How our subscriptions work
Ok, I'm biased, but I'd love this Christmas present
I’LL ADMIT TO A LITTLE DREAD as the first week of each month approaches: known to all at Backstory as “subs time”. From afar, it can seem a mammoth task: each of our subscribers must have the perfect book picked out just for them, after checking we’ve never sent them the same book before and cross-referencing any records of their own reading they have sent us. Then notecards are written, books wrapped and hefty post bags hauled across Balham High Road to be met by knowing grimaces from the Post Office staff. It is quite the operation.
Once I make a determined start, though, it is one of the jobs I most enjoy. For, as with standing behind the counter on a busy Saturday, our subscriptions scheme offers a great view of the quirks, idiosyncrasies and, let’s be honest, foibles that make us human. It is rare that I spend more than ten minutes working on subs without sharing something that makes me giggle or groan, and it’s the same for the rest of the team.
The process starts with a brief survey we send at the beginning of each subscription, asking the recipient a little bit about themselves and their reading habits, so we can match them to the bookseller with the closest tastes.
Read enough of these surveys and some common themes emerge. Rare is the man who would not be happy with a good thriller, especially “today’s le Carré” (we can dream). Ditto women and historical fiction. And, above all, science fiction is a minefield: proceed with extreme caution. It is undoubtedly the Marmite of genre: some of our subscribers love the stuff, but it is also most frequently cited in the box where we ask new subscribers if there’s anything they wouldn’t like to read.
But it is the differences that delight. Even the various approaches to answering our request to tell us “a little about yourself” make me smile. For some, it’s a pointedly on-task pen sketch of a reader; for others, a thorough CV, marital status and dreams for the future. One of my favourite subscribers tells me where she usually sits to read: each month when I stroll around the shop weighing up various options to send her, I picture her there, coffee in hand.
We never meet most of our subscribers (scattered across the UK, and indeed the world, as they are), but we form a picture of all them. The best bit is that this impression can be slowly coloured in as the months go by, since we include a pre-paid reply postcard with each month’s book. Over time, subscribers become our pen-pals: we each have pigeon holes downstairs stuffed with replies, which we lean on for next month’s choice.
These little notes can steer us back on course if we go a little rogue, or invite a deeper dive into a topic or author we have stumbled across together. Best is when they recount the joy of reading something we have introduced them to, which they say they would “never have picked up themselves”. Job done.
But the misfires can be instructive; I’ve learned from my subscribers, for instance, that some books that I love are not so universally admired. Such lessons help me grow as a bookseller, too.
The best feeling, of course, is when one of your subscribers enjoys it so much that they renew. I have had lots of lovely conversations with spouses and parents, keen to roll on the gift for another year for a partner or child. Several are now on their third year; my longest-running subscriber is into her 33rd month. (Thirty-four months ago I was still a journalist!)
I’m biased, of course, but I do think they make a great Christmas gift. Here’s how it works:
Go to The Backstory Subscription on our website (or pop into the shop) and choose kids or adults, for 3 months, 6 months or a year.
We give you a voucher that explains everything which you can give to the recipient on the day. You can choose to have the voucher posted or emailed to you, or pick it up in the shop.
Once you give them the voucher, the recipient emails us to request the survey about themselves and their reading habits.
We match them to a dedicated Backstory bookseller for the duration of their subscription, who will then pick out their books.
They can choose to receive their books every month, every two months or every quarter for the duration of their subscription.
Postage is included in the price. If they live locally, they can choose to pick up.
If we give them a book they’ve already read, they can swap it. And we include a pre-paid reply postcard with every book, so that our picks get better-informed as the subscription continues
So go ahead, add to our to-do list!
Other gift ideas
Browse our Christmas gift guide, or pick one up in the shop. Packed with gift ideas, the team’s favourite books of the year — and lots of information about our Backstory book subscriptions, which make brilliant presents.
Remember that you can order anything in the guide (and lots more) from our website with free delivery anywhere in the UK.
Backstory Christmas cards
Our extremely talented colleague, Savannah Sullivan, has drawn this beautiful Backstory Christmas card.
We’re selling them in packs of 6 for £6.95. We will donate all profits from the card to Little Village, the Tooting-based baby bank charity.
Pop into the shop or click here to buy the cards.
Upcoming events
Winter Sessions: Come to a music night at Backstory for just £5. Coming up:
THIS FRIDAY 6 December, 6 for 7pm Winter Session 3: HerOrangeCoat
20 December, 6 for 7pm Winter Session 4: Average Ginger
4 December, 7.30pm Dan Keeling, Who’s Afraid of Romanee Conti?
SOLD OUT
5 December, 7.15pm Jay Rayner, Nights Out At Home SOLD OUT
Join our club
Want to have more Backstory in your life? Why not:
Join our fiction or non-fiction book clubs, which meet every month on Zoom with each book’s author. We’ve heard from winners of the Pulitzer, Nobel and Women’s prizes, and big names like Patrick Radden Keefe, Caleb Azumah Nelson and Christina Lamb. Join for £15 a month or come to a one-off session for £16.
Take out a Backstory book subscription, tailored to each individual recipient. These start from £60 for three months (or £45 for kids) and make brilliant presents.
Happy reading!
Tom