Fairy Loot - June 2016 - Classic Twist

So, I somehow managed to buy a box which sells immediately after it's announced. That's a first. I always get things last or never because when I come to be aware of stuff, it's already gone. 

Anyway, when I opened the box my heart stopped. The very first thing on the top was Mr. Darcy Funko thingy. Now you probably think, "oh, that's so sweet, her dream came true," but no no no no! I find them ridiculous. I just don't understand what the fuss is about. The funko disproportional heads make me question most bookstagrammers' sanity because they are hideous. But not in a nice fuzzy way (I try to find beauty in decadent nonconformist things, you've probably noticed) - just plain ugly. But somehow he will look good on my shelves next to other very mainstream stuff I usually get for Christmas from people who have no idea what to give me because we are not that close. 

Next there was a candle called Bronte's Secret. I still don't know the secret but the smell is pleasant. Not sure if candles in the summer are a good idea but maybe I'll be able not to lose it till winter when it's the right time to breath carcinogenous air.

Then I discovered a pair of stud earrings shaped like swallows. I love earrings. I'm addicted to them. I've got a pair for every day of the year and more. And I don't have these so that's a plus.

Another accessory is a Chapter 5 bookworm bracelet which is so impractical it hurts. There is the metal part which secures it (it slid off before I even attempted to put it on) and I know, this way people of all sizes can have it but it SLIDES OFF! And it's ugly. The colors are wrong.

There was also a set of three cheerful bookmarks. Since I have a ton of bookmarks from every purchase I make at bookdepository.com I'm not so keen on these. 

I think a lot of people will like the watercolor "poster" (since when are posters midget sized?!) because it's pretty but again, it's so small!

And last but not least, the book. This time it's supposed to be a prehistoric tale so I'm really interested. When I was a kid there was a compulsory read at school called Mammoth Hunters and it was thrilling so I hope my childhood will not be ruined by this. Oh, and there was this sticker with the author's autograph in there too but as I was angry at it (why don't they send signed books?!) I put it in the book and forgot I had yet to take the picture. Not that anyone cares, my pictures for this blog suck. I'm still in the wrong place and I won't try until I move. Which will hopefully be this summer. Then I will have a lighter room to attempt to do nice pictures.
Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that funny hashtag. Each person gets a unique code for the month (they recycle so it works for the duration of one month only) which pairs the person up with a random stranger. It means two people get the same hashtag and they are supposed to find each other on Twitter (I don't have that) or Instagram (I have that but so far no luck finding my reading buddy). But the idea is cool.

Now that you know what was inside, how classic-twisty does it sound to you? Prehistoric novels are not classic. Yup, the funko is from the zombie movie so that's a twist. The poster is classic without a twist, the same goes for the rest.. I dunno, it doesn't seem to be about the book but about the funko which is strange.
And as an instagrammer now I can say I've seen two more boxes having the same book in them. That's rather unfortunate. It should be new and thrilling and fun. What if someone bought all these boxes and has multiple copies of this book now?

Price (in Euros and including shipping): 45.54

The book: you'll have to wait for me to read it and check my Instagram then

Knick-knacks: funko pop, candle, earrings, bracelet, poster, bookmarks

Overall impression: I kinda like it. Even though there are many things I find not agreeable, you get a lot for your money.

Illumicrate - May 2016

First of all, I didn't have the slightest idea what would be inside since the box has no topic. That's a letdown right there. 

When I opened the box I was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in there but when I took a closer look at that I realised it wasn't that hot after all. 

So what was in there? I refused to take pictures of all the cards in there which were somehow connected to the book and pretended to be postcards (which would have been awesome) but there was no space on them to write anything so that was downright stupid. The same goes to the card with a recipe. If it had been a really cool new muffin recipe then yes, it would have appeared in the picture you see but it was good old muffins we all know so that's a no from here. But those were just the extras. Not the main stuff.

So, the book When We Collided sounds promising and you'll have to check out my Instagram for it. But what I can't wrap my mind around is the author's signed sticker. Why didn't they give us a signed book? Why do we have to stick it in ourselves?

