Order

Order a book, in a minute.

Title, author or ISBN, and whether you would like to collect it or have it posted. We order this afternoon and text you when it is in, usually the next working day for anything in print, at the price printed on it. Nothing to pay until you collect. The same form takes subscriptions, event tickets, club places and gifts.

Hands wrapping a hardback book in brown paper and tying it with string at a wooden bookshop counter

The order

If we are posting it; otherwise so we know roughly where you are.

A birthday, an event, a train. We will say if it cannot be done.

For a subscription, tell us about the reader: the last three books they loved, the last one they hated, hardback or paperback. For a gift, describe the person. For a club or an event, say which.

Nothing to pay until you collect. Your details are used only for the order: see our privacy policy.

What things cost

Books at the printed price; the rest, side by side.

A subscription, three months

A book a month, chosen for them

£48

Posted anywhere in Britain or collected, with a card saying why. Postage included.

A subscription, six months

A book a month

£90

The most popular length. Hardback or paperback, their choice.

A subscription, a year

Twelve books

£170

Renewed by most people; we keep the notes and the books get better.

An author event

Thursday at seven

£6

Redeemed against the book on the night. A glass of wine included. Launches usually free.

A book club

Monthly, twelve members

Free

Free to join; the month's book at ten per cent off. A bookseller in the chair.

Storytime

Thursday 10:30, under-fives

Free

Two books and a song, no booking. Nine years and counting.

Subscriptions

Three, six or twelve months, side by side.

Subscription lengths compared
What you getThree monthsSix monthsTwelve months
Price£48£90£170
Per book£16£15£14.17
BooksThree, one a monthSix, one a monthTwelve, one a month
Chosen byA named bookseller, from your formA named bookseller, from your formA named bookseller, from your form
Hardback or paperbackEither, your choiceEither, your choiceEither, your choice
The cardHandwritten, saying whyHandwritten, saying whyHandwritten, saying why
Postage in BritainIncludedIncludedIncluded
If a book missesSwapped, no questionsSwapped, no questionsSwapped, no questions
Gift wrappedYes, brown paper and stringYes, brown paper and stringYes, brown paper and string
RenewalReminder, no auto-renewReminder, no auto-renewReminder, no auto-renew

The small things

  • Gift wrapping, brown paper and stringFree
  • Posting a book in Britain£2.95, free over £25
  • An out-of-print search£2, refunded if found
  • A gift cardany value, never expires
  • Loyalty card: ten stamps, a book to £10Free
  • Book club book10% off
  • Schools and teachers10% off everything
  • An author into a schoolfrom £120
  • A wedding, baby or leaving listFree
  • Hiring the shop for a private eveningfrom £150
  • The lunch deal: soup, toastie, filter£10.50
  • A babyccinoFree