so what is the NovelTea Book Club?
The NovelTea Book Club is a monthly book and tea subscription parcel based in Perth, Australia. Each month, subscribers receive a customised, curated parcel with a Popular Penguin Classic, preloved book or a new release fiction novel by an Aussie author, a tea or coffee sample and 2-3 additional bookish treats.
The club was created in 2017 by two friends. They began chatting one day about how much they loved the idea of book subscription boxes and the joy of receiving gifts in the mail.
Over the next five years, Angie grew her passion into a lovely service for booklovers all over Australia and some in other countries too!
Then in 2022, Angie passed her baby on to another book-loving Angela on the other side of the country. Funnily enough one of those two people has the same name as she does! It seemed kismet.
Now, Angela is on her own, keeping the NovelTea pot warm and the love for books and bookish things flowing.
what's so special about The noveltea book club?
So glad you asked!
From the beginning, we have set ourselves apart from other book club subscriptions in three simple ways.
+ A F F O R D A B I L I T Y
A big reason for starting this book club was to make a subscription that was more affordable for Australian booklovers. A lot of time was spent looking at how to cut costs while still delivering a high quality product. For example, the Classic and Minimalist subscriptions are designed to be less than 500g by fitting into an envelope rather than a box to reduce shipping costs. The Minimalist (secondhand book) option is more price- and planet-friendly. The Sweet Read box doesn't include a lot of useless, bulky and heavy things, just a great read and a sweet treat. A NovelTea Book Club subscription is affordable - not cheap!
+ P E R S O N A L I S A T I O N
Another great feature of the NovelTea Book Club is the level of personalisation on offer. Do you like to pamper yourself with little gifts? Or want a yummy snack while reading? Are you a bit of an eco-warrior bookworm? Perhaps you're more of a minimalist? There's a parcel for all of that! Prefer tea? Prefer coffee? Prefer the freedom of month-to-month subscription? There are options for everyone! It means a little more work behind the scenes, but I think it's worth it to see happy subscribers.
+ P A C K E D - W I T H - L O V E
As a previous subscriber, Angela knows what a treat it was to receive her NovelTea parcel each month. So we try and continue Angie's tradition of love by hand-wrapping every parcel, finishing with a gold ribbon bow. We take the time and effort at each stage of production because we want to give our subscribers the same joy of receiving a NovelTea package/box.
who’s BEHIND IT?
Hi! I’m Angela, the tea-loving bookworm behind NovelTea Book Club.
I’ve loved reading most of my life. Back in my teens, my mum bought these really cheap anthologies of classic authors like the Brontes, Hardy, Dickens, Austen, Lawrence, etc, chucked them in my room and hoped for the best. Well, I read them all! It’s a wonder I didn’t go blind from the teeny print. But there started my love for classics.
Then came a career in media and communications before settling in Perth with a young child.
I had toyed with the idea of a book subscription business for a few years before I met Guinevere and we decided to start one together. Shared worry and all that. Sweet Reads was born at the start of 2022. I sought out Angie’s sage business advice and she offered me the most wonderful opportunity - to take over NovelTea so she could go back to being an engineer.
Since then Guinevere and I worked hard at keeping Angie’s dream alive and kicking and think we’ve done a pretty good job.
Now, it’s just lil ole me at the helm and I hope I can keep this little bookish business floating and flying the NovelTea flag.
*Sorry about all the awful metaphors but you get the idea.
what do other people say?
“I am absolutely loving the parcel. It's so, so much fun waiting for it and opening it each month!”
- Stephanie
“…your beautiful package made me smile! My sister bought me a subscription for my birthday and I’m going to commit once that ends myself! I love it so so much!
I can tell you are a beautiful soul from the package. The amount of thought and detail and CARE that goes into each is amazing! So lovely! Thank you for the time and effort you put into each!”
- Mariam
“So much love for my NovelTea Book Club parcels which come each month and bring a smile and a literary treat to my door!”
- Emma
“I look forward to this parcel every month. I started this subscription in the hopes to get back into reading again and it has worked(every little chance to read I take it)
Not only do you get a Penguin Classic Book you also get a delicious sample of loose leaf tea, a themed bookmark and stationary to go with the theme. It's wrapped up beautifully so much care and love has gone into each and every single parcel.
What a great way to treat yourself every month.”
- Sarah
“Opening each parcel is a special experience that prompts gratitude (thanks for my Mother's Day present) and happiness.”
- Jo
The NovelTea Book Club has also been featured on bookriot.com, choice.com.au, smh.com.au, theguardian.com and who.com.au