I’m so happy that one of my dear bookstafam sisters, Books.bags.burgers @ IG, finally got my gifts for the Faerie Queen Bookish Box Swap. She posted a gorgeous unboxing photo on her bookstagram. If you aren’t following her yet, I recommend doing so. Her pictures are beautiful and she’s a great example of girl power!
Anyway, now that you have posted your unboxing, Uma, you deserve to know the story of adventure, drama, and horror behind those gifts.
For those of you who are interested to know, please read on.
Here’s a brief backstory regarding the bookish box swap. As the amazingly efficient organizer in our group, Uma’s the only one who knows which faerie queen is assigned to which princess until the princess gets her box. She asked all of us to list down books from our wishlist and other important details like our favorite colors, fandoms, etc. If we had questions regarding our princesses’ likes and contact details, Uma’s the person we asked to clarify things with her. We’re talking about 12 participants, so I bet it’s a tricky task to act as our envoy. Great job, sis. *hugs* I purposely avoided asking you questions because you sacrificed the fun “guess who’s your faerie queen” part when you volunteered to organize. I stalked your IG and Goodreads instead every time I needed to know more details. Thank goodness you’re so organized. That made my job so much easier.
Anyway, without further ado, here are the stories behind each item:
- “Daughter of Smoke & Bone” by Laini Taylor – I checked our local bookstores first. Unfortunately, NONE of them had the UK edition cover, and I think that’s the best looking edition. Of course my sister deserves the best. That’s why I ordered a copy from Book Depository. I was paranoid for a few weeks until the book arrived safely on my doorstep.
- “Chin up, princess, or the crown slips” sticker from Project Lemons – That quote is self-explanatory. I’ve always found it adorable and motivating.
- Teapot postcard and door knob tag from Papemelroti – I love including tea sets in my bookstagram pictures, so I couldn’t resist adding something tea-related to my package. As for the door knob tag, I wanted a pretty presentation for the generic looking mail packet.
- “Six of Crows” magnetic bookmarks from Pandam Designs – This one’s a no-brainer. Because of my stalking, I know that Uma loves ALL the Dregs and cute bookmarks.
- Book sleeve (and bookish candle) from The Rustic Library – Now this was when my story started to include horrific and dramatic elements. A local courier messed up, so it took a while for me to get the book sleeve and bookish candle, which I loved. When I finally did get them with the help of the sellers, I put all the items inside the mail packet and called ANOTHER local courier to pick up the package, hoping that the process would go smoothly but dreading that it wouldn’t.
Well, I was right.
The other local courier did not show up, probably delayed because of the holiday rush. I called their customer support and after being put on hold and waiting for almost an hour without anyone answering, I gave up on that option. Seriously, the customer “support” nightmare experience was like a Japanese horror movie. There was only silence and a little static on the other end of the line. It’s a good thing that Sadako did not climb out of the phone.
My next option was PHLPost. At first I got excited because the line was so short that I was attended to right away. Well, my hopes crashed down on me anyway. The post office representative refused to ship out the candle, telling me that it’s against the rules no matter how carefully it was packed. My powers of persuasion didn’t work. The lady in charge was strict and fierce, so my death glare would have made things worse. I was so frustrated and dismayed that I was barely able to maximize the 1 kg. I was allowed.
Uma, I’m not even going to tell you more details about the candle because I don’t want you to be haunted by images of what could have been. *cue weeping violin strings* I’m just holding on to it for now. Hopefully, someday I can personally give it to you and we can have a good laugh about it over coffee. - “Wonder Woman: Warbringer” by Leigh Bardugo and “The Winner’s Curse” by Marie Rutkoski – I couldn’t move on from the bookish candle fiasco. I kept thinking: “This isn’t right. She deserves more.” Unfortunately, I did not have the budget for another international package.
Instead of burning strigoi in a fit of Rose Hathaway level of rage, I finally decided to be productive. I researched other online fandom stores in India first, but I had problems completing the payment phase after choosing the items. I felt like the universe was against me until I remembered that India does have Amazon. Because I couldn’t send candles, mugs, chocolates, and candies like the other awesome faerie queens, I decided to get two more books from my sister’s wishlist. I think that good things often come in threes, so 3 books in 3 separate packages might end my curse for good when it comes to international postage. (Hey, look, the package did arrive safely!)
Happy reading, Uma! I’m excited to discuss those 3 books with you! I have read and enjoyed all of them, which was the reason why I picked them out of the 50+ books on your Goodreads to-buy shelf. So far, we have similar preferences, so I’m feeling optimistic that you’ll love these books as much as I do. If you don’t, I promise that I’ll just suffer in silence like a good sister and play an Adele song or something. Jk.
Dear reader, I hope that you enjoyed the story of my bookish box swap (mis)adventure. Despite all the setbacks, it was lots of fun! I recommend doing this with bookish friends who love and appreciate you. Those are the best people to exchange gifts with!
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