Your reading life, beautifully organized.
The aesthetic reading tracker for physical books and audiobooks. Track goals, capture quotes, discover beautiful themes.
10+ beautiful themes - pick one

Features
Everything for your reading journey
Every feature is designed to make your reading life easier, cosier, and more motivating. Many came straight from user feedback - and we're always listening.
Build Your Shelf
Add books by searching online, scanning barcodes, or logging them manually. Assign them to shelves and watch your library grow.
Capture Quotes & Notes
Save favourite quotes, jot down thoughts, or scan passages with OCR. Each day, a random quote greets you on your profile.
Rate & Review
Give each book a star rating, leave reviews, and mark your favourites. Your opinions, beautifully preserved.
Stay Motivated
Set reading goals and check your progress with stats and a colourful reading heatmap. One page at a time.
Books Are Better Together
Follow friends, peek at their shelves, and see what everyone is reading. Reading is always more fun when shared.
Make It Yours
Choose from 14+ beautiful themes, set your language, and customise how your shelves and profile look. Your bookshelf, your rules.
Reading Calendar
Your reading life at a glance
Every book leaves a mark. Tap any cover to see what you read.
Why Bookshelf?
How we compare
Looking for a Goodreads alternative? Here's how Bookshelf stacks up against the competition.
| Feature | Bookshelf | Goodreads | StoryGraph |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Calendar | Limited | ||
| Insightful Statistics | Basic | ||
| Quote Scanning | |||
| Ad-Free Experience | |||
| Audiobook Support | Limited | Limited | |
| 14+ Beautiful Themes | |||
| Barcode Scanner | |||
| Custom Shelves & Book Nooks | |||
| Monthly Reading Recaps | Basic |
Based on publicly available information as of 2026.
Our Story
Built by two readers,
for readers
Bookshelf started as a personal project by Tiago, an engineering student who wanted to read more but couldn't find an app that felt right. So he built one for himself.
Meanwhile, Margarida had always been a bookworm. After so much reading during the pandemic, she was looking for an app to help her rediscover her love for reading, but nothing on the market felt right. She was even tracking her books in Notion.
When Margarida saw Tiago's app, she knew instantly: "This is exactly what readers need. Let's make it beautiful and useful."
Together they turned a side project into a product - giving it a brand, a plan, and a reason to grow. Margarida handles design, UX, and product vision; Tiago handles the engineering.
Today, over 50,000+ readers have downloaded Bookshelf across iOS and Android. It's still self-funded, built in their spare time, and shaped entirely by community feedback.
Our Vision
To help create a reading habit people actually look forward to - one that feels personal, beautiful, and rewarding.
What we're building
Track effortlessly
Log books in seconds - scan, search, or type.
Reach your goals
Set reading goals and get gentle nudges to stay on track.
Discover insights
Stats and recaps that reveal your reading patterns.
Personalize your space
14+ themes to make the app feel like home.
Celebrate milestones
Confetti for finishing books. You deserve it.
Share with friends
Follow readers, discover books through people you trust.
Cozy book nooks
Organise your collection into themed virtual shelves and nooks.
Monthly recaps
Auto-generated roundups of your reading activity, delivered on the first of every month.
The Team
Meet the people behind Bookshelf
We're a tiny two-person team, building Bookshelf in our free time. Self-funded, fuelled by passion, and growing thanks to readers like you.

Tiago Almeida
The Engineering Mind
- Day job as a software engineer
- Sole programmer for Bookshelf
- Currently reading Sherlock Holmes classics
“One day I woke up and decided that I should read more. So I built a reading tracker for myself.”

Margarida Oliveira
The Product Visionary
- Engineer with a business and product focus
- Handles UX/UI design and branding
- Management consultant by day
“One day I woke up and saw not just an app, but a side project with potential to become something readers would love. So I gave it a brand, a plan, and a reason to grow.”
Get in touch
Feature requests, bug reports, or just want to say hi?


