7 Book Subscription Services We Love in 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Samantha Schoech

Samantha Schoech is a writer focusing on gifts. She spends her time finding things that combine quality, beauty, usefulness, and delight.

We’ve completely retested and revamped our picks for book subscription boxes to include something for every kind of reader and a couple excellent clubs for kids.

Whether you’re looking to amp up your own reading or bestow the gift of literature, book subscriptions are an exciting and novel way to discover new titles and authors and keep them coming. And they’re especially essential for anyone who doesn’t have a good bookstore nearby.

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I’m an avid reader, former book reviewer, author, and bookstore wife (my husband owns Green Apple Books in San Francisco). For this guide, I researched 18 book subscription services and tested 13. Seven favorites (many from independent bookstores) rose to the top: great general interest subscriptions for adults and kids, a pick for genre devotees, a classic club for readers who want to have some say in their selections, a children’s club devoted to teaching empathy, and more.

But in fact, ardent bibliophiles could happily read from any of the subscriptions on this list for a long, long time. And if you’re worried about accumulation, consider author and bookstore owner Louise Erdrich’s take: “The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough.”

Brooklyn-based Books Are Magic sends a choice pick per month in one of four genres, including poetry, which is a rarity.

The selections from Books Are Magic Book Club are exactly what a real indie bookseller might put in your hands if you went into the store asking for a good book. Select a single genre from a list of four—fiction, essays/memoir, poetry, romance—and three age-based options for kids. Once you place your order, you don’t need to keep track of payments, selections, or timelines: A book (paperbacks for romance and poetry, hardback for fiction and memoir) arrives monthly in a padded paper envelope alongside a Books Are Magic branded tote with the first delivery. Selections lean literary but not esoterically so, and popular but not necessarily commercial. Think Worry by Alexandra Tanner, Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley, a poetry collection by Nick Flynn, and Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander. Books are often (but not always) signed by the author; Books Are Magic also has a quarterly cookbook subscription.

Price: hardcover subscriptions for $30 per month; paperback subscriptions for $20 per month; kids and teen subscriptions for $25 per month; $10 flat-rate shipping

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel any time; books cannot be returned

The near century-old original subscription service prompts members to choose from a curated list of six or seven popular new releases each month.

For people who would prefer an element of control—but don’t want to get overwhelmed with choice—Book of the Month offers readers a monthly selection of six or seven recently released hardcovers. The titles touch most every genre—romance, mystery, sci-fi, narrative nonfiction, literary and historical fiction—and lean a tad commercial. Recent titles include Elin Hilderbrand’s Swan Song and Kristin Hannah’s The Women. You’re not going to find any particularly dark or controversial titles on BOTM; don’t expect Miranda July’s National Book Award–nominated All Fours to show up on their list, for example.

It’s simple to skip a month or cancel anytime. Your chosen title arrives in a small branded box with no extras. The editions are branded with small logos on the covers and spines, and the paper is supposedly thinner, but we couldn’t tell the difference.

Price: month-to-month subscriptions for $20 per month, shipping included; prepaid subscriptions are $60 for three months, $100 for six months, and $200 for one year; subscribers can add up to two additional books per month for about $17 each

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel month-to-month subscriptions any time; if you don’t like a book, BOTM will issue a credit for an additional book of your choice and encourage you to pass the book you didn’t like onto another reader

A monthly subscription from this Delaware-based independent bookstore offers a hardcover or paperback book in one of four specific genres. They also offer a large-print option.

The Book Drop from Bethany Beach Books in Delaware caters to genre readers by offering four monthly subscriptions—historical fiction, thriller, romance, or fantasy. (There’s also a surprise option that sends a book from a different genre each month and an alternating subscription that combines two.) A new hardcover or paperback arrives in a recyclable paper Book Drop–branded envelope alongside bookmarks, reading guides, and often (but not always) a letter from the author. Recent selections have included The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (historical fiction), Happy Place by Emily Henry (romance), and The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass (thriller). The Book Drop also offers three children’s subscriptions for ages 0 to 13 and is the only service we found with a separate large-print club.

Price: $26 per month, shipping included; prepaid subscriptions are $76 for three months or $150 per year

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel month-to-month subscriptions any time; prepaid subscriptions can be cancelled for a prorated refund, but individual books cannot be returned

This service selects used books based on the subscriber’s indicated preferences. Books are previously read, but in very good shape, and every month is a complete surprise.

