Unboxing | Books That Matter: Pride | June 2021

June is Pride month, and as usual Books That Matter have released their June Pride box! This box was easily my favourite so far of all of the BTM boxes I have ever received, so read on to find out why…

I think it’s easiest if we get onto what was inside this box before I start telling you why I loved it so much! So, what was included?

• Doisy & Dam Dark Chocolate “Ballers”
• A PopSocket
• The Coconut Collaborative Chocolate little pot
• A purple twisted headband
• Pride bookmark
• “Resting is a form of Resistance” Notebook
• Frosting Bath Bar
• BTM newsletter
• And the book… How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang

What an epic box! I feel like we got more items than I was expecting; this box just kept coming, and I loved it! So let’s talk items.

The way to my heart is through my belly, and we had two edible items inside this box, both chocolate themed. *heart eyes* The Ballers aren’t my favourite items, so I think I might try and cook them into a brownie or rocky road, just because I go through phases with dark chocolate and I don’t always like it! However the chocolate pot looks delicious! I love having little items like this that are vegan/natural, as I’m trying to be healthier but I have such a sweet tooth.

The PopSocket and notebook were both designed by Bee from @beeillustrates on Instagram. My PopSocket recently broke, so I’m very happy I now have another one, and how beautiful is it? The design says, “You are a star”, and I think it goes so well with the notebook. The notebooks that BTM makes are always such high quality, and even though I don’t use plain notebooks very often, I’m sure I can find some thoughts to put in here!

The last two items I’ll categorise as “beauty“. The frosting bath bar is essentially a bath bomb that you break into chunks, so it’ll last a few baths, and it’s by a company called Miss Patisserie. It’s apparently sustainably sourced and vegan, as well as being suitable for sensitive skin which is good for me as I do have some eczema sometimes. And the hairband seems to be unbranded – there’s no label! It’s super cute, though, and made of a very soft silky material.

As for the book – here’s a synopsis from Goodreads.

Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future.

Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and re-imagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it’s about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.

Goodreads

This book sounds right up my street, and I’m so fascinated to dive in and read it. It’s actually one I was eyeing up in Waterstones a couple of weeks ago, mainly due to the gorgeous foiled cover, and obviously I’m very glad I didn’t buy it! I’ve done amazingly well so far with book boxes, only ever getting one duplicate in my 6/7+ years of blogging! I think it’s going to be a heart-breaking book, but a very fascinating read.

Overall, I loved this box. We had so many items that worked really well together, and I’m planning on using a fair few of them for my Sunday night self-care rituals. Maybe I’ll read my book in the bath with my bath bar, wearing my headband, eating a little chocolate pot!

Do you subscribe to any book boxes? Would you subscribe to Books That Matter? If you want to, click here to find out more! I’m not sponsored or gifted, I just love the box.