Next there is the "What happens in book club stays in book club" mug. I'm a tea lover and nothing makes my day more than a lovely new mug, except this one is plastic and I just don't enjoy drinking from plastic things. My 1,5-year-old nephew sips his toddlery stuff from plastic. That's exactly where plastic should end. With kids. 

The bookworm pin/badge was nice though. I pin a lot of stuff on my denim jacket so this one will look cool. The same goes for the lame colourful badges. They say stupid things but I'll make it work on my clothes.

The bookworm bookmark looks cute but again it's something one can hardly use. I won't abuse my books with it. If you take a look at it you'll see that this will leave dents in the pages and I can't live like that. 

Next there is a see-through stamp with a stack of books and a deer head. I like it. And I even know how to use it so this one is a win.

The TO BE READ LIST notebook looks cute as hell too but it's too short for the stuff I'd like to write down. But design-wise it's pretty. I'll try to make it work. Somehow.

And last and unfortunately least, there is this preview of Taylor's upcoming novel. Such a waste of resources! It's just a couple of chapters. If they gave us a link where to download it but no they have to print it out. It really doesn't sit well with me. Why would someone print out unfinished novels everyone will throw away? That really infuriated me.

Price (in Euros and including shipping): 51.50 (way too high for the eco-disaster)

The book: again, it'll appear on my Instagram once I'm done with it

Knick-knacks: a cup, a pin, a stamp, a bookmark, some badges, funny TBR notebook, a signed sticker, a preview of a new novel (on the whole it's a lot but how many of these can we put to use?!)

Overall impression: since it's pricier and I don't appreciate the bookish stuff as much as in the other box I have to lower the score for this one

Owlcrate - March 2016 - Writer's Block

So I just couldn't resist and bought one of those mystery book boxes because ... well, it's fun not knowing what you get. 

When I was choosing which one to start with I was quite taken aback by the price of shipping - while the US residents usually get their shipping free or pay next to nothing, getting the box to Europe sometimes costs more than the box itself. But I made my choice and decided to buy the most popular box despite its price.

I tried not to go to blogs I read because I knew spoilers and reviews would start appearing soon (it took ages to get to Europe - by the time it reached me I bet everyone had already read the book) so I limited myself to Instagram only - since I'm there for only over a month I'm still intrigued by everything ... aaaaaand glimpsed the spoilers. I hate people who just plainly take a picture of everything from the box and think they are cool. They are idiots.

Anyway, it took all my will not to open it on my way from the post office when it finally arrived :-)= And what was in the box? A book, duh! Never heard of it so that's good. It would be terrible if I already owned the book. But since teenagers are the target group of this box the chances of me owning the book were slim anyway. 

Then there were these cool pins with cool quotes for bookworms - my denim jacket will sure appreciate those. 

A small book of 642 small things to write about is also a cool stuff for me since I have that 5 year journal where I answer a question a day. So when I run out of that, I'll follow with this.

Then the über-cool socks. One sock has names of banned books printed on it (Who would have thought that Ulysses has ever been banned somewhere, huh? I mean, no one really finishes the book and if they do they don't understand it) and the other one has them all censored. I love them. And they are big enough for my adult feet :-D= 

And lastly there was a white rubber feather. I didn't like it at first because it's white (I'm not a fan - spoilers showed me a black alternative and I wanted that one), it looks so fake (I'm not a fan), and it probably hints at Harry Potter (I'm not a fan). But then I started writing with it and its tip is so thin I love it. But I'm gonna write with no one around because I don't want anyone see me with this monstrosity in my hand.

So, what are my impressions of the very first book box?

Price (in Euros and including shipping): 46.11 (that's way too much for a book and some knick-knacks)

The book: I'll update my instagram once I've finished it but right now I don't see how this goes with the whole Writer's block theme.

Knick-knacks: love the socks and the little question book, the badges are okay-ish, the white pen looks lame

Overall impression: since this is my first box I'll save one vampire kiss in case I get a better box but I like this one a lot