For people who don’t have a good used bookstore nearby, Used Books Monthly is a lifesaver, as long as you’re open to surprises. First, subscribers choose to receive from one to four books, then complete a simple, two-minute questionnaire indicating preferred genres and highlighting a few favored authors and titles. Books are selected individually for each subscriber and arrive in a no-frills, branded envelope. I got a hardcover copy of Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey and a paperback of Summerlong by Dean Bakopoulos in excellent shape. The choices, both contemporary fiction, were books I probably wouldn’t have picked out on my own but was happy to try. If Used Books Monthly gets it wrong, email them to make adjustments for future shipments.

Price: one book for $5 per month up to four books for $17, plus shipping (we paid $5 for two books); three-, six-, or 12-month prepaid subscriptions are also available; prices vary

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel month-to-month subscriptions any time; individual books cannot be returned

Kids receive a festive three-book box with lots of handpicked goodies from a California children’s specialty store.

The Reading Bug Box from The Reading Bug bookstore in San Carlos, California, is a monthly delight filled with three interest-specific books plus stickers, personalized bookplates, activity sheets, and other entertaining ephemera, including a personalized note. At sign-up, indicate the child’s name and age and select common interests from a drop-down menu. Our box for 4-year-old Max (animals, construction sites, jokes) included a hardcover copy of Little Purple Tractor by Erin Guendelsberger, a paperback of Listen to the Language of the Trees by Tera Kelley, and a paperback copy of Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings. Max was very pleased.

Price: three books for $30 per month, plus shipping; prepaid subscriptions are $89 for three months, $174 for six months, and $336 for one year

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel month-to-month subscriptions any time

This monthly children’s subscription focuses on equal representation, empathy, and understanding, offering age-specific and mixed ages options.

Each month, Momo’s Book Club selects themed, age-appropriate books highlighting inclusion and representation to evoke meaningful parent-child discussions. Momo’s offers packages for kids 0 to 3, 4 to 8, 8 to 12, and young adult; subscribers can choose from one to three books per month. Offerings arrive in a plain brown envelope, individually wrapped in bright, cheery paper. Our 0 to 3 box centered around language, communication, and empathy and included a book on American Sign Language, a Japanese and English hardback called Words to Make a Friend, and the board book How Do You Say I Love You?, in which characters say “I love you” in languages from around the world. Every title was a winner—not preachy or pedantic, just good books that kids like.

Price: one book for $10 per month plus shipping; prepaid subscriptions are available for three, six, and 12 months; prices range from $30 to $353 depending on the number of books

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel month-to-month subscriptions any time; no refunds for prepaid subscriptions; individual books cannot be returned or exchanged

The books in this quarterly offering feature characters who are racially and ethnically diverse, in the LGBTQ+ community, and have disabilities—people often underrepresented in children’s literature.

OurShelves boxes are delivered quarterly and emphasize groups underrepresented in children’s books. Choose to receive one or three books per box for kids 0 to 2, 2 to 5, 5 to 8, or of multiple ages. The mixed-age box we received included Baby Goes to Market, a counting board book set in an African market; Yaffa and Fatima Shalom, Salaam, a book about two best friends, one Jewish, one Muslim; and Mr. Watson’s Chickens, a funny, rhythmic story about a gay couple with 456 pet chickens.

Price: $22 per quarter including shipping; prepaid subscriptions are $80 per quarter for one book per box and $180 per quarter for three books per box

Cancellation and satisfaction policy: skip, pause, or cancel quarterly subscriptions any time; prepaid subscriptions cannot be cancelled or refunded; individual books cannot be returned or refunded except in the case of damage

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Fight censorship: Subscribe to the Banned Books Box, which sends a monthly box of recently blacklisted titles. Each themed box (ours were books banned in prisons) includes information about the ban (along with a QR code for further reading), plus related trinkets like pins, bookmarks, and stickers. Monthly prices vary from $19 (for one book with no extras) to $49 (two books with lots of other goodies), shipping included.

For aesthetically minded readers: Bookroo offers new and classic children’s books in uniform special editions with color-coordinated spines (so readers can get their shelf-wealth looking sharp). There are four age-specific options for kids from 0 to 12, and the two to three books arrive monthly in a snazzy branded box. Prices start at $20 per month plus shipping for one book.

We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See our gift guides here.

This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.

Samantha Schoech

Except for the time she gave a boyfriend her mother’s old toaster for Christmas, staff writer Samantha Schoech has a reputation as an excellent gift giver. She lives in San Francisco with two teens, two cats, a geriatric betta fish, and a bookseller husband. Her first book of short stories, My Mother’s Boyfriends, is coming out in 2024.

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