers, sprayed and stenciled edges, endpaper art, author signatures and annotations, illustrations, and more. LitJoy works hand-in-hand with artists and authors to ensure the quality of its products and even offers licensed author collections, working with popular authors like Holly Black, Leigh Bardugo, R.F. Kuang, Sarah J. Mass, Diana Gabaldon, Hafsah Faizal, Axie Oh, and Cassandra Clare.
Outside of the books themselves, LitJoy has a curated collection of bookish goodies such as bookshelf alleys, collectible keys, enamel pins, prop replicas, apparel, puzzles, art cards, and tea cups with saucers.
Many customers also choose to participate in the To Bee Read Book Box Subscription, which is a customizable, quarterly subscription that includes The Book Only Box, The Standard Box, and The Deluxe Box.
While its products alone are sure to delight readers, LitJoy also has a free loyalty program and a paid Lunacorn Membership. Lunacorn members are able to engage with LitJoy even further through an exclusive Facebook group, a members-only store, product previews, early access to new merchandise, and pop-up discounts.
Explore all the literary joy LitJoy has to offer at litjoycrate.com and follow the shop on Facebook and Instagram to see the latest shop drops. Hear from the founders themselves on the LitJoy Podcast.
OwlCrate got its start in November of 2014, thanks to co-founders Korrina Ede and Robert Madden, and shipped its first book box in March of 2015, which featured the book “A Darker Shade of Magic” by V.E. Schwab. In the last decade, the OwlCrate team (along with its mascot, Ozwald the owl) has featured authors such as Isabel Ibañez, Leigh Bardugo, Rebecca Ross, Travis Baldree, Kika Hatzopoulou, Heather Fawcett, Maggie Stiefvater, Christopher Paolini, and Ava Reid.
With its vast collection of enamel pins, bookmarks, story doorways, candles, loose leaf tea, mugs/tumblers, apparel, blankets, and tote bags, OwlCrate represents various books and fandoms with its products.
Owlcrate’s monthly subscriptions include Young Adult (Book & Goodies or Book Only) and Adult Fantasy (Book Only) options. It also has four quarterly subscriptions, which center around genre preference: Romantasy Quarterly Subscription, Horror Quarterly Subscription, Romance Quarterly Subscription, and Sci-Fi Quarterly Subscription. Regardless of which subscription customers choose, they are signing up for a beautiful edition of a new book with a redesigned cover, a sprayed or stenciled edge, reversible dust jacket artwork, a foil design on the hardcover case, and more.
With any purchase, customers will automatically join OwlCrate’s loyalty rewards program, leading to discounts on future purchases. OwlCrate also offers an assortment of ways to further connect with books through Spotify playlists inspired by OwlCrate’s latest special edition books, book talks on the Lost in Plots podcast, and its community app called The Nest.
Browse OwlCrate’s latest product releases at owlcrate.com and follow its Instagram and Facebook pages to keep up with its latest news.
FairyLoot, a UK-based book box company, began in February 2016 thanks to Anissa de Gomery and Michael Sammer. Befitting of its name, it largely represents fantasy titles which FairyLoot redesigns with new dust jackets, hardcovers, endpapers, stenciled edges, and more to create a magical reading experience.
Over the years, FairyLoot has featured authors such as Pierce Brown, Chloe Gong, Axie Oh, Megan Whalen Turner, Ehigbor Okosun, Adrienne Young, Elizabeth Lim, Tricia Levenseller, and Tahereh Mafi.
Beyond creating a beautiful book, FairyLoot invites customers to step into a fairytale with bookish items like bookmarks, jewelry, bookends, dishware, art prints, enamel pins, apparel, keychains, and various trinkets.
FairyLoot’s subscription options range from Adult to YA to Romantasy to Epic Fantasy with combination options, multi-book options, and book-only options. Each subscription box ships out monthly, and FairyLoot announces each box’s theme while letting the actual book remain a surprise for customers to unbox that month. For customers who are unsure which subscription to pick, FaiyLoot has a quiz designed to help them discover which subscription is perfect for them. Customers can also check out FairyLoot’s blog post titled Understanding FairyLoot’s Subscription Categories for an in-depth description of each category, along with example titles.
