Yesterday afternoon, my Quarterly Literary Box for winter arrived. I had completely forgotten about my subscription to the Quarterly Literary Box, making it an even bigger surprise. Here in Portland, where it seems like winter will never end, I need books and coffee to keep my days sunny.

For those of you not familiar with Quarterly, they are a company that sends out seasonal subscription boxes on a variety of topics. I subscribe to the Adult Literary Box, but they also have boxes themed to YA lit, culinary, crafts, tech, et.. They have tons of different themes, and not all are book related.

What I love most about the Quarterly Literary Box, is each season, the box is curated by a different author. The fall 2016 box was curated by Brit Bennett, author of The Mothers, and this winter box was curated by Kayla Rae Whitaker.

Here is the included note from Whitaker.

The featured item is an annotated copy of Whitaker's latest novel, The Animators. The bad news is I have already read The Animators, having recieved an advanced readers copy. The good news is I absolutely loved Whitaker's novel and I'm looking forward to reading through her annotations ( done specifically for Quarterly subscribers), before passing the book along.

Check out my review of The Animators.

As curator, Whitaker picked two additional books by other authors to include in the box. I was not familiar with either book, however, I have read other books by Maggie Nelson. My Quarterly subscription is a bit like going on a blind date, but with books. I love it!

The last inclusions were non-book items, yet related to the theme. For example, last month, Bennett included a mug with a quote from her book. Whitaker chose to include a bookmark and colored pencils. This works to the theme of her novel, with her main characters both animators. I'm not into crafts, but this was a fun addition, although I think I like how the bookmark looks in black and white. What's a bit special about this bookmark, is its designer is Julie Doucet, a cartoonist, or as Whitaker mentions in her letter "Trailblazing cartoonist". I've never heard of Doucet, but it seems to be a well-thought out inclusion for her box. Besides, I can never have too many bookmarks.

On a whole, I'm very happy with my winter 2017 Quarterly Literary Box. I can't wait to read Whitaker's picks and to see what comes in the mail for spring. I'm going to try to forget about my subscription, so that in three months, I have another "happy-snail-mail-surprise-day."

About a month ago, I received a special discounted offer through NetGalley to try Quarterly's fall literary box. Quarterly is a box subscription service that offers curated boxes based on a variety of interests; such as cooking, crafting, and genre literature. Truly, there is a box for everyone. They reached out to me with this offer, because their Fall Literary box was curated by first time novelist, Brit Bennett. I had shown an interest in reviewing Bennett's novel, The Mothers, which has been receiving rave reviews. Although I did not get approved for an advanced copy of Bennett's novel, this offer was enticing enough to make me jump on the opportunity.

I fell in love with my Quarterly box, before even opening it up. Look at the packing tape: adorable.

I opened the mailing box, to find a smaller box, with another cool sticker. It was wrapped up like a present.

And then I opened my box to discover my literary loot nestled in ribbons of packing cardboard.

Here is a welcome letter from Brit Bennett.

The edition of The Mothers, from Quarterly, is annotated by Bennett, adding both limited edition value and giving readers a deeper insight to the story.

Also included in this box curated by Bennett: Jane Austen themed tea, Toni Morrison's, Sula, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's, We Should All Be Feminists, a window cling, and a mug with a quote from, The Mothers. I love the quote on the mug - " All good secrets have a taste before you tell them." Isn't that the truth?

Was the box a success? I'm excited to read Bennett's novel and love that it's annotated. I groaned at adding yet another mug to my colossal collection ( doesn't everyone have an abundance of mugs?), but I've been using it daily, and the quote is wonderful. I still need to try the tea. I read Sula in college, but it has been many years, and Morrison's work is always worth a repeat. I'm not familiar with Adichie, so I'm happy to have it recommended to me. I have no idea why the window cling was included, but I'm guessing that I will discover the connection when I read, The Mothers.

Will I try Quarterly again? Absolutely. My to-be-read pile is overflowing and I need more books like I need a hole in the head, but if the next box is curated by an author that catches my interest, I'm subscribing.