Halloween Countdown Day 24: Evil Supply Co. & Uppercase Box
I love the idea of subscription boxes, but I've been slow to try many, and of those I have tried, only two at this point have won me over. Please note my positive comments below are those of a customer and not someone who received free items in return for a review.
First is Evil Supply Co., because 1) I actually use the stationery I receive (I'm all about the paper products!), so the box is practical; 2) I'm delighted by the company's year-round-Goth aesthetic and themes; and 3) at $12/month, this monthly "gift to self" is affordable in ways many other subscription boxes aren't. A one-time trial option is also available for those who want to try it out without committing to a monthly purchase.
The Company: Evil Supply Co. Their motto is "Ghosts, Monsters and Paper: We are an evil paper goods company specializing in witchcraft to spacecraft, mermaids in lost seas to ghosts haunting ancient libraries. We are here to make the Netherworld a better place."
The Subscription Box: Mister Ghost’s Highly Enviable Monthly Parcel of Simple Yet Amazing Wonderments
What It Contains: Each month's box is based on a theme. (November's for example, is "Home Sweet Haunted Home"). Each box contains one art print, one embroidered patch, two notebooks, two greeting cards (with matching envelopes), four stickers, and the latest edition of Evil Supply Co.'s haunted newspaper.
Here are the goodies from this month's Halloween box. Fabulous!
Second is Uppercase Box. This is the best, most serious, and most book-centric of the book boxes I've found, as you get exclusive additional content, and the bookish extras are the delicious (and always on point) icing on the cake, not the main course. I'm first and foremost a speculative fiction reader, but I really enjoy YA books, and Uppercase delivers a lot of quality YA titles, many of them SF, throughout the year. You can cancel and/or reactivate your subscription at any time, so it's very easy to do a one-time trial, and there's a less expensive option for those who want the signed book and exclusive content but not the 1-2 extra bookish goodies.
The Company and the Subscription Box: Uppercase Box. Their motto is "Monthly surprise book mail for young adult book lovers."
What It Contains: Each monthly box contains a brand new, hardcover young adult book curated by a YA book expert -- the recommendations of Lisa, the founder and curator, "are trusted by hundreds of thousands of readers who follow her blog, Read. Breathe. Relax., and on The Huffington Post where she has demonstrated her proven track record of honest and authentic young adult book reviews for the past 5 years" -- either signed or with a bookplate signed by the author, with exclusive additional content (like the DVD extras for the book), plus 1-2 high-quality, exclusive and custom bookish items, and a hand-written and personalized note to you. There's also a private discussion group on Goodreads for Uppercase, where subscribers can discuss the books they receive.
As you can see, this month's signed book is perfect for Halloween! I'm looking forward to reading it. The punk writer journal and cassette tape bookmarks are wonderfully fun and useful, as well!
Here's the official description of Vassa in the Night: "Vassa in the Night is an enchanting, modern retelling of the Russian folktale 'Vassilissa the Beautiful' for young adults by the critically-acclaimed author, Sarah Porter. In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now―but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.
"In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters―and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.
"But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair...."
Read an excerpt from Vassa in the Night here.
Your turn!
Do you have any Halloween-friendly subscription boxes to recommend?
First is Evil Supply Co., because 1) I actually use the stationery I receive (I'm all about the paper products!), so the box is practical; 2) I'm delighted by the company's year-round-Goth aesthetic and themes; and 3) at $12/month, this monthly "gift to self" is affordable in ways many other subscription boxes aren't. A one-time trial option is also available for those who want to try it out without committing to a monthly purchase.
The Company: Evil Supply Co. Their motto is "Ghosts, Monsters and Paper: We are an evil paper goods company specializing in witchcraft to spacecraft, mermaids in lost seas to ghosts haunting ancient libraries. We are here to make the Netherworld a better place."
The Subscription Box: Mister Ghost’s Highly Enviable Monthly Parcel of Simple Yet Amazing Wonderments
What It Contains: Each month's box is based on a theme. (November's for example, is "Home Sweet Haunted Home"). Each box contains one art print, one embroidered patch, two notebooks, two greeting cards (with matching envelopes), four stickers, and the latest edition of Evil Supply Co.'s haunted newspaper.
Here are the goodies from this month's Halloween box. Fabulous!
Second is Uppercase Box. This is the best, most serious, and most book-centric of the book boxes I've found, as you get exclusive additional content, and the bookish extras are the delicious (and always on point) icing on the cake, not the main course. I'm first and foremost a speculative fiction reader, but I really enjoy YA books, and Uppercase delivers a lot of quality YA titles, many of them SF, throughout the year. You can cancel and/or reactivate your subscription at any time, so it's very easy to do a one-time trial, and there's a less expensive option for those who want the signed book and exclusive content but not the 1-2 extra bookish goodies.
The Company and the Subscription Box: Uppercase Box. Their motto is "Monthly surprise book mail for young adult book lovers."
What It Contains: Each monthly box contains a brand new, hardcover young adult book curated by a YA book expert -- the recommendations of Lisa, the founder and curator, "are trusted by hundreds of thousands of readers who follow her blog, Read. Breathe. Relax., and on The Huffington Post where she has demonstrated her proven track record of honest and authentic young adult book reviews for the past 5 years" -- either signed or with a bookplate signed by the author, with exclusive additional content (like the DVD extras for the book), plus 1-2 high-quality, exclusive and custom bookish items, and a hand-written and personalized note to you. There's also a private discussion group on Goodreads for Uppercase, where subscribers can discuss the books they receive.
As you can see, this month's signed book is perfect for Halloween! I'm looking forward to reading it. The punk writer journal and cassette tape bookmarks are wonderfully fun and useful, as well!
Here's the official description of Vassa in the Night: "Vassa in the Night is an enchanting, modern retelling of the Russian folktale 'Vassilissa the Beautiful' for young adults by the critically-acclaimed author, Sarah Porter. In the enchanted kingdom of Brooklyn, the fashionable people put on cute shoes, go to parties in warehouses, drink on rooftops at sunset, and tell themselves they’ve arrived. A whole lot of Brooklyn is like that now―but not Vassa’s working-class neighborhood.
"In Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters―and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.
"But Vassa has a bit of luck hidden in her pocket, a gift from her dead mother. Erg is a tough-talking wooden doll with sticky fingers, a bottomless stomach, and a ferocious cunning. With Erg’s help, Vassa just might be able to break the witch’s curse and free her Brooklyn neighborhood. But Babs won’t be playing fair...."
Read an excerpt from Vassa in the Night here.
Your turn!
Do you have any Halloween-friendly subscription boxes to recommend?