this nifty book subscription will take care of your reading indecision

Choosing your next read can be a bit overwhelming. Do you stick with authors you already love or venture into the unknown? Go for a big title or try something a little more niche? Do you rely on reviews or be your own judge? 

Laura Brading and her good mate Biz Cranston have come up with a nifty solution to quash your indecision. It's called WellRead, and it's a thoughtfully curated book subscription that gets sent to your door each month. 

Together, Laura and Biz task themselves with devouring mountains of books in order to handpick the very best titles to share with subscribers. Don’t expect anything too obvious – the duo sidestep mainstream titles in favour of niche stories that brighten your day, as well as your mind. Below, we chatted to Laura to find out more about the joys of book-clubbing.
Tell us how WellRead came about. As a former book publishing professional and bookseller, it was only natural that I held the romantic dream of opening up my own bookshop. Alas, time, money and kids slowed me down, and after seeing some excellent models operating in the US, the dream pivoted to a subscription service. I joined forces with my friend and tech-wiz, Biz, and together we created WellRead to share our passion for books in a unique way. Biz has since returned to the tech world, but the business will always have some of her in it. 

What's the most surprising thing you’ve learnt since launching the book club? That lots of people are actually looking for curation in their reading experiences. That they want to read good books, but sometimes struggle to locate them. When you’re so immersed in the book world and well-equipped to seek out good books, you forget how overwhelming decision-making can be in a saturated market. 

You cherry-pick the best books to share with your subscribers, so how many books are you cramming in each month? Look, it’s a tough job, but someone has to read all these books. Some months I might have to read ten books before I find a winner; other months the first book I read ends up being the selection we go with, but I still want to read a bunch of others to feel sure. There are others involved in the shortlisting process, too, so I think our proposition – reading mountains of books and picking the best new literary titles – is pretty accurate. 

What do you look for when picking the best books? Part of our offering to subscribers is that we provide them with a rich and diverse reading program. We hope that our selections all share a certain magical quality about them. We steer clear of obvious choices both to avoid members already owning the books, but also to enrich the experience of discovery. Expect titles that go on to win literary awards. Expect excellent reading experiences with nuanced characters, compelling themes, rich plots and lasting impressions that leave you enchanted, stirred or enlivened and always a little bit changed. 

Do you have any tips to help us switch off our screens and make more time to read? Always carry a book with you as you just never know when you might be able to steal five minutes of reading time. Don’t bring screens into your bedroom. Go out to a coffee shop with just your book and leave the damn phone at home. At night, don’t begin reading in bed, because if you’re anything like me you’ll read two pages and pass out. (I like to graduate from desk to lounge to bed.) Talk to a bookseller or a bookish friend who gets your book vibe and get them to recommend titles to you. Reading begets reading if you have good books. Finally, get a WellRead subscription (wink-wink).

Where are your favourite places to read a good book? By a fireplace, at the beach or on a fast-moving train through a European forest sounds nice. But to be completely honest, if I’m reading a good book, I’m not super aware of my surroundings. I’ll also accept a queue at the post-office, on a crowded bus or in the dentist’s waiting room.

How do you organise your own bookshelves? Organise? I’m like the plumber with leaky taps. I have boxes of books that haven’t seen the light of day in years. I also have piles of books around the house that are loosely categorised into ‘read’ and ‘want-to-read’ piles. The book cases themselves are overstuffed and categorised into genres (memoir/bio, contemporary fiction, classic fiction, short stories etc.). The dream would be floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that obeyed the Dewey Decimal Classification system. Too much?!

What does the future hold for WellRead? We’d like to continue expanding into events. We managed to squeeze in a few during our first year and have continued to do online author talks through lockdown. There are also plans to create a bibliotherapy arm of the business. More broadly though, we hope to create innovative ways that inspire people to pick up books. That will always be the end goal.

Like the sound of the WellRead? Well you’re in luck! Subscribe or resubscribe to frankie before August 2nd and you could also win yourself one of 10 three-month subscriptions from WellRead, each worth $99. And if you subscribe before Sunday July 19th, you’ll also get the next issue of frankie delivered straight to your letterbox. Swing by our shop to snap up a subscription!