Visit FairyLoot’s U.S. website to browse its hoard of fantasy titles and follow its Instagram and Facebook pages.
After connecting with the publishing industry thanks to her book blogging in the UK, Daphne Tonge founded Illumicrate in 2015, which sent out its first book box that November. Expanding its horizons to include prospective customers from North America, Illumicrate sent out its first book box to the U.S. and Canada in November 2022.
Illumicrate has assembled book boxes that highlight authors like Rick Riordan, Tamora Pierce, Robin Hobb, Julia Quinn, Tasha Suri, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Ava Reid, Neal Shusterman, Ayana Gray, and Rebecca Ross. The Illumicrate staff works hard to not only fashion beautiful hardcovers but also incorporates bookish goodies that correspond with the book, including book pots, mugs, trinket dishes, bookmarks, letter openers, apparel, enamel pins, and lunch bags.
The self-titled Illumicrate Box is a monthly subscription that comes with a gorgeous edition of a new release, featuring sprayed/stencilled edges, fresh covers, and endpaper art. Each month, the subscription has a different theme, such as In Too Deep, Bad Blood, or Change Your Stars. This subscription is available as the Illumicrate Book Only option and the standard Illumicrate Box, which comes with bookish goodies that correspond with the month’s theme. In addition to the Illumicrate Box, Illumicrate offers three genre-based subscriptions: Afterlight (romance), Evernight (horror), and Starbright (Sci-Fi).
In addition to founding Illumicrate, Tonge also runs a publishing company called Daphne Press, which is currently accepting submissions in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction.
As a UK-based company, Illumicrate has separate UK and US websites. Please note that not all products listed on the UK website are available through the US website, but US-based customers may order from the UK website if they pay international shipping rates. Follow Illumicrate on Facebook and Instagram to discover new releases, promotional offers, and social media giveaways.
After hosting a book club meeting complete with decor and snacks that corresponded with Kristin Hannah’s novel “The Nightingale,” Michelle Wolett of Chick Lit Designs wanted to find a creative way to help readers immerse themselves in a story. Thus, Once Upon a Book Club (OUABC) was born in January of 2016. With Wolett’s love of Kristin Hannah, it comes as no surprise that OUABC has featured her work in its book boxes alongside the work of authors Matt Haig, Jess Kidd, Julia Quinn, Jodi Picoult, Alexandria Warwick, Sarah Beth Durst, Freya Sampson, Stuart Turton, and Lisa Jewell.
OUABC curates a truly unique reading experience with each box containing either a regular book with OUABC sticker or a special edition book, a paper pack, and a handful of corresponding gifts. The paper pack contains a signed bookplate, a quote print and bookmark, a collectible sticker, and a book club kit containing discussion questions, activities, themed recipes, and other bonuses.
The element that makes OUABC stand out from other book boxes is the 3-5 gifts packed inside. Each gift is packaged in a bag or box that matches the design of the book and is labeled with a page number. As readers dive into the book, they will discover sticky notes on the pages that instruct them to open the designated gift, which corresponds with an item featured in that scene. These tangible connections to the book invite readers to participate in the story as they read and cherish mementos of the experience long afterward. With a focus on practical gifts, these labeled gifts contain jewelery, blankets, bags, beauty products, candles, decor, apparel, office supplies, and kitchen accessories.
To cater to various age groups and let kids join the fun, OUABC has an Adult Subscription, a Young Adult Subscription, and a Tween Subscription. Each subscription comes in a different-colored box – pink, teal, or yellow – that is designed to look like a book. Beyond the subscription, customers can purchase limited edition boxes and any previous subscription boxes or merchandise in-stock on the website.
Be sure to check out the OUABC website and follow its Facebook and Instagram pages to keep up with monthly subscription hints and flash sales.