The Nocturnal Reader's Subscription Box: 1 Year Anniversary

First of all, Happy 1 Year to Vince and Jessi at Nocturnal Reader's Box! I think I've gotten all the boxes apart from the first 2. And they've all been amazing - in fact, they just keep getting better. They said they were gonna go all out for their 1 year anniversary box and they most certainly have delivered. So let's take a look at this month's box...

So we got three books this month - THREE - that's two new releases and one previous release. One of the new releases is What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong, the third book in the John Dies at the End trilogy. We were lucky enough to get the second book in a previous box, but apparently they can all be read as standalone novels. The synopsis for this one is as follows:

"It's the story "they" don't want you to read. Though, to be fair, "They" are probably right about this one. To quote the bible, "Learning the truth can be like loosening a necktie, only to realise it was the only thing keeping your head attached." No, don't put the book back on the shelf - it is now your duty to purchase it to prevent others from reading it. Yes, it works with ebooks, too; I don't have time to explain how. While investigating a fairly straightforward case of a shape-shifting inter dimensional child predator, Dave, John, and Amy realised there might actually be something weird going on. Together, they navigate a diabolically convoluted maze of illusions, lies, and their own incompetence in an attempt to uncover a terrible truth that they - like you - would be better off not knowing. Your first impulse will be to think that a story this gruesome - and, to be frank, stupid - cannot possibly be true. That is precisely the reaction 'They" are hoping for."

I always think these books sound so unique and intriguing! I also hear they're pretty hilarious too - I'm looking forward to getting to them... eventually. The other new book this month was The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories Volume 2 - a collection of short stories by a variety of different authors. The description on the back is as follows:

"Spanning two hundred years of horror, this new collection features fourteen gems of the uncanny, ghostly, and macabre, including two original tales and many others that have never or seldom been reprinted, by: Mary Elizabeth Braddon, John Buchan... and so forth."

The perfect collection of stories for October! The third and final book we got this month is a previously released book: Cold Moon over Babylon by Michael McDowell. Vince and Jessi are huge fans of this book and I trust their taste, so this will most certainly be a good one! Synopsis is as follows:

"Welcome to Babylon, a typical sleepy small town, where years earlier the Larkin family suffered a terrible tragedy. Now they are about to endure another: fourteen-year-old Margaret Larkin will be robbed of her innocence and her life by a killer who is beyond the reach of the law. But something strange is happening in Babylon: traffic lights flash an eerie blue, a ghostly hand slithers from the drain of a kitchen sink, graves erupt from the local cemetery in an implacable march of terror... And beneath the murky surface of the river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form. Night after night it will pursue the murderer. And when the full moon rises over Babylon, it will seek a terrible vengeance..."

So excited for all these new reads!! And check out this month's artwork by Ivan Belikov in the above pic, inspired by the NRB logo. One of the coolest we've got so far (alongside the Cthulhu one, of course).

As for the rest of this month's items, we got an awesome glass inspired by the funeral parlour in American Gods (which is also on my never-ending TBR pile), a patch featuring the terrifying Sadako Yamamura aka the creepy girl from The Ring, some bookmarks and stickers, and a candle inspired by Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, which smells GLORIOUS. 

Subscribers also got the opportunity to chose between a tee and a tote bag for this month's box. I was lucky enough to receive both the tee and the tote, featuring a design inspired by Stephen King/Richard Bachman's The Long Walk. It's just TOO. COOL. You can see my tee below:

Each month we get an awesome enamel pin, which has quickly became my favourite part of each box and something I look forward to every month. Having recently just started my Edgar Allan Poe journey, I was very happy to see that we got a pin inspired by Poe's "The Raven". Look at how beautiful it is!!!

So, as you can see, this month's box was JAM-PACKED and everything in it was amazzzzing. Looking forward to November, where we'll see a cenobite and items inspired by Shirley Jackson, Stephen King and Richard Matheson... DYING. Boxes are currently sold out, but December boxes will go on sale November 1st - SO BE READY. Use my code DRJOBIS15 to save yourself 15%! Until next month...

Johann

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