Mr B’s Emporium

Mr B’s Reading Subscription comes from Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, the independent bookshop in Bath that has twice been named the UK’s best independent bookshop and was picked by the Guardian as one of the ten best bookshops in the world. Instead of an algorithm or a book club list, you get your own bibliotherapist: a bookseller who studies your tastes and hand picks a book for you every month, then posts it beautifully wrapped. It is the most personal book subscription in the UK, and our favourite for a thoughtful gift.

Mr B’s Reading Subscription prices

Prices include UK postage and are paid up front, so there is nothing to cancel later. The 11 book paperback plan works out at about £16.40 a book. Mr B’s posts all over the world, with higher prices for overseas addresses: a 3 book paperback subscription costs £70 to Ireland and £90 to the USA, for example.

How Mr B’s Reading Subscription works

Every subscription starts with a questionnaire about your reading tastes, which takes around ten minutes online and can also be done by email, over the phone or in person at the shop in Bath. From your answers, the team chooses the bookseller best suited to you, who becomes your bibliotherapist for the whole subscription.

A book then arrives at the beginning of each month, except January, when Mr B’s assumes you are still working through your Christmas stack. Subscriptions run for 3, 6 or 11 books, which is why a full year means 11 deliveries. If you buy it as a gift, the recipient receives a physical or digital voucher and fills in the questionnaire themselves, so you do not need to know their address or what they have already read.

What’s in a typical Mr B’s delivery

Each month brings one book, chosen for you and wrapped by hand. Alongside it you get the service that makes Mr B’s special:

• One new paperback or hardback, picked against your questionnaire and feedback
• Beautiful wrapping that turns every delivery into a present
• An optional teaser email in advance, usually naming the author, so you can flag a book you have already read
• A free replacement if you do receive something you have read before
• Ongoing contact with your bibliotherapist, who adjusts the picks as your feedback comes in

The booksellers deliberately favour new or unusual titles you are unlikely to have come across, rather than the bestsellers you would find on a supermarket shelf.

What makes Mr B’s different

Most book subscriptions send the same title to every member, or pick from a genre box. Mr B’s chooses one book for one reader, every month, and keeps refining those choices based on what you tell it. That is the same hand selling the shop is famous for in Bath, from its Reading Spas to its in store recommendations, simply delivered by post. For younger readers, the shop also runs separate reading clubs: Picture Book Pioneers for ages 2 to 5 and The Torchlit Tales Society for ages 8 to 11.

Is Mr B’s Reading Subscription worth it?

Yes, especially as a gift. At around £16 to £18 a paperback including postage you pay close to full price for each book, so this is not a bargain subscription. What you are buying is the curation: a real bookseller who learns your tastes and introduces you to authors you would not have found alone, which is exactly what the reviews on the shop’s site praise. If you just want cheap reads, a discount book box will suit you better. If you want to fall back in love with reading, or give someone a year of genuinely personal surprises, there is nothing quite like it.

Pros

• A personal bibliotherapist choosing books for you alone
• Paperback or hardback, posted worldwide
• Prepaid with no renewal, ideal as a gift
• Teaser emails and free replacements avoid duplicates

Cons

• One book a month, with no extras or treats in the parcel
• Close to full retail price per book
• No delivery in January, so a year means 11 books

Best alternatives to Mr B’s Reading Subscription

• The Willoughby Book Club: another award winning British subscription that sends personalised book picks.
• Rare Birds Book Club: a monthly fiction pick chosen from two secret blurbs, with a community of readers.
• Book Club Guru: brand new books chosen to your tastes and delivered each month, at a lower price.

Compare every option in our book subscription boxes.

Mr B’s Reading Subscription FAQ

How much does Mr B’s Reading Subscription cost?

For UK delivery, 3 paperbacks cost £55, 6 cost £105 and 11 cost £180. Hardback subscriptions cost £80, £155 and £270. Postage is included, and overseas subscriptions cost more depending on the country.

How do I cancel Mr B’s Reading Subscription?

There is nothing to cancel: the subscription is paid up front for 3, 6 or 11 books and simply ends after the last delivery. To change your preferences or delivery address, email [email protected] or call the shop.

Is there a Mr B’s Emporium discount code?

Mr B’s does not usually advertise discount codes on its reading subscriptions. The best saving is the 11 book plan, which brings a paperback down to about £16.40 including postage.

Is Mr B’s Reading Subscription worth it?

Yes if you value a genuinely personal choice of books over a low price. A bookseller who learns your tastes and wraps a new discovery for you every month is a lovely experience, and one of the best book gifts in the UK.