It’s 2026, and the state of book tracking is honestly a little strange.
Movies have Letterboxd, games have Backloggd, and music lovers have RYM. But books? Books feel stuck in a time capsule. Goodreads has been the go-to for over a decade, yet it still feels like it was built for a different version of the internet. StoryGraph is a great step forward for data lovers, but the experience often feels split between dry analytics and minimalism. Nothing feels like a modern, intentional home for readers, the kind of place where your actual taste lives.
That is where this Letterboxd for books idea started.
The Search for a Better Book Tracker
When people go looking for a book tracking app, they aren’t just looking for a way to count pages. They are looking for a way to curate an identity. The problem with current platforms is that they feel like databases instead of communities.
Tracking is just the foundation, but identity is the real product. We don’t just want to store titles in a list. We want to express our taste, join conversations, and discover new worlds through other people’s shelves. That is the “Letterboxd” magic that’s currently missing in the literary world.
What I’m Building
I’m working on a prototype for a unified media tracker. The goal is to let books, movies, and music live together in one place. I didn’t want to build a clone, I wanted to build a digital bookshelf that feels authored, cinematic, and human.
I’m designing a space where you can:
- Review and critique books with real intention
- Build a reading identity that feels as visual as a film poster
- Join communities based on specific vibes rather than just genres
- Discover new reads through human taste instead of just algorithms
Why Books Deserve Better
Books are slow and intimate. They shape us in ways other media can’t, so the act of logging them shouldn’t feel like filling out a spreadsheet from 2012. It should feel like stepping into your own library, one that reflects who you are and grows as you do.
This isn’t just about making a Letterboxd for books competitor. It’s about reimagining how we talk about what we read.
Where This Is Going
The prototype is still in the early stages and I’m building it piece by piece. It’s a journey I’m sharing as I go, trying to find the right path to get it fully funded and out into the world.
If you want to follow along or see how the idea is evolving, you can check out SocialCritiq. Books deserve a better home, and I’m excited to be building it.
Join the Founding Citizens here:
