Reading habits, AI book recommendations & honest app comparisons
Practical guides for readers who want to finish more books, pick the right tracker, and use AI to find their next favorite read.
Roundup
Roundup · Sep 19, 2026
Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist: The Six Books and Key Dates
The shortlist is here. See the six titles and plan which one to read first.
Read articleRoundup · Sep 19, 2026
September 2026 Books: John Green, Emily St. John Mandel & More
September’s books are now out: revisit the releases and choose what to read next.
Read articleRoundup · Jun 12, 2026
8 Book Tracking Options to Compare in 2026
Eight options, their different approaches, and what to check before importing your books.
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Reading lists
Reading lists · Sep 19, 2026
Unaccustomed Earth on Netflix: Read Jhumpa Lahiri Before the Series
Read Lahiri’s collection before the Netflix adaptation arrives on December 17.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Books Like ACOTAR: 14 Reads for After the Court of Thorns and Roses
Fae courts, bargains, and a romance that takes three books. Here is what comes next.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Books Like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Glamour, a framed narrative, and a secret held until the last chapter. Here's what else does that.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Books Like It Ends With Us: 12 Emotional Contemporary Reads
Books that hurt on purpose, and are worth it. Content warnings noted where they matter.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Books Like The Hunger Games: 13 Dystopian Reads That Hold Up
Dystopia is back. Here are the ones that hold up, and the ones that only felt good in 2012.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
40 Great Short Books You Can Finish This Weekend
Under 250 pages, no filler. The fastest way out of a slump is a book that ends.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
20 Books That Actually Make You Think
Not 'difficult'. Books that leave you arguing with yourself on the walk home.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Self-Help Books That Are Not Nonsense
Most of the genre is one blog post in a hardback. These are the exceptions.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Audiobooks to Listen to in 2026
Some books are genuinely better in audio. Some are actively worse. Here's which is which.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Book Series to Binge (And How Long Each Takes)
Complete series only, with real page counts. Know what you are signing up for.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Fantasy Books to Read in 2026
Sorted by commitment: one-sitting standalones, trilogies you can finish, and the series that will eat your year.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Thriller Books to Read in 2026
Sorted by the kind of twist you want: unreliable narrator, slow dread, or pure velocity.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Romance Books to Read in 2026
Organised by trope, because that is genuinely how romance readers choose.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Science Fiction Books to Read in 2026
Including the honest answer to 'where do I even start with sci-fi?'
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Mystery Books to Read in 2026
From cosy village murders to the genuinely bleak. Sorted by how much you want to be upset.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Cozy Fantasy Books: 14 Low-Stakes Reads for a Bad Week
No chosen one, no apocalypse. Just a tired adventurer opening a coffee shop, and it is exactly what you need.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Non-Fiction Books to Read in 2026
Including the underrated question: which of these can you read twenty minutes at a time?
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Memoirs to Read: 16 That Are Worth Your Time
The best memoirs are never really about the events. Here is what each of these is actually about.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Classic Books to Read (And Which to Skip)
Some classics are masterpieces. Some are homework. Here's the honest sort.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Historical Fiction Books to Read
Sorted by period, with a note on which ones historians actually respect.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
15 Books Like Fourth Wing to Read Next (2026 Romantasy Guide)
You finished Onyx Storm at 2am and now nothing else will do. Here's what to read next, sorted by what you actually loved about it.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
The Best Horror Books of 2026: Femgore, Weird Fiction and Literary Dread
Horror is having a moment, and it is not the moment you would expect. Femgore, weird fiction and literary dread — explained, with a reading list.
Read articleReading lists · Aug 9, 2026
Dark Academia Books: The 14 Best Places to Start in 2026
Ancient languages, morally grey students, and at least one body. Here is where to start with dark academia — and what separates the real thing from the aesthetic.
