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.
Reached #5 on the App Store Books chart — UK & Ireland
Winner — UK StartUp Awards 2026 Wales
Finalist — Wales Business Awards 2026
As featured in Nation.Cymru
One photo. 86 books identified.
A real scan of a real charity shop shelf. In seconds, Spines read every spine and spotted the prize winners hiding in plain sight.
Real scan, real shelf — spotted at a charity shop
3 gems on this shelf
Bring Up the Bodies
Hilary Mantel
A Gate at the Stairs
Lorrie Moore
Small Great Things
Jodi Picoult
…plus 83 more, ranked for your taste.
Point. Scan. Discover.
No typing. No searching. No googling every title.
Just point, shoot, and discover your next great read in seconds.
Point
Point your camera at any bookshelf — thrift stores, charity shops, libraries, your friend's living room. Messy shelves are no problem.
Scan
AI reads the spines, matches titles to real book data, and pulls ratings, reviews, and genre information in seconds.
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.
What Spines looks for
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.
Bestseller lists
See which books made the lists — and how long they stayed.
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.
See what other book hunters are finding
When someone scans a shelf at a charity shop and chooses to share it, that shelf becomes a sighting. Nearby shows you which shops have fresh books on their shelves — before you set off.
A live map of book activity
Charity shops near you, with a pulse on the ones where books have been spotted recently. Free for everyone.
The sightings feed
Premium members browse recently sighted shelves — covers and all — and see exactly which shop they were spotted in.
Wishlist alerts
Hunting a specific book? Get a push the moment it's sighted on a shelf near you. Instant for Premium; free members get a weekly teaser.
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.
“An indispensable app in my library… This app has enabled me to source a number of titles on my personal wishlist which I'd initially failed to spot on the shelf! A brilliant idea and super easy to use.”“Outstanding” — App Store review
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.
Common questions
How does Spines identify books?
What kinds of shelves work best?
Is Spines free?
Yes. Spines is free to download and use with up to 3 scans per month.
If you hunt shelves regularly, Spines Premium gives you everything:
- •Unlimited scans
- •Full scan history so you can revisit past shelves
- •Book wishlist with wishlist matches surfaced in scan results
- •Import books you love via shelf scan, Goodreads, or StoryGraph to sharpen recommendations
- •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 $6.99/month or $49.99/year. The annual plan includes a 14-day free trial. Price may vary by country.
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.
What is Nearby?
How do I cancel my subscription?
Ready to find your next great read?
Download Spines for free and start scanning shelves today.
Free with 3 scans/month · 14-day free trial on annual