Reaching 700 registered readers and improvements

I created Bookshelf for a hackathon almost two years ago. Recently I discovered that people are using it: they track their books, and more than 700 readers have signed up. So I gave it a bit of love, improved it, and I'm going to keep it going.

How it started

I've always kept a list of the books I read, on a page of my personal website. For a hackathon in 2025 I turned that list into Bookshelf, a place to track your books and get a recommendation for what to read next. This is the demo I submitted.

Then I waited for the results. I'm still waiting, actually. The winners were never announced.

Left online, still growing

After the hackathon, Bookshelf stayed online without changes. It kept growing anyway. People found it, signed up, tracked their books and shared their shelves. When I looked again there were more than 700 readers 714 right now.

That was a good reason to give it a second version.

What's new

It's more social. Follow other readers, see what they finish, and find the books you have in common.
Recommend each other books. One per person, the one you'd pick if you could only choose one.
Every book has its own page with ratings, quotes, how long readers took, and similar books. Authors have pages too.
Lists show what readers are picking up in each genre, a good place to find new authors.
You can import your history from Goodreads or StoryGraph in a minute.
You decide what's public. Reading dates stay private unless you choose otherwise.

And if you want an AI opinion, Ask AI opens ChatGPT or Claude with your shelf already in the prompt.

Free, and made to last

Bookshelf is free, and there will always be a free version. There are no ads and no data is sold. It's a side project I enjoy working on.

It's also built to be simple, so it can keep running for years with very little upkeep. Your shelf isn't going anywhere.

Say hi

This is my shelf. Follow it to see what I'm reading, and if there's one book you think I should read next, recommend it to me.

New here? Create your bookshelf in a minute, it's free. And if you already had an account, just log in with the same email and your books will be there. Ideas and feedback are always welcome.

Happy reading,
Eric