This holiday season, gift your book-loving loved ones a bookish subscription! It might be overwhelming to find the perfect one, so I’m going to help you out. The only thing you have to do is find a comfortable place to sit down and get your coziest blanket and your favorite type of hot beverage. Get ready to enjoy scrolling through the best bookish subscriptions for 2023 in order to find the ideal gift everyone will love.
If you’re like me, you tend to choose bookish gifts when people ask you, “What would you like me to give to you?” But it’s not ideal to simply hand over your TBR because it’s overwhelming for them to choose one of the thousands of books you have there. To make things easier, for you and for them, bookish subscriptions provide a solution: A monthly/quarterly/or one-time subscription where you’ll be able to get everything from recent book releases to bookish items like candles, apparel, or bookmarks, to name a few. Isn’t that wonderful?
I’ve tried to round up a wide variety of bookish subscriptions below. It’s a fact that not everyone reads the same things or loves to read the same genre, right? I didn’t want to only include romance bookish subscriptions or fantasy-only ones. In this list, you can find subscriptions featuring children’s books, romance titles, queer novels, horror, fantasy, and so much more. Or if you only want cute items like bookmarks and swag, there’s something for that, too!
1. TBR – Tailored Book Recommendations
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Book Riot’s own subscription service has some new things that might interest you. And if you’re familiar with TBR, I have some news: *drumroll* We’re bringing paperbacks to TBR! This means that when you sign up, you can choose to receive paperbacks, too, in addition to our existing hardcover and recommendations-only levels. The paperbacks chosen can be new releases or backlist titles. If you’re new to the service, TBR — Tailored Book Recommendations — is a subscription service tailored specifically for each reader. With the help of a survey, our expert bibliologists select three books that are perfectly made for the recipient. This service is the best option if you or your loved one love reading but do not have time to choose what to read next. Get someone else to do it for you!
2. Mahogany Mail Book Box
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With Mahogany Mail Book Box, diversify your shelves! This subscription book box will bring books with LGBTQIA+ representation into your life while also supporting queer and BIPOC-owned small businesses. It also makes contributions to the work of The Trevor Project.
3. Emily Cromwell Designs
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This bookish subscription box is your wildest dream in full technicolor. If you’re looking for bookish subscriptions that don’t feature actual books inside, Emily Cromwell Designs Box is what you need in your life. Each box has a carefully selected theme and is guaranteed to have a notepad, bookmark, and sticky notes, plus 2-3 other products that will change every quarter.
4. Hushbug Book Box
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Hushbug Book Box is a Canadian bookish subscription service ideal for romance readers. While it’s mainly a romance book box, Hushbug Book Box has branched out to include other genres, like thriller. So, what would you be getting inside the box? First of all, a newly released book of your choosing! Each box also includes a delicious snack and 5-7 curated items. Although it is a Canadian bookish box, they do offer shipping to the US and Finland.
5. The Bookish Goods
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The Bookish Goods is for readers who crave cozy bookish items. You not only can get individual items, like sweatshirts, blankets, or candles, but you can also subscribe to The Bookish Subscription where each month you get one or more exclusive bookish goodies. For example, one-of-a-kind tote bags!
6. Satisfiction
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For fantasy and science fiction readers who love a little bit of self-care, Satisfiction is the bookish subscription you won’t regret signing up for. In this box, you’ll find a newly released fantasy or science fiction novel written by a BIPOC author inside (with sprayed edges!). Not only that, though. You will also be getting some carefully curated self-care items, like candles, aromatherapy sprays, bath bombs, tub tea, sheet masks, and so much more.
7. Eternal Embers Book Shop
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Many readers are also collectors of rare special editions. Eternal Embers is a bookish subscription company that provides beautiful and one-of-a-kind editions of your favorite romance novels. A female and Asian-owned company, Eternal Embers offers three types of subscriptions: monthly, ONYX quarterly, and ethereal. Get ready to get all the pretty goodies paired with epic love stories!
8. Caffeine and Legends
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Avid adult fantasy readers will adore Caffeine and Legends, a bookish subscription box catered specifically to them. But also to all the hot beverage fans! To accompany the theme of the month, Caffeine and Legends adds to their box one fantasy novel (for adults); either tea, coffee, or drinking chocolate (your choice!); an extra item that goes with the theme; and a booklet that has a themed recipe inside. Sip and read, my friends.
9. Watermark Books & Café Subscription
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For those who have children at home and who want to inspire them to start reading or read more, Watermark Books & Café has a magnificent bookish subscription quarterly box. By filling out a questionnaire where they’ll get to know your loved one’s likes and dislikes, they will personally tailor the books inside the box for them. You won’t regret getting this for the tiny ones in your life!
10. Dazzling Bookish Subscription
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Want your family and friends to “ooh!” and “aah!” when you show them your bookshelves? You have to get this bookish subscription now!
Dazzling’s monthly subscription features one customized, special-edition copy of a book with LGBTQ+ representation. We highly recommend subscribing to Dazzling if you love collecting special editions of your favorite reads. The editions inside the box always have beautiful sprayed edges that will look incredible on your shelves.
There are so many different bookish subscriptions out there, tailored for each individual with their personal bookish taste. For even more subscription boxes, check our picks for 2022 book subscriptions, these non-book subscription boxes (that often include books), and our whole subscription box archive.
– Silvana Reyes Lopez
