Readwise Books is built around a simple premise: reading can be treated as an activity people track, share and return to, much like exercise. The new store, which opened in public beta on Wednesday, pairs e-book purchases with a reading app that records page turns, time spent, notes and highlights.
The service began as an invite-only beta on iOS and Android on October 28. Readwise plans a wider launch before year-end. Its catalog includes titles from all five major U.S. publishers, alongside books supplied by Ingram and other distributors. Readers can also order print books fulfilled by Ingram; audiobooks are available, though the company says that part of the service is less developed. Sales are currently limited to the U.S., with Canada, the U.K. and Europe expected within about six months.
Publisher access came through an acquisition
Readwise had wanted to build a bookstore for years, but publisher agreements were the main obstacle. Publishers typically sign retailers one at a time and want evidence of sales before committing. “You can’t prove that you can sell e-books until you’re given an opportunity to sell e-books,” cofounder Daniel Doyon told Publishers Weekly, describing the problem as “a chicken-and-the-egg situation.”
The company solved that problem by acquiring Glose, a Paris-based e-book retailer with existing publisher contracts. Medium had acquired Glose in January 2021, but did not develop the business further. Doyon, a Readwise user of Medium founder Ev Williams’ platform, spent 18 months pursuing a deal that closed in late 2024. “The true asset value there,” he said, “was the publisher deals.”
Glose also brought operating work that will transfer to Readwise: digital fulfillment for HarperCollins.com and employee e-book programs at HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. Its users are moving to the new service as well.
Reading becomes measurable and shareable
Readwise records each page turn, tracking words read and time spent, then groups activity into sessions visible in a social feed. The app labels reading patterns with stages such as “immersed,” for steady page-turning, and “active,” for sessions heavy on notes and highlights. Doyon compares the experience to wearing a heart monitor during cardio, with the option to share results as people do on Strava.
Readers can sync their Kindle shelves and use Amazon’s Cloud Reader inside Readwise, although Kindle books can’t be imported. Goodreads reading histories can also be brought into the app.
Readwise is seeking users beyond its existing base, which skews male and toward nonfiction. During the private beta, the company worked with a couple hundred book creators and influencers with 5,000 to 50,000 followers. Each received a Boox e-reader valued at about $200 to test the app, with paid work offered to those who continued using it. Doyon said Readwise works with creators “to the extent they’re true users of the app.”
The company’s own users can influence what gains traction. When Packy McCormick, the writer behind the Substack newsletter Not Boring, began reading Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove in the app, interest in the novel spread among readers on the platform.
A bookstore with a wellness thesis
Readwise enters a market where a small number of established retailers already dominate. Doyon said the company isn’t relying on dissatisfaction with Amazon to win customers. “We don’t want people to use Readwise because they hate someone else,” he said. “We want them to use it because they actually think it’s better.”
The larger bet is that tracking and social features can help make reading a more regular habit. Doyon sees a parallel with wellness activities such as meditation and sauna use, which he says have moved from the margins toward mainstream adoption over the past two decades. Readwise’s launch post also points to research connecting regular reading with lower dementia risk and longer lifespans.
He expects AI to add another reason for people to exercise their minds. Doyon likened the shift from farm work to office work during industrialization, which he said helped spur gym-going, to a future where AI takes on more cognitive tasks and people seek new ways to keep mentally active.
Readwise, founded in 2017, has 25 employees and no outside investors. Its products include Readwise Highlights, which collects Kindle highlights, and the Readwise Reader app. For Doyon, the path to more reading depends on making the experience rewarding: “We’re very positive in our approach. We don’t think willpower works. But a better reading experience will.”
