Readwise takes on Amazon’s Kindle and Goodreads with its new app for book lovers

Readwise, the shaper of a read-it-later app and integer speechmaking companion that keeps way of your highlights across services, is present taking connected Amazon’s e-book empire with its latest app, Readwise Books. The app is an e-book store besides helps you way what you’ve read, akin to Amazon’s Goodreads.

The bootstrapped startup described the caller app arsenic “a transverse betwixt Kindle and the Goodreads apps,” arsenic it offers a azygous spot to buy, read, and way books. However, Readwise Books aims to connection much elaborate speechmaking stats, than the dates you work a publication and whether you finished it. It lets readers visualize richer speechmaking information similar words read, pace, depth, immersion, and sessions.

Image Credits:Readwise

Meanwhile, its caller store offers “millions” of ebooks from the large 5 publishers and others, initially successful the U.S., with much countries to come. Print books (fulfilled by Bookshop.org’s distributor) and immoderate audiobooks are disposable arsenic well, the institution notes.

The motorboat comes astatine a clip erstwhile there’s been an detonation of caller speechmaking apps and publication trackers, each hoping to situation Goodreads by introducing caller features similar publication clubs, widgets, improved find features, goal-setting, amended lists and organizational tools, habit-tracking, and more. However, few indie developers person gone truthful acold arsenic to motorboat an alternate to Amazon’s Kindle e-books store, which remains the manufacture leader, with an 83% stock of the market erstwhile Kindle+ (formerly Kindle Unlimited) is included successful the stats.

Image Credits:Readwise

One of Kindle’s bigger advantages is that it offers an end-to-end solution for everything related to speechmaking e-books, from the hardware devices to the book-tracking log. Readwise isn’t selling its ain e-readers, but it is attempting to make its ain assemblage astir reading, implicit with tools for speechmaking purchased and uploaded ebooks, tracking them (like connected Goodreads), sharing your speechmaking advancement with friends, and more.

It besides offers a fig of ways to way books extracurricular its ecosystem. This includes a mode to way speechmaking sessions by utilizing Kindle’s browser-based Cloud Reader and a diagnostic that lets you drawback photos of carnal books to people your progress. Plus, you tin upload immoderate DRM-free EPUBs (a communal ebook record format without transcript protection). The app tin work your ebooks aloud via text-to-speech.

Readwise believes its much in-depth metrics could beryllium a large selling point, too, likening them to a “Strava for reading” — a notation to the metrics-heavy moving app.

“The tendency to work books, similar exercising and eating well, is laden with guilt,” the institution explained successful a blog station penned by co-founders Daniel Doyon and Tristan Homsi. “Many radical consciousness similar they should beryllium speechmaking more, but feeling atrocious astir it tends to alteration nothing. The league tracking taps into a antithetic intelligence mechanism. It makes the speechmaking you’re doing legible and, arsenic the adage goes, that which is measured is improved.”

The institution adds that the astir accordant feedback from users is that the app has led them to work much without willpower tricks similar goal-setting, streaks, oregon scheduling.

Image Credits:Readwise

With publishers’ permission, the app volition enactment AI-powered features arsenic well, similar league recaps, definitions and word lookups, connection and operation translations, and a location-aware quality to inquire questions astir the portion you’re reading. (So far, lone Harper Collins has opted in, though.)

Unlike Goodreads’ locked-down ecosystem, Readwise is embracing unfastened technology. This includes a nationalist API and an MCP server. The second supports AI agents that could beryllium utilized to probe publication recommendations connected your behalf, usage your Readwise information to make a books leafage connected your idiosyncratic website, oregon adjacent ligament up your hackable e-reader to log your sessions automatically, depending connected however progressive your AI usage cases whitethorn be.

The caller Readwise Books app volition stay free, with immoderate AI features aboriginal going down a paywall. Its anterior apps for speechmaking and tracking highlights are either $7.99 per period each, oregon $9.99 per period for both.

The Books app is presently successful beta and requires an invite, unless you’re already a Readwise subscriber.