The doorbell rings and a box arrives for you. Although you’ve ordered it, you have no idea what’s inside. And like how Forrest Gump puts it, “life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!” Bibliophiles around the world have found ways to spruce up their reading habits. Initiatives like Blind Date With A Book, the Book Fairies Movement and now book subscription boxes have, in a way, made reading a lot more interesting. Although common in the West, these mystery boxes are quickly catching up in India. Started in March this year, Book O Box is wrapping books with snappy little trinkets and knick-knacks all the while keeping its aura of mystery intact.

Gayathri Nair, its founder and a self-confessed book hoarder says that the initiative is her way of keeping the passion for reading alive. “Book subscription boxes are quite a popular concept in the West. I used to follow some of those lovely boxes on Instagram and wished we had such varied options available in India as well.” Book O Box provides interesting and offbeat works of fiction from around the world. “Each month the book selected will be from a different country. That way I aim to cover the literary scene in other parts of the world as well and not just what’s mainstream. The books selected are generally all new releases, so the chances of a reader having already read that will be quite minimal,” says Nair.

The box has one book and a collection of curated bookish goodies that are in line with that month’s theme. The box can also be customised based on request to have more than one book. Nair works with independent artists to create custom artwork like author portraits, postcards, illustrations, etc. and the boxes also have products like tote bags, pouches, posters, badges, coasters etc. “Keeping with the tradition, I also include tea and coffee sachets and monthly newsletters.” Just five months old, Book O Box has had Korean, Nigerian, Spanish and Hebrew themed boxes so far.

Currently operating within India, the readers can sign up for one, three or six months of subscription with boxes starting at Rs. 750 per month. The service that has reached more than 300 subscribers in just five months delivers boxes anywhere inside the country. Curating book boxes are not as easy as they sound. Nair who has dabbled in writing herself shares that initially she had to face several apprehensions since the idea of book boxes in India were as mysterious as the boxes themselves. “People also tend to have fixed tastes and ideas about what they enjoy reading and many don’t take kindly to the idea of someone suggesting what to read.” Now that many have opened up to the idea, Nair shares that her subscribers appreciate the personal touch she adds to her boxes. Book O Box currently offers books on the theme of World Fiction and will soon introduce more genres to choose from.