For most readers, acquiring a newly released book means heading to your local bookstore, hitting the library, or logging on to Amazon. For others, however, it involves opening up a thoughtfully designed box that includes a copy of the book, alongside gifted items like a custom tote bag, a scented candle, beauty products, and maybe even a box of tea. If you're a book influencer, the latter is often the case.
One might say that Sally Rooney started it all when it comes to covetable book merchandise that takes over the internet, though she'd likely reject that attribution. I anxiously awaited the release of Rooney's latest novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You back in September 2021. I placed my pre-order at my local bookstore because, at the time, I thought that this was all a reader could do. Oh, how wrong I was! Leading up to publication day, I started seeing authors, journalists, and generally cool internet people post about the Beautiful World tote bag and the Beautiful World bucket hat and even the Beautiful World umbrella.