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Features
Features · Aug 9, 2026
Goals, Streaks and Challenges in Shelfies
A goal tells you where you are going. A streak gets you there on the nights you cannot be bothered.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Reading Analytics in Shelfies: Heatmaps, Genres and Year in Review
The numbers are not the point. What they tell you about your own taste is.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Notes, Quotes and Highlights: Keeping the Bits Worth Keeping
The passage you underlined is worthless if you can never find it again.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
How to Import Goodreads Books into Shelfies
A step-by-step Goodreads import guide, including what transfers and what to check.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
20 Themes: Making Your Shelf Look Like Yours
A reading app you enjoy opening is a reading app you open. That is most of the argument.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Shelf Cards and Public Profiles: Showing What You Read
Four layouts, a public profile, and no obligation to use either.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Adding Books to Shelfies: Barcode, Search or Just Say It
The fastest shelf is the one you do not have to type. Here are the three ways in.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
AI Book Recommendations in Shelfies: How to Get Useful Picks
Better context, clearer requests, and a few checks before adding the next book.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Ask Shelfy AI: A Chat That Has Actually Read Your Library
Not a general chatbot. One that knows which 24 books are on your shelf.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
AI Deep Summaries: Spoiler-Free Recaps for the Book You Abandoned
You put it down in March. You want to finish it. You have no idea who anyone is.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
AI Reading Plans: A Daily Schedule That Finishes the Book
900 pages is frightening. 22 pages a night is a Tuesday.
Read articleFeatures · Aug 9, 2026
Reading Timer App: Track Sessions and Pace with Shelfies
Start a session, record progress, and use your own pace to plan the next book.
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Reading habits
Reading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Get Out of a Reading Slump: 9 Fixes That Actually Work
A reading slump is almost never about willpower. It is usually about the book, the time of day, or the format.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How Many Books Should I Read a Year? An Honest Answer
Twelve? Fifty-two? A hundred? The right number is the one you beat, and here's how to find it.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Remember What You Read (Without Taking Notes on Everything)
You finished it, loved it, and now you cannot summarise it. Here's how to make books stick.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Read Faster Without Losing Comprehension
You cannot read 1,000 words a minute with comprehension. You can comfortably add 30% to your current pace.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Annotate Books: A System That Survives the Second Read
Highlighting everything is the same as highlighting nothing. Here's a system with actual rules.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Organize Your Bookshelf: 8 Systems, Ranked
Rainbow shelves look incredible and make books impossible to find. Here's the honest ranking.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
40 Book Club Questions That Work for Any Book
Questions that get past 'did you like it?' — for any book, fiction or non-fiction.
Read articleReading habits · Aug 9, 2026
How to Build a Reading Habit That Survives a Bad Week
Motivation gets you three days. Structure gets you three years. Here's the structure.
Read articleHabits · Jun 12, 2026
How to Track Your Reading Progress (And Actually Finish More Books)
A simple system for tracking reading progress, building a streak, and finishing more books this year.
Read articleHabits · Jun 9, 2026
How to Read More Books in 2026 (Without Forcing It)
A realistic, habit-based plan to read more books this year — without forcing it.
Read articleHabits · Jun 8, 2026
How to Set Reading Goals You Can Keep
A reading goal based on your actual week, with room to change the plan.
Read articleHabits · Jun 5, 2026
Reading Streaks: The Science of Building a Daily Reading Habit
Streaks work because visible progress beats willpower. Here's how to start one and what to do if it breaks.
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Genre guides
Genre guides · Aug 9, 2026
What Does TBR Mean? The Reading Acronyms Explained
Everyone in the comments is using acronyms nobody defined. Here they all are.
Read articleGenre guides · Aug 9, 2026
What Is BookTok? How TikTok Rebuilt the Bestseller List
A hashtag that sells more books than most newspapers. Here's what BookTok is and why publishers reorganised around it.
Read articleGenre guides · Aug 9, 2026
What Is Romantasy? The Genre Explained (And 12 Books to Start With)
It is on every bestseller list and every For You page. Here is what romantasy actually is, and where to start if you have never read one.
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Comparison
Comparison · Jun 11, 2026
The 6 Best Goodreads Alternatives in 2026
Six better alternatives to Goodreads, ranked. Modern design, real AI, no Amazon.
Read articleComparison · Jun 10, 2026
Shelfies vs Goodreads vs StoryGraph: Which Reading Tracker Fits?
Choose by the tools you need: book communities, statistics, or an AI digital bookshelf.
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