Top 10: Social Reading apps

2023. LillyPad.ai launches OpenBook – a personal AI Book Club feature



Imagine if the universe itself had a book club—one that knew exactly what you wanted to read, what you didn’t, and how best to make you laugh while doing it. That’s precisely what LillyPad.ai is aiming for with its latest, positively galactic invention: the Personal AI Book Club, affectionately titled “Open Book.” This is no ordinary literary gathering. It’s a dynamic reading experience where conversations spring up over anything from the latest science journal to a dusty classic to the headline you barely skimmed over your coffee. True to its slightly madcap vision of AI-driven English learning, LillyPad.ai has crafted “Open Book” to be as interactive and engaging as any good story. Genady Knizhnik of LillyPad.ai explains, in that understated way so beloved by inventors of groundbreaking technology, “Our aim was to create the cozy, intriguing ambiance of a classic book club, only with a personal AI twist, so each reader finds new wonders hidden between the lines.”


2023. Social reading app Fable now provides personalized book recommendations



In the grand galactic bazaar of technological oddities, Apple Books has rolled out an eyebrow-raising collection of audiobooks narrated by artificial intelligence—essentially, digital voices doing their best impressions of the Homo sapiens vocal cords. This move, which might one day inspire future historians to title a chapter "The Revenge of the Machines on the Narrators," seems aimed squarely at rattling the very lucrative and ever-expanding audiobook market. But, like any good drama, it comes with a subplot: potential accusations of anti-competitive shenanigans aimed at Apple’s shiny empire. If you pop into the Books app and type "AI narration" into the search box (because you’re curious, of course), you’ll find a collection of books proudly proclaiming their vocal origins as "a digital voice based on a human narrator." Naturally, this has stirred the pot for voice actors who might feel more than a little usurped, while some authors, faced with the double-edged sword of being asked to narrate their own works, find solace in a peculiar combo—upfront cash and the thought of reaching more eager ears.

2021. Social reading app Bookship adds video chat



Bookship, a social reading application targeted at the Snapchat and Instagram generation, now features secure video chat. It's free for unlimited users, allowing you to share reading experiences with friends, family and book clubs. Additionally, Bookship offers a "Meet the Author" program that connects your reading group with a diverse array of authors through video chat. It also includes many "bookish" features such as a “virtual highlighter” that captures quotes from physical books using your phone camera, spoiler tags, a book discovery environment and a public discussion area called the Cafe, where members can gather via the app and participate in public book readings.


2021. Glose - gamified social book reading app



At first blush, Glose might appear to be just another one of those apps that lets you buy, download, and read books on your devices (iOS, Android, and web) — the sort of thing that is ubiquitous enough to lull you into thinking the universe is mostly harmless. But no! Glose takes the decidedly peculiar notion of reading and transmogrifies it into a multiplayer escapade. You’re not just plodding through pages; you’re building a bookshelf like it’s the Great Wall of Literary China, sharing notes like a scholar with too much coffee, and bantering with fellow bookish beings who share your exquisite taste (or at least tolerate it). Of course, platforms like Goodreads have already made bookish chatter a thing, but Glose goes one step further by cunningly integrating its social wizardry directly into the reading experience itself. It even sneaks in gamification — streak rewards and all — to keep you turning pages, even when grappling with books that weigh as much on your brain as Vogon poetry on your soul. And the catalog? Positively galactic: over 1,000,000 eBooks and audiobooks spanning literature, romance, history, science, economics, business, and, presumably, everything you never knew you needed.


2015. Scribd acquired social reading app Librify



Ebook subscription startup Scribd has acquired Librify, a social reading app, the companies announced today. In a brief press release, Scribd claims that Librify’s “emphasis on the social reading experience” made the acquisition worthwhile. The news comes at a competitive time for the publishing industry, as Amazon, Oyster and others vie to be the ultimate Netflix for books — all while offering remarkably similar products. Scribd intends to integrate the start-up’s social features to enhance its own platform with a more robust social e-reading experience. “We appreciate Librify’s focus on the social reading experience and the impressive work they’ve done within reading communities,” Scribd co-founder and CEO Trip Adler said in a statement today. “This acquisition is a natural extension of the existing Scribd product and something we and our readers, have been eager to explore further.”


2014. Glose - mobile ebook reader that turns reading into social experience



Glose is a new reading app for your phone, tablet and laptop, aiming to transform reading into a shared experience. You can discuss quotes with friends and other Glose users, take notes and more. You can also explore a feed of your friends' annotations to get a glimpse of books you haven't yet read. At its core, the team wants to build a small social network around inspiring books. Glose is also launching as an ebook store. On its debut, you will find 300,000 books available for purchase from traditional publishers, including 4 of the 5 major publishers — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette and Macmillan. Prices are competitive with the Kindle Store and the iBooks Store. As with other platforms, you buy a book once and can read it on all your devices.


2014. Oyster adds social Book Lists to drive discovery



Ebook subscription service Oyster, in a move that might make even the most jaded hitchhiker sit up and take notice, has unveiled "Book Lists"—a splendidly simple yet delightfully clever feature allowing users to recommend and share their own bespoke collections of literary wonders. These lists, as freely available as a Vogon poetry recital (though far more pleasant), can now be accessed via each user’s profile page without any additional cost. Subscribers may compile lists of any imaginable length and share them either exclusively with fellow Oyster aficionados or scatter them wildly across the social media cosmos like an interstellar beacon of good taste. This brings Oyster readers a third option for discovering new titles—alongside the algorithmically and editorially curated recommendations and the time-honored method of rummaging through the platform’s digital shelves. All of this arrives amidst a galactic arms race among ebook services like Entitle, which recently souped up its own discovery mechanisms, signaling that in the vast universe of subscription ebooks, the battle for readers’ attention is as fiercely competitive as a pan-dimensional hyperchess match.


2014. Transmedia Story Stream wants to transform books into social games



Transmedia Story Stream is positioning itself as the Zynga of ebooks. Its innovative platform merges social video game elements with storytelling, allowing authors to create, distribute and engage fans in multi-media story universes. Rather than downloading a static ePub, readers can enter vibrant story worlds filled with fan interaction and rewards while they read. The platform “gamifies” reading with an invitation to users: Don’t just read a book—play it! With Transmedia Story Stream, creators can develop story worlds that include written content (READ), video (WATCH), audio (LISTEN), casual video games (PLAY) and live events (GATHER). Transmedia Story Stream is built on Pubsoft's established HTML5-secure streaming platform and story worlds can be accessed on any connected device, whether mobile or tablet.