Why the world needs a new mobile app for reading
As a developer AND a reader, I spent years frustrated by reading apps built NOT for readers. Mid-2025: I decided to build the app I actually wanted. justRead respects your books, your data, your reading experience. Here's why I built it.
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I like the motivation — in a crowded space the real question isn’t why another reader, it’s what behavior you’re changing compared to existing alternatives.
From a development and usage perspective, one of the most reliable early signals I’ve seen is whether users consistently perform a core action without external prompting — e.g., opening the app daily to read a specific type of content, or using a particular feature repeatedly. That’s fundamentally different from “people click once and forget.”
Curious — when you tested early iterations, what specific user behavior signal did you watch that made you think this form of reading app was actually solving a real problem (not just a neat idea)?
Hi, thank you for the reply. I am not in a pre-test-flight phase, so all I have now is feedback from my colleagues, friends and family. The good there is, there are all readers, the bad is the are not strangers, so I don't know, even if I tel them, if they criticize me enough.
That is what I hope I will get from TestFlight: real world feedback.
And I know, from people in Calibre community, that fonts and "where books are" is the biggest point people struggle with.
I have PostHog implemented from beginning and I am iterating and will be on real data.
That makes sense — friends/family feedback is useful for usability, but it’s noisy for validation.
Given what you already know, one way to de-bias early signals (even before TestFlight scale) is to instrument for behavior around those two pain points specifically:
• For fonts: do users actively change font settings more than once, or revert back after reading sessions?
• For “where books are”: do users repeatedly navigate/search before starting a read, or pin/favorite the same locations?
Even with a small TestFlight cohort, patterns like repeated adjustments, time spent before first read, or returning to the same organizational view are often stronger signals than verbal feedback.
PostHog from day one is a great call — once strangers start doing the same small thing unprompted, you’ll have much more confidence than any opinion-based feedback.
Hello again :-).
The "problem" with those fonts is not about user constantly switching, but about "user is allowed to use only those 10 fonts", for example. My approach here is: download what font you want, put it in a folder and user it.
And with those books: all the apps works like this: hit import button, select files, import them. So the file exists in two locations, the original and somewhere in the app storage. What changes you make in one location does to affect the other one and vice versa. My aim was here the same with fonts: choose which folder you use for book files and that's it. What is in the folder, is in the app, what is deleted from the folder, is deleted from the app, what is updated (metadata), that is updated.
I am planning to create a finder extension for macos afterwards, to edit those epub file metadata as easily as possible, without needing to open another software on mac.
The "built for readers, by a reader" angle is strong positioning. Most reading apps feel like they were designed by people who think about metrics and engagement, not about actually enjoying a book.
A few things that make or break reading apps for me:
The "respects your data" positioning is interesting timing with everyone getting burned by apps that lock your library or shut down. Ownership and portability could be a real differentiator.
What's the business model? One-time purchase, subscription, or freemium? That choice tends to shape everything about how a reading app evolves.
Hi, I was thinking about making this app for years and finally decided last summer.
There are many why's, but the top three were:
I wanted to manage my books on my computer (like with Calibre), save them in a cloud folder (like icloud, dropbox) and in the app on the phone just say "library os here". This is done, sync is managed by cloud provider.
I wanted to use any font I download from internet, so I made it like this: save the font in TTF or OTF in the same directory (maybe with "fonts" subdirectory) and that's it, the app will load it and you can use it for reading
In both 1 and 2 you just say "use this folder/directory" and everything in that folder is for use in the app
As for formats... after a long discussion with my "reading" friend, only epub is available, it is becoming defacto THE format for ebooks and you can convert from any format to epub using calibre or via other tools.
There are more features, like changing the brightness while reading just by swiping up and down on the left or right side of the screen, 20-20-20 reminders to pause reading, etc. which you can read at my site.
Also I am a bit of a "stats and data" fan, so in January, stats are my main focus.
As for pricing: monthly, yearly and lifetime with some surprises for consistent readers.
The "point to a folder and everything just works" approach is elegant. Letting the cloud provider handle sync instead of building your own sync infrastructure is smart - fewer moving parts, and users already trust their iCloud/Dropbox.
The epub-only decision is bold but probably right. Better to do one format perfectly than five formats poorly. And you're right that Calibre makes conversion trivial for anyone who cares enough.
The custom font support is a nice power-user feature. Curious about the stats focus for January - are you thinking reading streaks, time spent, books finished? Or something more interesting like reading speed trends or time-of-day patterns?
The lifetime option with "surprises for consistent readers" is intriguing. Rewarding your most loyal users instead of treating them as maximum extraction targets.
Oh my, nice to talk with someone :-)
About those surprises, the plan is to give readers who use the app consistently, so loyal users, free days. Like, for example: you use the app for 365 days, you get 30 days for free in yearly subscription, or maybe better: you get yearly plus one month.
And about statistics those are planned for now (with the look like in apple health):
And later a widget for screen showing stats that will be most accessed/used by users.
Loving this conversation!
The stats roadmap is impressive. The Apple Health-style visualization is a smart reference point - readers already understand that UX pattern. A few thoughts:
The "easy to read" vs "hard to read" rankings are fascinating. That's genuinely useful self-knowledge that no other reading app surfaces. Knowing I struggle with certain authors/genres could actually change my reading behavior.
The "year in review" feature is brilliant for retention. People love sharing their Spotify Wrapped - a reading equivalent gives users a reason to stay subscribed AND generates organic marketing when they share it.
The loyalty rewards (365 days = 30 free days) is counter-intuitive in a good way. Most apps punish loyal users with full price while offering discounts to win back churned users. You're doing the opposite - treating consistency as something to reward. That builds genuine loyalty instead of subscription fatigue.
One suggestion: the reading progress data (which days/times you read most) could be actionable if you add optional reminders. "You usually read at 9pm on weekdays - want a nudge?" That turns passive stats into active habit support.
The home screen widget idea is great for engagement. Being reminded of your reading streak without opening the app keeps the habit front-of-mind.
When's the January stats update launching?
"You usually read at 9pm on weekdays - want a nudge?" : great idea!
I hope to get 90% of the stats done by January 10th.
Jan 10th is an aggressive timeline - respect the focus! That gives you about two weeks to ship a major feature set.
One thought on sequencing: if you have to prioritize within the stats features, I'd suggest shipping the "year in review" capability first (even if it's basic). With 2025 just ending, there's a natural moment where readers want to reflect on their reading year. You might capture some organic sharing while that impulse is fresh.
The daily reading pattern stats can follow - those are valuable for habit formation but don't have the same time-sensitive hook.
Good luck with the sprint! Looking forward to seeing what you ship.