Bookstore Companion
Know which books are worth buying.
Right there in the aisle.
Point your iPhone at any bookstore shelf. The books worth a second look get pins right on their spines — each with a line on why it matters. Decide in the aisle, buy from the store you're standing in.
Free for a week, then $12.99/year.
No accountNo adsNo buy-online buttons
Three seconds from shelf to shortlist.
No typing titles into a search box, no wading through star ratings. The shelf in front of you becomes the list.
Point it at the shelf
Open the app, aim your camera at any section, and tap Scan. It reads every spine in the frame.
See what stands out
The standout books get numbered pins — awards, reputation, why readers care — one line each, straight to the point.
Decide and buy it there
Take one to the register, or save it for next time. The store gets the sale, you get a book worth your time.
Scan the barcode, get a straight answer.
Holding something that looks interesting? Scan its barcode and get a plain-English verdict: highly regarded, well-liked, a niche pick — or no strong read, when that's the honest answer.
- Works on any book with a barcode
- One clear verdict, not a wall of reviews
- Fast enough to use in the checkout line
- Works at the public library too — scan, then borrow
Save it for the next trip.
Didn't buy it today? Save it. Every book keeps the verdict that earned its spot, so next Saturday you'll remember exactly why it caught your eye — and which store had it.
This app takes the bookstore's side.
Everyone knows the move: find a book on the shelf, look it up on your phone, buy it online for a dollar less. Bookstores die by a thousand of those searches.
So Bookstore Companion has no buy-online buttons and no price comparisons — on purpose, permanently. It exists to answer one question: is this book worth my time? You decide in the aisle, and the sale happens at the register of the store you're standing in.
Built by one person who spends most Saturdays in bookstores.
A year of better book buying costs less than one bad book.
Skip a single dud and it's paid for itself. Try everything free for a week — no account, so there's nothing to set up and nothing to cancel your way out of.
about a dollar a month
- Unlimited shelf scans and barcode checks
- Saved list with verdicts
- No account required
- No ads, no tracking, no data selling
Bringing books home? Meet the sibling app.
Home Library Companion catalogs your shelves at home — photograph a bookcase and every spine is identified and filed by room and shelf. Send your saved finds straight to it.