Don’t Click Unless You Actually Read
What if Vinted, Patreon, and Goodreads had a child? That’s BookTale, a new social corner for readers
Think of BookTale as Vinted for second hand books meets Patreon + Goodreads.
Yes, 101% made BookTale Vibe Coding (with Lovable), just me, +3000 Ai credits and a few hours of code playing during afternoons, nights and weekends. Some people play music or do sports to relax, and decompress, my thing is to write and create stuff. My healthy creative outlet as neurodiverse to deal with stuff has been and always will be creating stuff. Feels good, fills me up, makes me better.
So I created BookTale this for my wife actually, she is a biiiiiiig book reader. She wanted some place where she can create a bookclub, sell her books and buy/exchange second hand books, and find out what others are reading, follow people. All of that in a non-chunky way.
Don’t be shy, create your free account BookTale.co
I have a taxing day job, but during some afternoon/nights and weekends I've been LoveCoding (I'll coin the term if I'm first). It’s in Beta, but anyone can join and create an account.
With BookTale the social element is key. Anyone can follow people, join book clubs, and share what you’re reading with a community that lives and breathes stories. Built for readers who want more than just a place to buy or sell books.
Anyone’s profile becomes your bookshelf, your space to connect, and your way to pass on second-hand books to readers all over the world.
Who is it BookTale for?
Readres: You and I, normal readers that want to have a social experience, the same way we used to in our neighborhood library.
Authors: I have designed dedicated features for authors that want to have a nice place to chat with their audiences, either selling signed copies or their books or creating a private or public book clubs.
Small Libraries: this can be for small libraries a small social place where they can reach to new audiences, new channels for their books. It’s free to use, it’s free to sell and create book clubs.
Creators & Influences: any book YouTuber, Influencer, book personalities that want to connect with their audiences directly, with a tool that’s free, cost them nothing and they can earh with their communities. No matter if they have one or 10M followers. If they love books, then BookTale is the place for them.
Book Communities: BookTale is social first, so any book community is welcome to use it no matter the size, ar the book is about. Generally most topics unless controversial or bad will be allowed. No super adult content though.
Core Features:
Mobile First: this is completely design to work amazing on Mobile. Soon I'll be putting this one in the Apple Store and Google Play Store. They are in React so good.
Social First: I created BookTale to be social first, a social experience for book readers and the communities. Here you can follow people, talk to them, and interact with Book Clubs. And more features to come.
See mine → booktale.co/orlandopedro (in beta, it's free to play around).
People can Earn just by Reading: Book Clubs can be created by anyone, there are those who might want to create a free book club, or a paid book clubs where readers can subscribe to interact. Paid Book Clubs work like a Patreon page with a monthly subscription, any reader can join. This is especially valuable for creators or communities that want to monetize their passion. Like BookTokers, Influencers or YouTubers, and doin it in a simple and shable way
See mine → https://booktale.co/orlandopedro/bookclub/hitchhiker (it's free to join)
Sell and Buy Second Hand Books: there's no reason why we have to accumulate books after we read them, better find a new home. BookTale is dedicated marketpalce for second hand books, for people that love reading. Sellers get 100% of the book sale, we don't take any commission from the seller at all (*minor Stripe charges might apply)
Normal People: With my wife we sell (and buy) a lot of books, second hand, we use Vinted, Wallapop, eBay, or Marktplaats etc. We can find new second hand reads and find new home for ours, and make a buck in the process
Creators & Influencers: they can point their audiences directly to their personal bookstores, in their profiles. There’s no leakage, their communities can buy their books directly form them
Authors & Small Libraries; that want to find new ways to interact with their readers and customers. Authors can sell directly special copies, and small libraries can have a simple to share online bookstore for second hand books.
Create and Join Book Clubs: book clubs are the backbone of the social element, this is design to work pretty much as a Patreon Page but simple, easy to use and to the point. In the clubs you can create them on the go, post polls or chapters, posts, Events and more features soon.
Motto "Because reading is better together" With BookTale, books don’t just sit on shelves piling and getting a thin layer of dust. Books have to move, they spark conversations, they bring people closer. Swap notes, dive into discussions, and join book clubs that feel like home.
Whether it’s a classic you’ve loved for years or a new discovery that surprises you or a comic book fan like me, every story finds its place here in your BookTale corner
I created Booktale as a platform that empowers creators and readers a like. There's so much we can do. And I make it simple and to the point, other platforms (GoodReads or Fable) are more complex and don't offer all the features.
Share reading lists, offer subscriptions, and create experiences your members will value. Like Patreon o Vinted, but built for readers. Free to start, simple to use, and designed to give every book club the chance to thrive.
For the technical builders out there: this was entirely build with Lovable, I haven't touched the code in any other way, or used anything else but my hands, a keyboard and some nights and afternoon in my free time. I'm going through some personal stuff so creating is my way to deal with this.
Waht’s’ next in the
My co-founder in other projects (many like EvryThink) will be joining me to develop BookTale further. This started as passion project but we see a lot of potential, we had great feedback so far. It can turn to something else (maybe). He and I worked in several other projects together, he is an amazing award winner (Cannes Lions Award) designer, and we have been working together for the past 6 years in a bunch of stuff and projects.
100 users - I want to put this thing to the rest, that vibe coding tools wont allow to create Software that scales. I want to onboard 100 users to help me test and debug this mini-monster. Hey and maybe take on Amazon who knows (just kidding Jeff, please don’t hurt me 🤣 )
Partnerships and more features: remember it's me alone only a few hours here and there every other day, I want to see how far we can take something like this
BookTale is a social marketplace for readers, authors, libraries, and book communities. Think Vinted for second-hand books, mixed with Patreon for paid book clubs, and Goodreads for following what others are reading. With BookTale you can buy and sell used books with zero platform commission, create or join book clubs that work like Patreon pages, follow people and see their bookshelves, and connect directly with authors, small libraries, and influencers. It is mobile-first, built for readers who want a social experience around books: swap notes, share lists, host events, and monetize book communities through subscriptions. Authors can sell signed copies, creators can earn from paid book clubs, libraries can reach new audiences, and normal readers can pass on their finished books instead of stacking them. Profiles double as personal bookstores and bookshelves, giving every reader a way to show, share, and move their stories. BookTale is free to join, free to sell, and designed to make reading better together.