Kansas City woman starts book subscription service from her home to expose readers to new cultures and experiences
By Donna Pitman
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — You can get just about anything on a subscription basis: steaks, wine, clothing, meals and books.
Charmaine Merriweather is adding a twist she says is much needed to the standard book box. “Basically, if there were like 100 books they were offering, about five [would] have main characters that were people of color — any brown and black people — and most of those books tend to be New York Times bestsellers.”
In an effort to turn the page on traditional book boxes, Merriweather started Hues Book Box.
She only includes books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and other People of Color) authors or authors featuring characters of color.
Her mission: Expose readers to cultures and experiences they may not otherwise be and have fun at the same time.
“This isn’t supposed to be a preachy ‘do your anti-racist work, tear down everything that’s wrong with you,’” she said. “Positive reinforcement is good and reading books should just be fun.”
Something else that sets Hues Book Box apart is the ability to put together very specific boxes.
“I would say we’re a curation service on a subscription basis,” she explained. “What’s different for us from other sub boxes is we are really curating to your taste. You’re not just getting a blank box [and] everybody is getting the same one, and because of that we really lean into the customization option.”
Merriweather launched Hues Book Box out of her Kansas City home in 2020, after the one-year anniversary of her best friend’s sudden passing.
“I started looking around, thinking what could I do to honor her memory.”
Merriweather and Desirae Green were inseparable and had long talked about going into business with some sort of subscription service.
Hues Book Box is perfect, Merriweather says, because it combines her love of reading and adventure with their shared love of bringing people together. “Hues is just trying to spread the love, be a cultural exchange in a box basically.”
A few of Charmaine Merriweather’s favorites: While Merriweather says the goal of Hues Book Box is to customize subscription selections based on what the customer has identified as preferred genres and more, so she doesn’t often offer recommendations.
But, she has some favorites that she’s excited to put in a box when the match is right.
Looking for some reading inspiration? See if these titles fit your TBR:
“A Deadly Inside Scoop” by Abby Collette
“My Brilliant Life” by Ae-ran Kim
“Raceless” by Georgina Lawton
“Simmer Down” by Sarah Echavarre Smith
“Before the Coffee Gets Cold” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
“An Anthology of Monsters: How Story Saves Us From Anxiety” by Cherie Dimaline.
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