Rescued books, matched to you.
Three hand-picked, pre-loved books a month, wrapped as a surprise. Matched to your taste by a real person (and a very good algorithm), with one wildcard for luck.
a month for three books.
US shipping included.
- Graded Very Good or better
- Bad Match Guarantee
- Skip or pause in two taps
Four steps from sniff to shelf
Two minutes of questions now, a parcel of surprises every month after.
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Take the Sniff Test
Tell Dewey what you love, what you never want to see again, and how adventurous you’re feeling. Two minutes, no essay questions.
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We sniff out your three
Our matcher shortlists from thousands of rescued books; a human curator checks every box and writes you a note.
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Unwrap the surprise
Each book arrives wrapped in paper with a clue tag. Can’t wait? Peek at the clues online before the postie arrives.
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Read, rate, rehome
Rate each book in tail-wags so next month gets sharper. Keep it, gift it, or trade it back for credit. Its passport follows it.
Every box is a trio
Pure random is fun for a month and annoying by the third. So each Stray Stack is built from three kinds of pick.
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Match
The Match
Squarely in your wheelhouse: a genre you love, a mood you asked for.
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Stretch
The Stretch
Next door to what you love. Same mood, new neighbourhood.
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Wild
The Wildcard
The one you’d never pick. You decide how wild it gets.
Try the wildness dial
AdventurousYour wildcard wanders a couple of shelves over: new territory, familiar feelings.
- Genres you love 45%
- Next door 33%
- Somewhere new 22%
Pre-loved, never grubby
Every stray is checked by hand before it’s allowed near a box.
- No smells. Smoke, must or mildew never ships.
- No damage. Spine intact, every page present.
- No highlighter crimes. A pencilled name is history; a neon chapter one is not.
- Graded honestly. Like New or Very Good, unless you opt in to well-loved copies.
- Bad Match Guarantee. Rate a book one wag within 30 days for $3 credit.
Pick a pile size
Every plan includes US shipping. Monthly or every other month. Change it whenever you like.
Prepay a year and save 10%. Or go every other month if your to-read pile is already a fire hazard.
Every stray carries a passport
Inside each cover is a little sticker with a code. Look it up to see where your book has been, read notes from readers before you, and stamp it when you pass it on.
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Dayton, OH
Rescued
Friends of the Library sale. Graded Very Good.
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Austin, TX
Reader 1 · five wags
“cried on a plane, worth it”
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Portland, OR
Reader 2 · four wags
“read it in one sitting, sorry boss”
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Your city?
Reader 3
1,960 miles so far.
Good books, given a second chapter
Unsold and unwanted books are pulped every year by the truckload. We get to the good ones first.
- Library sales
- Estate sales
- Publisher overstock
- Your trade-ins
*A conservative estimate of 1 kg per book not printed new. How we calculate this.
Give someone a stray (or thirty-six)
Three, six or twelve months of surprises. They take the Sniff Test, we do the rest. Gifts never auto-renew.
The usual suspects
What if I already own one of the books?
Tell us what you’ve read: type titles, scan barcodes, or import your Goodreads or StoryGraph export. We never send a book on your list or a book you’ve already had from us. If one slips through, trade it in for credit.
How do skipping, pausing and cancelling work?
All online, from your account, no phone calls. Skip any upcoming box, pause for up to three months, or cancel in two clicks. Change anything before your renewal date and it applies to that box.
Are the books really in good condition?
Yes. Every copy passes our Sniff Test and is graded Like New or Very Good unless you opt in to well-loved copies. If a book arrives damaged, we replace it.
Can I choose the books?
Not individually, that’s the fun. You steer with genres, moods, hard nos and the wildness dial, and every rating teaches the matcher. If you want a peek, your clue cards appear in your account before the box ships.
Where do you ship?
Anywhere USPS delivers in the US, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, territories and APO/FPO addresses. Books travel by USPS Media Mail, which usually takes 2 to 8 business days.