From sniff to shelf, step by step
What happens between your renewal date and tearing off the wrapping paper, with real timings.
Five stops, about two weeks
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Your renewal date
You’re charged and your box is created
Your plan renews on the same day each month (or every other month). Change books, readers, address or taste any time before then and it applies to that box.
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Within 1 business day
We match your three
Our matcher proposes a Match, a Stretch and a Wildcard from the books on our shelves. A human curator checks every pick against your hard nos and writes you a note.
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Clue cards appear
Peek, if you can’t wait
Each book gets a clue card in your account: three little hints, no titles. Reveal them early or save them for the doorstep.
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Within 3 business days
Wrapped, stamped and posted
Every book is wrapped in paper with its clue tag, boxed with a curator note and sent by USPS Media Mail. You get a tracking number by email.
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2 to 8 business days later
On your doorstep
Media Mail is the slow, affordable lane the post office reserves for books. Most parcels arrive in under a week. Then: read, rate in tail-wags, and rehome.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12Holiday | 13 | 14Renews | 15Matched | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19Shipped | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29Latest | 30 | 31 |
- Renewal day
- Matched and shipped (by day 3)
- Arrival window
- Post office closed
Most boxes ship the day after renewal. The window above is the slowest case we plan for.
Open the box with us
A recycled kraft mailer, no plastic, and six things inside.
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Three wrapped books
Each in its own paper, tied with cotton twine. One per reader if you share your box.
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Clue tags
Three hints per book and a label: Match, Stretch or Wildcard. Unwrap in any order you like.
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A curator’s note
Handwritten by the person who checked your box. Tell them what you thought when you rate.
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A riso bookmark
Two-colour prints by small studios. Collect them, or use the receipt like everyone else.
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A passport sticker
Inside each cover. Look up the code to see where the book has been and stamp it when you pass it on.
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A quality slip
The grade of every copy. Like New or Very Good unless you asked for well-loved books.
Why three, and why those three
Random is fun for a month; matched gets predictable. So every Stray Stack mixes both.
The Match comes from a genre you love, in a mood you asked for. The Stretch lives next door: same feelings, new territory. The Wildcard is the surprise, and the wildness dial in your taste profile decides how far it roams. Smaller plans drop the Stretch first; bigger ones add a second Match.
Sharing a box? Split books between readers in your household, each with their own taste profile. Kids’ books come from our picture book and middle grade shelves.
Steer without spoiling the surprise
Content boundaries
Choose topics we should never send, from animal harm to explicit scenes. We check every pick against them.
No duplicates
Import Goodreads or StoryGraph, scan barcodes on your shelf, or type titles. We skip anything on the list.
Large print and paperbacks
Ask for large print, paperbacks only (lighter for bags), or well-loved copies for more variety.
Up to four readers
Add a partner or a kid with their own quiz. Choose how many books each person gets per box.
Your surprise level
From comfort zone to absolute chaos. Change it any month, depending on your mood.
It learns from you
Rate each book from one to five tail-wags. Ratings sharpen your next matches and help readers like you.
The house rules
Subscriptions should be easy to leave, so ours is. All of this takes a couple of taps in your account.
- Skip any box. Pick any upcoming date and skip it. No charge, no box.
- Pause for up to three months. Holidays, moves, a to-read pile with its own postcode.
- Cancel in two clicks. No phone calls, no guilt trip. Boxes you’ve paid for still ship.
- A reminder before renewal. We email three days before each renewal, so you can skip or change in time.
- Damaged in the post? Report it from your account and we send a replacement.
If we miss, you get credit
Rate a book one tail-wag within 30 days of delivery and we add $3 to your account, once per box. Tell us why and the next match gets better.
Send your strays home
Done with a book, or a whole shelf? Trade it in for credit toward future boxes. Ten or more books and the shipping label is on us. How trade-ins work
Pass it on and follow it
Leave a book in a Little Free Library or give it to a friend, stamp its passport, and watch where it travels next. See a passport
Ready when you are
Two minutes of questions. Your first box ships within three business days of joining.