Readwise, the bootstrapped company behind a highlight tracker and read-it-later app, launched Readwise Books, which combines an e-book store with Goodreads-style reading tracking. The store carries e-books from the five biggest publishers and many smaller ones in the US, along with some audiobooks and print books shipped through Bookshop.org’s distributor. Readwise is pitching the app’s reading stats, such as words read, pace, and session length, as a “Strava for reading” that goes beyond logging which books someone finished. The app is free and invite-only during its beta, but Readwise plans to charge for some AI features later. Publishers have to opt in to those AI features, and only HarperCollins has.
