BookDB

Introducing BookDB

We've been building a new side project called BookDB -- a personal book tracking app that grew out of a familiar problem: buying too many books at thrift stores and losing track of what you already own.

The idea started simple. We wanted a place to keep an inventory of books we owned so we could check before buying a duplicate. But as we built out the initial MVP, it became clear the site could do a lot more.

What you can do today

BookDB lets you build a personal bookshelf, browse books by author, publisher, and category, and see what other users have in their collections. Adding a book takes seconds -- add a title, pick authors and a publisher, and it lands on your shelf.

Where we're taking it

A few features we're actively thinking about:

• Lending tracking -- keep track of which books you've lent out to friends, with system-generated reminder emails so you don't have to awkwardly ask for your book back yourself
• Community libraries -- imagine a church library where members can browse the full catalogue online and see who has what

We're still figuring out how these features may look, and what other interesting features we can build.

Try it out

BookDB is now open for registration at bookdb.app. We'd love to have you test it out and let us know what features you'd like to see. What would make this site genuinely useful for you?

Posted on May 26, 2026, 6:39 p.m.