Whether you heard about it on a podcast, saw an ad for it on Facebook or have seen their relatable book content all over Instagram, chances are you’ve heard of Book of the Month. You might be wondering though, is book of the month worth it?
Book of the Month is a book subscription service aimed to cut through all the chaos of the hundreds of new books that come out each month and provide a fun treat for book lovers. We’ve all experienced the struggle of finding a new book to read when there are so many options out there, both from new and old releases, and Book of the Month solves the majority of that issue for me personally and many users.
I’ve been enjoying Book of the Month for more than a year now, and I can safely say I think it’s worth it. With so many different subscription services out there though, I know you want to make sure it’s going to work for you before getting started.
Because we’re always looking for a deal, I’m also sharing a promo code and details for getting your first start into book of the month for a discount!
Lastly before we get into it, I always like to take time to plug my Bookstagram in case you’ve found this post and are looking for internet book friends – follow me there so we can connect.
Is Book of the Month Worth it?
As always, in these product reviews I like clarifying that “worth it” is one of the most relative terms ever. It’s so hard to compare apples to oranges when people have completely different perspectives, budgets, etc.
However, I will say that I think Book of the Month is completely worth it, no matter your perspective. Simply, there are just really few options to get new, vetted books like this in any cheaper way. Let’s break down the pros and cons of Book of the Month so you can figure out if it’s really going to work for you.
Book of the Month Pros
The price can’t be beat
At just $14.99 a month, it really just makes so much sense to subscribe to Book of the Month. The books are all new, hardback releases, meaning they would cost somewhere around $25+ if you were to purchase them almost anywhere else. Before BOTM, I never splurged on new reads because they were just so pricey. I felt like I was always reading ten steps behind everyone because I had to wait for my mile-long library waitlist or paperback prices.
BOTM allows me to afford new books, and that’s truly the best part for me. So, automatically if you’re asking, is book of the month worth it? Yes!!!
It’s incredibly easy to skip
No one likes a tricky subscription service that seems impossible to skip or cancel. I have skipped BOTM several, several times and never had even the slightest issue with it! They email several reminders to select your books or skip for the month, and if you completely forget to log on and select anything, they will automatically skip for you instead of just sending you a random book.
With a lot of other subscription services, I’ve found they will just default to sending you the product if you don’t confirm for the month, so I like this double assurance that I’m getting a book I selected and wanted.
It’s easy to know which books are popular that month
I will sometimes getting reading FOMO (fear of missing out) when I think absolutely everyone has read or is reading a new book. I like that I’m definitely reading a popular new book when I get one of the BOTM monthly picks.
BOTM provides a great overview of each book
Whenever I’m really interested in a new book, I always make sure it’s not on BOTM first- mainly because it would be cheaper there, but also because they provide some of the best, easiest to understand book descriptions ever.
This is a compilation of screenshots I grabbed from the Book of the Month app (which I love by the way!), just to show you how fun and easy their book descriptions and selection categories are.
I love the little icons that say 400+ pages, multiple viewpoints, etc. It’s like the know exactly which touchy subjects book lovers have and know just how to let you know if you’re going to like this book or not.
Also, the little FYI symbol is there to denote any kind of sensitive subject that might be hard to read for certain groups of people!
This is why I always go to see if a book is on BOTM to read the description there, I just haven’t found a better way to quickly spot if a book is more than likely going to be for me or not.
The built-in BOTM community
Going back to knowing you’re going to be reading a popular book that month, I just want to highlight how great the BOTM community is. I am obsessed with the BOTM instagram account.
I almost always read the comments on their posts about specific books to see what other people are thinking, and I love leaving a rating and review in the app for each of my BOTM books. It really is a great community, and something a little different than the wide group you can find through goodreads.
Book of the Month always makes me excited to read
If you ever find yourself in a book slump or you’re wanting to start reading a lot more, I promise there is nothing more exciting than getting your BOTM in the mail and cracking the book open. Something about it is so exciting, and it really encourages me to read more!
Read my Eight Tips for Reading More
Book of the Month Cons
I almost named this “What is aggravating about Book of the Month?” but I love a good pro/con list, so we’re going to go with this format!
If you don’t select at least one “book of the month,” your options that month are pretty limited
I was honestly pretty bummed when I discovered that you have to order at least one of the book of the month picks to be able to order *any* books that month. So if you don’t select one of the five, you just can’t order anything from their otherwise wide selection with your book credit.
The only workaround I have found for this is scrolling down to the bottom of the picks in the app and clicking on the button that says something along the lines of, “Don’t see something you like? Pick from our past reader favorites.” – This gives you another five books to choose from, but I sometimes don’t like those either!
This seems like a really weird business practice to me, but I assume they get the BOTM books at such a good price because they can promise XXX amount of subscribers will have the option to pick your book? I have no idea, but I’m imagining it to be something like that to defend this seemingly odd move.
There’s a limit of 3 books
At these prices, why would you not buy every single book you read from Book of the Month? Well, there’s a limit of three books. You can get one of the monthly books and two add ons, and that’s it! I really wish it was unlimited, but alas, it is not.
They don’t carry every single book ever written
Unlike Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, etc. Book of the Month does not carry every single book or even every single new book. They have a limited, yet still large, selection of vetted books though, so you know the ones on there are really going to be worth your time.
That’s it. Those are literally the only cons I can think of.
Maybe the only other con is being a book of the month subscriber means that’s one less book you’re buying from a local, independent book store. But, realistically it’s only 1-3 books a month, so you still have plenty of other opportunities to shop local!
Book of the Month Promo Code
It would mean *the most* if you got your first book for just $9.99 a month through my referral link. Once you get going on Book of the Month, you can share your referral link with your friends and family too! Because I know it will be no time before you’re raving about it too.
Gifting a Book of the Month Subscription
I absolutely love gifting experiences or subscriptions. I actually gifted my mother in law a subscription to BOTM, and she loved it! You can pick different subscription durations to suit your budget, and right now they have $10 off a 6 or 12 month subscription if you purchase early before Christmas!
With the gifted subscription, you can still skip books, but you still only have a certain amount of months to use all your credits. I know some of my friends have been gifted the subscription, skip months to really make it count on books they are excited about, and then run out of time to use their credits. I know one friend was able to contact BOTM customer service and get her credits reinstated, but it’s just something to be aware of.
So, is Book of the Month Worth it to you?
I hope the answer is yes! I really think the pros outweigh the cons in this instance. If you have any BOTM questions, please feel free to comment below or strike up a conversation with me on my Instagram! I absolutely love chatting all things books and reading.
[…] did have two book-ish posts go up this month here on classicallygrace.com- make sure you check out my full review on Book of the Month and 13 perfectly unique gifts for the book lover in your […]