Now on the App Store & Google Play

Spines — Find hidden gems on
any thrift store shelf

Stop leaving the good stuff behind.

Spines is the book discovery companion for thrift and charity shop lovers. Photo a chaotic shelf and instantly see which books are worth grabbing — tailored to your taste.

Works in thrift stores, charity shops, libraries, and home bookshelves in the UK, US, and beyond.

App Store Google Play

Free · 5 scans/month

Scanning a bookshelf with the Spines app

Hidden gem found

4.2 stars · Pulitzer Winner

AI-powered book identification

Pulitzer · Booker · NBA · Women's Prize · NYT

Results in seconds

How it works

No typing. No searching. No googling every title.
Just point, shoot, and discover your next great read in seconds.

Step 1

Point

Point your camera at any bookshelf — thrift stores, charity shops, libraries, your friend's living room. Messy shelves are no problem.

Step 2

Scan

AI reads the spines, matches titles to real book data, and pulls ratings, reviews, and genre information in seconds.

Step 3

Discover

Get personalised For You picks based on your reading taste. Spot Pulitzer, Booker, NBA, and Women's Prize winners, NYT Bestsellers, highly rated finds, and hidden treasures instantly.

Signals

Spines cross‑references every book on the shelf against:

•Literary awards (Pulitzer, Booker, National Book Award, Women's Prize)
•Bestseller lists (New York Times)
•Reader ratings from around the world
•Your personal taste (favourite genres, authors, publishers)

All in a few seconds, from a single photo.

Literary awards

Instantly spot award-winning literature hiding on the shelf.

Pulitzer Prize Booker Prize National Book Award Women's Prize Winners & finalists

Bestseller lists

See which books made the lists — and how long they stayed.

NYT Bestseller Rank & weeks on list

Reader ratings

Aggregated ratings from readers worldwide, so you can tell the 4.5-star gems from the duds at a glance.

Genre matching

AI understands the meaning behind your taste — not just keyword matches, but semantic understanding of what you actually enjoy reading.

Author & publisher affinity

Spines learns your favourite authors and publishers — both from what you tell it and from patterns in the books you grab.

Gets smarter over time. The more you scan and grab, the better your recommendations become.

Smart recognition

AI reads book spines even on crowded, messy shelves with angled or partially hidden titles.

Scan history

Revisit any shelf you've scanned. Perfect for when you want to go back and pick up that book you almost grabbed.

Spines Premium

Unlock the full experience for serious book hunters who want every advantage.

Unlimited shelf scans
Scan as many shelves as you want, every day
Full scan history
Revisit any shelf, any time
Award & bestseller signals
Pulitzer, Booker, NBA, Women's Prize, and NYT Bestseller badges at a glance
Priority support
Jump the queue when you need help

Annual

$19.99

per year

Get Premium on App Store Get Premium on Google Play

Cancel anytime via App Store or Google Play

Free users get 5 scans per month. Subscriptions are managed through the App Store or Google Play.

Why Spines

Why use Spines?

Save time

No more standing in front of a shelf googling every title.

Avoid duds

See ratings and awards at a glance so you don't waste money on books you won't finish.

Find hidden gems

Spot overlooked prize‑winners and highly rated backlist titles hiding between bestsellers.

Build your taste

The more you scan and grab, the more Spines understands what you love.

FAQ

Common questions

How does Spines identify books?

Spines uses AI vision to read the text on book spines in your photo. It then matches those titles against real book databases to pull in ratings, genre data, and author info. Each book is cross-referenced against literary award databases (Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, National Book Award, Women's Prize) and bestseller lists (New York Times) to surface hidden gems. It works even on crowded, messy shelves.

What kinds of shelves work best?

Any shelf with visible book spines. Thrift stores, charity shops, libraries, bookstores, and home bookshelves all work great. The more spine text visible in the photo, the better the results.

Is Spines free?

Yes. Spines is free to download and use with up to 5 scans per month.

If you hunt shelves regularly, Spines Premium gives you everything:

•Unlimited scans
•Full scan history so you can revisit past shelves
•Award & bestseller signals (Pulitzer, Booker, NBA, Women's Prize, NYT)
•Smarter “For You” recommendations that learn from what you grab and pass

Spines Premium is $19.99/year.

What does "For You" mean?

For You highlights books on the shelf that match your personal reading taste. Spines looks at:

•Your favourite genres, authors, and publishers
•Patterns in the books you mark as Grab or Pass
•Semantic similarities between books (not just keyword matches)

The more you scan and grab, the smarter it gets. It's like having a well‑read friend in your pocket who knows what you actually enjoy.

How do I cancel my subscription?

Subscriptions are managed through the App Store (Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions) or Google Play (Play Store → Subscriptions). Cancel anytime; you'll keep Premium until the end of your billing period.

Ready to find your next great read?

Download Spines for free and start scanning shelves today.