Founder’s note: Why was Trove created?

Here’s something that’s always bothered me: Books are too expensive.

Walking into a bookstore shouldn’t be a premium experience. How many times have you walked into one and wanted to take home several interesting reads. But after picking one up and opening the inside cover, you share my thoughts: “That’s way too much.”

So maybe you walk out of the bookstore with fewer books than you wanted, or no books.

Reading is a universal experience. There’s truly a joy that comes when sharing a new book with friends or loved ones.

At a bookstore, we tend stick to what’s safe, and that’s a problem. Newer authors get fewer readers. Most readers prefer getting a bestseller they’ve heard about, reading it and maybe liking it — but then that bestseller sits on their bookshelf or given away.

So many books get passed over. Not because of interest, but because of price.

And that’s exactly the problem I want to solve: How can we put more books into more hands, including from lesser-known authors?

I believe readers shouldn't have to choose between their budget and reading as much as they like.

That’s why I created Trove Bookstore: We want readers to get the newest books in their hands for the lowest possible price. That means lower than your bookstore around the corner, and the biggest online booksellers.

Trove does this by offering books for rent with the option to return it risk-free.

If you love the book, and decide it's worth keeping at full price, that's great — but that’s entirely up to you. The return process was built to be as simple as possible, because we prefer when you return our rental books. Trove doesn’t exist to charge you more for a book you don’t want.

I deliver our rental books straight to your door, then give you the option to keep the book if it turns into a favorite read.

I want to give readers the freedom to choose between paying less to access a new book, all while supporting an independent bookseller.

I didn't start Trove to sell books. I started it so more people could read more of the books they actually want to read, for less.