03 / Personal Project
Bookish
A mobile reading tracker for people who have too may books and no idea what to read next.
The Idea
I love books, but having a large TRB can create a funny problem: sometimes having too many books to choose from makes it harder to decide what to read.
Bookish started as a simple idea, a personal app that could keep track of the books I want to read, what I'm currently reading, and what I've already finished.
Rather than trying to build another social reading platform, I wanted to keep the experience focused on the individual reader.
No account. No complicated setup. Just open the app, keep track of your books, and figure out what to read next.
What I wanted to Build
The main idea was to create a simple reading tracker that make managing a physical TBR feel easier. The app is built around three main reading states:
Want to Read
Books waiting on my TBR shelf ready for inspection
State: Queued
In Progress
Books I'm currently reading with percentage & chapter logs.
State: Active
Completed
Books I've finished
State: Archived
The app also includes the ability to add books using ISBN or barcode scanning and a random "Pick Next" feature for those moments when choosing what to read becomes the hardest part.
Features
Reflections
What I'm Learning
Bookish has been less about simply building a mobile application and more about learning how product decisions change when your building for a different platform.
I've had to think about mobile navigation, local storage, database design, touch interactions, screen space, and how small UX decisions can affect the overall experience.
It's also been a reminder that a project doesn't need to solve a huge problem to be worth building.
"Sometimes it's enough to build something because you personally want it to exist."