Rare Birds Book Club is a newly launched online book club and community that operates a subscription service with a twist – each month’s book is a secret until it arrives through the letter box.
Rachel Wood, founder and avid reader, said: “There’s an appetite among millennials for expert reading recommendations and that’s what we’re tapping into. Books have become a luxury item and people want a bespoke, curated experience.”
Rare Birds Book Club’s aim is to champion women’s fiction and surprise readers with books they may not have chosen for themselves, but will love.
E-tailers are growing their share of all book sales and are continuing to expand their lead over bookstores, with Amazon still dominating the market. However, there is an increase in the market for the more expensive hardcover books and buying books as a “luxury” iteam – more than any other media, book buyers and readers maintain an emotional connection with pre-digital formats.
There is a significantly high level of interest shown by the millennial generation (anyone born after 1981) in highly personalised expert book recommendation services, preferring a curated experience over mass shipped products.
Each month Rachel carefully chooses a book – all they have in common is that they are all by female writers and feature a female protagonist. Rare Birds Book Club’s aim is to champion women’s fiction and surprise readers with books they may not have chosen for themselves, but will love.
“As each book is a surprise to the reader, we cut through any expectations, and I choose books from all genres,” explains Rachel, who moved to Edinburgh from Toronto (her dad is Scottish) to study for a Masters in Creative Writing at The University of Edinburgh in 2010. Since then, she has been working as a copywriter and writing her own work on the side.
“Traditional book clubs can be intimidating,” says Rachel, “Our mission is to create a community online of readers who love reading and to celebrate stories written by women and about women in a way that’s relaxed and inclusive to all.
Established in October 2017, Rare Birds Book Club already has a core group of international reader and is steadily expanding. Subscribers can choose between packages for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months with each month costing only £10 and giving you access to the online community.
“It’s a great one-off gifts, for Christmas or for a birthday,” notes Rachel. “The pretty packaging and personalisation make it easy to send to any reader, whether they’re strapped for time to scroll through books online or in the bookshop or relish a surprise!”
Find out more: rarebirdsbookclub.com/