Backstory

Our subscriptions make the perfect gift - for friends, family or yourself

We hand-pick books tailored to the recipient, based on questions about authors and genres they love and loathe.

We offer 3, 6 or 12 month options, for adults or kids.

Novel of the Year

The Safekeep by Yale van der Wouden

In the Dutch countryside in the early 1960s, a young woman still tends the family home, long after her mother died and her brothers moved out.

She is left to keep standards, and her own company. Then her brother’s girlfriend comes to stay, and odd things begin to happen.

We’re not surprised this engrossing, claustrophobic debut novel was shortlisted for the Booker but for our money it’s the year’s best.

Non-fiction of the Year

Maurice and Maralyn

This is the incredible true story of a British couple who, in the 1970s, abandon their humdrum existence for the journey of a lifetime.

After selling everything they own to scrape together enough to build their own boat, they set sail for New Zealand.

But when their boat sinks in the middle of the Pacific, they are left adrift in a raft with no radio or other means of calling for help.

Their fate depends on the ocean, and on each other. A beautiful, gripping story of nature and love.

We run two book clubs that meet monthly on Zoom, for fiction and non-fiction. The best thing about them is that the author herself attends each session.

NEXT UP
Fiction book club: GAMES AND RITUALS by KATHERINE HEINY
Non-fiction book club: THE POISON LINE by CARA MCGOOGAN