3Books follows the concept of a blind date with a book/mystery book where you don't judge a book by its cover. In this case, you can't judge by title, author, or page count either. This seems fair because a lot of times authors don't even have say in what their book covers looks like so it may not align with their artistic vision either! Also titles and author gender, ethnicity, or preconceived notions of an author can influence us. However, we still give hints at genre and topics and also Goodreads review snippets so you know each book is worthy of being read/going on a date with and you also get a sense of their hearts -- their stories!

Then we only present you with 3 options at a time so you can evaluate them all equally and make a better informed decision. A lot of the times I go into a bookstore and there's SO many amazing books around me I get paralyzed by choice, there's too many options to consider, that a lot of times I end up empty handed. With fewer options each book gets its time to shine and it will be easier to compare and make a decision. And if you can't you can always buy all of them haha!

So like a good match maker we hopefully give you some agency in your choice as well. Hopefully it feels less like swiping on a dating app with an endless sea of faces and more like three vetted potential matches from someone you trust.

For most blind dates with a book you can only choose by genre with no other information about the book. While this makes the surprise more exciting it may also lead to more disappointment. Having a sense of the story's essence helps you feel comfortable knowing that you are down to read this story and it hasn't been one you've read before.

Further we try to offer a mix of genres here. People tend to gravitate to genres they already like. If we offer 3 options of genres you haven't explored much before we hope you are more likely to expand your reading horizons and try out something new.

Also while some blind dates with a book give hints as to the story's contents we do that but also go further by supplying snippets from Goodreads reviews with author/title/character names redacted so you can get a sense of reviews without spoiling the story!

Finally some (definitely not all) blind dates with a book choose pre-loved books that haven't been vetted properly or new books that were very cheap because they weren't selling well. While our books are pre-loved, they have been vetted properly to be highly rated, well acclaimed books that you won't find at The Works 3 for £6.

Since we offer more details about a book such as genre, story points, and sanitized Goodreads reviews to fairly evaluate them all we'd need to offer less options. 3 seems like a good balance for that to reduce cognitive load for easier decision making.

Because we may still judge a book by its title or author with gender, ethnicity, or preconceived notions we avoid both and highlight the essence of the stories instead. We also want to challenge you with page count. First, page count isn't a good indicator of book length since that depends on font size and spacing. Next, there are incredible, weighty books that are short so we don't want you to skip them thinking you aren't getting your money's worth. But also on the flip side, don't want you to be intimidated by a long book's length.

Our books are pre-loved but in good condition. I would not send a book that I would feel gross touching haha! That said, the books may have crinkled pages and spines and minor wear and tear.

The books come with your choice of coffee or tea and a sweet treat!

Firstly since the books are pre-loved they have to be in good condition. There are books I know are incredible that I've passed on because they aren't in a good state.

Secondly, I choose books that have at least a 3.8 rating on Goodreads. We don't specify the rating as well for each book because that may influence you to choose the more highly rated book when really these things are subjective. To increase chances of you liking the book though I do set the cutoff at 3.8 even though there could definitely be books you enjoy lower than that.

Next if it's a book in series you will receive only the first book in that series or a book in a series that can be read as a standalone. If this is not the case, contact us for a refund.

Finally, I try to choose books that are thoughtful, well-written, memorable, and challenging. Not in a too hard to understand, going-over-my-head way but in a way that hopefully expands your world view. Once in a while there will be more light-hearted books that are fun and generally enjoyed reads. It will be clear from the brief descriptions which ones are which.

If you're concerned about receiving a book you've already read before, please leave a note with your public Goodreads profile page or similar during checkout. If we find that you've already read this book we will cancel the order.