Talking with Autumn and Sara about Book Subscriptions

Forever Judging Special Edition Books by their Covers

Another book show! I know, I know, it's like I don't know what else to talk about these days. But hear me out! Or better yet, hear US out.

I'm joined today by Sara, whom you may recall, joined me on a previous show back in December. We knew we wanted to chat again because there's always something to talk about with so many books to be throwing money at.

But we're also joined by someone who is well known in the bookish community. Everyone's favorite Instagram book subscription sleuth, TheAutumnBookReads is chatting with us! See kids, this is what happens when you're not afraid to shoot your shots😂! And before you ask, no, this is not a trick and she is not AI generated lol. 

There was a bunch of stuff we talked about and it was a blast! Topics we went over include:

• The current state of book subs today
• The first book that made us get into this money pit of a hobby
• How many books we have in our collections (or "library" as far as Autumn goes)
• What subscription would we keep if we could only choose one

And so much more! 

I'm happy and proud to be able to have a conversation with these ladies and hopefully we'll be able to do it again in the future!

We discussed a bunch of different books and subs and I tried to have everything linked below. If I missed anything, reach out and let me know and I'll update it. 

Until next time!

Links and Info Discussed

• First and foremost, here are all the book subscription boxes I could remember at the time of writing this. If you're really curious, every site has a catalog/past book database where you can see the offerings they've had in the past. If you want to really dive into it and have more questions, the link to the discord is below. Every subscription is going to have a waitlist you have to sign up for, some of which could be as short as a few weeks to as long as 10+ months. So keep that in mind!
  • Fairyloot (Sara's favorite)
  • Illumicrate
  • Owlcrate (My favorite)
  • The Bookish Box
  • The Broken Binding
  • Moonlight Book Box
  • Eternal Embers
  • Eternal Embers ONYX (Autumn's favorite)
  • Mystic Box
• Fourth Wing was brought up a lot. So you can find more info on the book itself right here. 
• If you want to check out all the absolute madness that happened when it first came out, along with the first run copies that were going for over $500 (you know, the one I could've bought for $15 but I cancelled it..) Then go ahead and check that out right here. 
• And here is Sara's Fourth Wing collection! 
• Sara mentioned a copy of Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan that she just HAD to have, despite it being in Italian, a language that she does not even SPEAK lol. If you want to check out La figlia della dea della luna and see if it's worth it, you can do so here. 
• Here is Fairyloot's Daughter of the Moon Goddess that got Sara into special edition books. 
• Here is Fairyloot's Caraval that got Autumn into special edition books. 
• As well as Owlcrate's The Cruel Prince.
• Here's Fairyloot's Babel that got me into special editions.
• As well as Illumicrate's Babel. Oh my giddy heart.
• Here's The Broken Binding's Andy Weir collection that is the first set of books in their new sci-fi subscription. YES, I'm subscribed and the first book is on its way to me as you read this. I AM EXCITE!
• Here is Fairyloot's Fourth Wing from my own instagram.
• Moonlight Book Box - This is the subscription Autumn implores you to get on the waitlist for 👀👀
• Sara brought up Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare and how superior Illumicrate's version of the book was. Here it is.
• Sara's favorite books - The Old Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, The Empire Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, and The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang. 
• Sara's favorite special edition books - Illumicrate's Sword Catcher and Fairyloot's Daughter of the Moon Goddess. Both linked to above. 
• Autumn's favorite book - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
• Autumn's favorite special edition - PR Special Edition of The Bonds that Tie, and the Mystic Edition of Monsters and Muses. 
• My favorite book - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• My favorite special edition - Fairyloot's The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
• Lastly! Here is the invite link for the main topic of our conversation, the Fairyboot Discord! Remember, do not be a jerk. Sara WILL cut you. 
  • Fairyboot Discord invite link
•  
• Head over to https://themanthechefthedad.com/links/ where you'll find a bunch of different ways to help me out via affiliate links and referrals. Remember, all you have to do is get to Amazon via one of my links for it to register to me.  
• https://designingbyknight.etsy.com -- Here is my Etsy Sticker Shop!  It's leaning more towards bookish centric stickers and bookmarks, but I'm looking to focus on gaming a lot more this year. 

Where to Find This Week's Guest

• You can follow Sara on Instagram @OldKingdomandBeyond
• You can follow Autumn on Instagram @TheAutumnBookReads (she's not very active though, just fyi 😆)

Contact The Talking Place

If you'd like to contact the show, say hi, all that jazz, you can do so below! 

• Voicemail - 407.906.TALK
• Instagram - @ManChefDad
• Email - TalkingPlacePod@gmail.com

If you're looking to join me for an episode, don't be shy and get at me at the above links and we'll chat!