Read together, apart.
Read a book with your people — chapter by chapter, at your own pace. Discussions unlock as you read, so nobody gets spoiled.
Every group chat book club dies the same way.
Someone falls behind. The chat turns into a spoiler minefield. They mute it rather than admit they’re still on chapter four — and two weeks later the whole thing is quiet.
The alternative is a platform someone has to keep updating, which is its own part-time job and the reason most people start one and quit.
Set it up once. It keeps running.
- 1
Start a group
Three taps. Name it, pick the book, done. No approval, no setup call, no payment details.
- 2
Share your link
Every group gets its own page. Put it in your bio. People tap through and land straight in.
- 3
Read at your own pace
Log where you are and discussions unlock as you go. You only see comments up to your chapter.
- 4
Then pick the next book
The group stays. Your people stay. Nothing to set up again.
You only see what you’ve read.
Log your chapter and the discussion up to that point opens. Everything past it stays closed until you get there.
Which means nobody has to police the chat, nobody has to read at the same speed as everyone else, and falling behind stops being a reason to drop out.
- Chapter 13 replies
“Started tonight. That opening paragraph.”
- Chapter 25 replies
“Anyone else not trust the brother yet?”
- Chapter 32 replies
“The bit about the harbour at dawn. Twice.”
- Chapter 47 replies
“Okay I did NOT expect that letter.”
- Chapter 5Locked until you reach it
- Chapter 6Locked until you reach it
- Chapter 7Locked until you reach it
- Chapter 8Locked until you reach it
- Chapter 9Locked until you reach it
- Chapter 10Locked until you reach it
Your reads don’t disappear when the book ends.
Discussion threads stay in the group permanently. So someone who joins next year can pick up a book you read last spring and go through it with everyone’s reactions unlocking chapter by chapter — as if they’d been there.
Every book you add makes the group a better thing to be part of.
- The Salt Road WinterMarch
- Notes on a Quiet HarbourJanuary
- Everything the River KeptNovember
- A Season of Small RepairsSeptember
It works when you’re reading by yourself, too.
Notes and highlights, chapter by chapter, kept in one place. Track what you’re reading and actually remember it afterward. The group part is optional.
“Anyone else not trust the brother yet?”
Slowing down here on purpose.
This chapter broke me a little.
Running a read for your followers?
Groups are free to run. When you’re ready, connect Stripe and add a paid membership — bonus threads, extra reads, and a supporter badge. You set the price. Payments go to your Stripe account directly.
Chapternote takes 15%, and Stripe’s standard processing applies on top, the same as anywhere online. On a $10 membership you keep about $7.90 per member.
No videos to edit. No newsletter to write. You read the book and say what you thought.
Start a group — freeQuestions
- Is it free?
- Starting a group is free and always will be. Creators can add a paid membership if they want to — that's up to them.
- How many people do I need?
- Most buddy reads run between three and fifteen. Small groups have better discussions than big ones.
- Do I need the app?
- No. Groups work on the web. The app's there if you want it.
- What if I'm a slow reader?
- That's the point. Gating works off chapters, not deadlines, so there's no schedule to fall behind.
- Can I use it without joining a group?
- Yes. Notes, highlights, and progress tracking all work on their own.