BookstubRead together, with no accounts
Bookstub has three friend features: pacts to read one book by a date, bingo cards with reading prompts, and stack matches that compare shelves. Each one travels inside a link you send. Friends open it in the app, join for free, and nobody needs an account.
Coming soon to iPhone
What is a pact?
A pact is a read-along. You pick a book and a finish date, choose a name, and send the invite link to a chat. Each friend who opens it sees a card with the book, the date and the host, and taps Join pact.
Inside, every member has a lane with a marker at their percentage. You see days left as a plain count, with no red warning. Post my pace stub sends your current page back to the chat as an image and a link.
The member names are the nicknames each person chose, between one and sixteen characters, with a short random tag so two people called Anna are still different. The app filters nicknames against a small word list for English and Russian.
- Open Together and tap New pact.
- Pick the book, a finish date and your name.
- Send the invite from the share sheet.
- Post your pace stub whenever you want friends to see your page.
Why do friends not see live updates?
Because there is no server. Bookstub shows friends' progress only when someone posts a pace stub. Pace stubs carry pages only, never lines or notes, so nothing spoils the book.
A link opened twice does nothing the second time, because the app recognizes the pact and the member. If a newer update arrives for the same member, the newer one wins.
How does bingo work?
You choose a set of curated prompts such as Under 200 pages, A reread or A library book, and a card size. Friends who open the link get the identical card and fill squares with their own books. Progress goes back as a link too, and completing a line or the whole card stamps BINGO.
A 3 by 3 card is free. Pass adds 4 by 4 and 5 by 5. Prompts are written in advance, so nobody can type free text into your card.
Each card is a checklist, not a contest. The stamp appears for a line or a full card, and there are no prizes.
What is a stack match?
Send my stack shares up to nine favorite books. A friend picks at least three of their own and gets a match card: shared books, shared authors and how closely you rated shared books. The wording ranges from Different shelves to Same shelf. It is arithmetic on your two lists, nothing about personality.
What is private in a link?
Links carry book titles and authors, ratings, page numbers, the nickname you chose and a random four-character tag. Notes, line text, email, device identifiers and location never travel. The data sits after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server.
What is free?
Joining any pact, bingo card or match is always free. Creating one pact at a time is free; Pass allows unlimited active pacts.
What happens when I open a link?
A link never acts on its own. When you open one, Bookstub shows a confirmation card first: the pact, the card or the stack that is being shared, and who sent it. Only after you tap Join pact, Join bingo or Update pact does anything get stored.
If a link is cut off in a chat, the app says it is incomplete and asks you to request it again. If a link was made by a newer version, the app tells you to update. You can also copy an invite and use Paste an invite on the Together tab, which reads the clipboard only when you ask.
Frequently asked questions
Do my friends need Bookstub to join a pact?
Yes, joining a pact or bingo card happens inside the app. They do not need to pay for anything or create an account.
Is there a chat inside Bookstub?
No. You use the chat app you already have. Bookstub only produces the invite and the pace images.
Can I see my friends' progress in real time?
No. Progress updates arrive when a friend posts a pace stub. Nothing syncs in the background.
Does a friend see my nickname on the web?
No. The link page does not show nicknames. The app shows the name after the link is opened.