Subscription box - Coffee and a Classic August 2018

Happy Monday Peeps!!

I'm just sitting and resting for the first time today, that's not exactly what I should be doing but for now it works.  I'm currently Day 4 post op of a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and if you aren't sure what that means I had my gallbladder removed so technically I should've sat down to rest a few hours ago.  I never was one to "follow the rules" very much but my body said "hey lady, I'm really kinda tired" and I decided to oblige.  Of course my rest came at the perfect time because I got a first time order of a subscription box today that I wanted to share with you.   I seriously love subscription boxes and I would love to review every one of them out there but alas, that's not practical for me but I have decided to do a trial run on a few since it is time to start thinking about Christmas gifts.  * she says as she wipes the sweat away since it's still 100 degrees in Texas  

This box is called Coffee and a Classic.   I'm going to put the link here for you and I'm not an affiliate for them or anything, this just helps you find their site easier.   I was kind of interested in a book type subscription so I waded through a TON of choices and here are the things that I really wanted my subscription to include:  1) a book  (not kidding many do not come with a book)  2) a theme for the month 3) flexibility in genre selection: preferably in advance of the box shipping  4) good value

Let's start with the basics:  There are 2 subscription choices; Standard & Starter.   I ended up going with the Standard even though it was originally more than I had mindfully budgeted.   Here are your differences and this is straight from their website.

STANDARD Classic Subscription

The Standard Subscription is perfect for you if you want the full Coffee and a Classic experience and love bookish things! The Standard Box includes: • A classic book • Something to sip on (coffee, tea or hot chocolate) • Something to snack on • A mug • Two bookish items • A bookmark and • Packaged in a high-quality photo box. The Standard Classic Literature is the original Coffee and a Classic book box! 

$39.99

STARTER Classic Subscription

Treat yourself or the book lover in your life with the Starter Classic Book Box. The Starter Book Box includes: • A classic book • Something to sip on (coffee, tea or hot chocolate) • Two bookish items and • A bookmark. This is the perfect subscription if you have too many coffee mugs or any food aversions. 

$28.99

You'll notice the comment about the Starter set is best if you have too many coffee mugs or food aversions.  See....yeah, I am sure there is no such thing as too many coffee mugs so my choice was made.  

FLEXIBILITY:  Honestly, this was probably one of the biggest selling points for me.  While I do like the element of surprise I also want to pay for something that is going to interest me. BEFORE your box ships you have the ability (if you want) to see which of the books will be featured in each of the 3 choices.  My August selections were the following:

CLASSIC LITERATURE: The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (generally considered to be the first detective novel!)

CHILDREN'S CLASSICS: Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

CLASSIC NON-FICTION: The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

These were listed under the Sneak Peaks tab and if you'd like to be totally surprised then you can pick your genre and go with it.   I did look back over lots of social media posts about what was included in previous boxes and I can see that this will change month to month for me so this part of the flexibility helped seal my decision.

Beverage choices: Not only do I get to choose my genre, I also get to decide if I want my beverage to be coffee, tea or hot cocoa.   I like that choice, it's a minor detail but it's nice to know that option is available if I want to give as gift.  Another point in the Flexibility category.

I did choose to pay more than the $30 I added budgeted in my mind for the box but I felt like having choices made it worth testing out.  Let's get to the nitty gritty and see what I got.

I selected Classic Literature (you know I love me some detective/murder mysteries) and I elected to take Tea for my beverage.  Tea just seemed to fit the genre ;-)   (see what I mean about little details)

It comes very attractively packed in this nice photo box.  This box is also packed in a not so lovely but necessary protective outer mailing box.  I can use these boxes for storing my planner stickers or for gift giving and since they came inside another mailing box they aren't all beat up from the mail. 

All items were packed very attractively and securely in the box.  Every item arrived unbroken and in excellent shape and all the pretty packing confetti is there in case I want to reuse this as a gift giving box.

A photo of everything after I pulled it all out.  My initial impression was very positive.   I didn't feel like I wasted my money or was disappointed in my selection.  

This is the card that was inside the box and you can see everything is themed to the box and plot of the book.  I like the extra notes about the book because I'm quite excited to read this one.  Let's take a look at each individual item:

The book:  The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

A very nice hardback book with jacket cover.  I've become a Kindle girl for sure but it's still nice to have and hold an actual book occasionally.

Beverage:  Royal Grey Tea from Numi 

Described as a brisk, hearty and bold black tea accentuated by real bergamot orange. Fresh marigold petals add a complex finish.  I think I really just need a stormy night to curl up with this book and mug of tea now!! 

Mug: This mug has no description other than it was a custom design painted by Evan Stevens.   The picture doesn't show the art that well but it appears to be a lovely interpretation of the book.  Not a coffee mug "mug" size for me but I think it will be perfect with my tea. 

Snack:  Yellow Rock Candy Crystals - Lemon Flavored from Oh! Nuts

It tastes like bits and pieces of lemon drops and I'm really good with that!

Bookish item #1:  A book themed pencil set from Coffee and a Classic

I'm sure the names on these pencils will make more sense once I read the book but a set of pencils is a nice touch.  I work on a Mystery Puzzle book and it's nice to do in pencil so these will come in handy. 

Bookish item #2:   A journal from Coffee and a Classic

This is an utterly cute little journal with a quote from the book embossed on the cover. 

The pages are lined and it's got a nice elastic strap to hold it closed.  At the size of an index card (3x5) it's perfect for dropping in my purse to jot notes or lists. 

Bookmark:  This is noted as being hand-made by Coffee and a Classic

It's a nice heavy metal piece that came on a little card.  Since most of my reading nowadays is done via Kindle it's nice to have a solid bookmark. 

I pulled the jacket cover off the book so you could see that it is a lovely deep burgundy book and you can also see the details of the book mark a little better.  (please don't open and lay your books like this- it's really bad for the binding-I did it only for a super quick photo)

That's it folks for my first ever Coffee and a Classic book box.

It's a decent value for the money although I think $12 shipping is wee tad on the high end and I'd like the box itself to be more in the $30-$35 range but  I can see where there are times when socks or a t-shirt might be included and we'd see more value.   I'm ok with this especially as a gift and that was one of my main objectives to see how this played out in that direction.  I like the idea of not just giving the gift of a book to someone but a book experience if you will.  To emphasize an earlier point, not all book subscription boxes come with a book so take that into your final consideration. 

Will I order this again? 

Yes, I most likely will order again and I'm really hoping for some cool boxes to come out to order for Christmas gifts.  I really think this will be a nice box set for our Christmas Eve book tradition.   Plus, I'm really intrigued to see the October box for myself now because I love me some Halloween!!!

What do you guys think? Yay or Nay? Do you do any book type subscription boxes? If you do I'd love to hear about your experience! 

Peace, Love & Mystery Books