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What’s New Version 1.14.0
Your profile, your way
Edit your name, bio, and photo — changes show up right away. Set a public profile and choose a custom link to share with other readers.
A cleaner Profile tab
The Me tab is easier to scan: reading settings up front, with plan and account details tucked into subpages where they belong.
Smarter imported books
Books you add yourself now get summaries and author profiles on the detail page, pulled from public sources (and AI when needed).
Share your reading wins
Reading stats share as one polished card instead of a pile of separate images — with refreshed backgrounds for quotes and milestones too.
Fixes
Guardian 100 progress now correctly recognizes books you've added to your library.
We also add tons of new books. Enjoy reading!
Description
BetterReads is a reading app designed for people who want to read classic literature with clarity, focus, and depth.
It brings together carefully curated public-domain works with tools that help you understand what you’re reading—without turning reading into a task or a distraction.
Read timeless classics
Discover a growing library of classic literature, thoughtfully selected and presented in a calm, book-first interface. Download books for offline reading and pick up where you left off at any time. Whether you are revisiting a familiar work or exploring a classic for the first time, BetterReads creates a quiet space for immersive reading.
Cultivate a lasting reading habit
BetterReads is designed to support consistent, meaningful reading. The interface removes noise and distraction so you can focus on the text itself. Over time, your highlights, notes, and reflections accumulate naturally, helping you build a personal reading history and develop a deeper habit of thoughtful reading.
Understand themes and ideas
Explore the major themes and concepts of a book as they develop across chapters. See how ideas connect and evolve, helping you build a clearer understanding of the work as a whole.
Chapter companions
Each chapter includes optional context and guidance to support deeper reading. These companions provide historical background, thematic hints, and interpretive insights designed to sit alongside the text—not replace it.
Semantic annotation
BetterReads uses structured semantic annotation to connect characters, themes, events, and concepts across the book. This allows important ideas and references to be surfaced naturally while you read, helping you grasp the structure and meaning of complex works.
Characters and glossary, inline
Tap on characters, names, and key terms to see clear explanations in place—without leaving the page or interrupting your reading flow.
A continuous reading timeline
Your highlights, notes, and reading moments live together in a single timeline. App-provided context and your own reflections accumulate naturally as you read, creating a personal record of your journey through the book.
Visual tools for deeper exploration
BetterReads provides additional ways to explore the structure of the story:
• Character Web — visualize relationships between characters and see how they interact throughout the narrative
• Narrative Arc — follow the progression of the story and understand how key events build toward the climax
• Theme Heatmap — see where important themes appear and intensify across the chapters
These tools help reveal patterns that are often difficult to see when reading line by line.
Built for deep reading
BetterReads is intentionally simple. No feeds, no rankings, no distractions—just a thoughtful environment for reading and understanding great books.
Some advanced features may require a subscription.
Terms of Use (EULA):
https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Capabilities
In-App Purchases
Accessibility
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Version history 25 versions
Build 887843180v1.14.02026-07-05 17:43:38
Your profile, your way
Edit your name, bio, and photo — changes show up right away. Set a public profile and choose a custom link to share with other readers.
A cleaner Profile tab
The Me tab is easier to scan: reading settings up front, with plan and account details tucked into subpages where they belong.
Smarter imported books
Books you add yourself now get summaries and author profiles on the detail page, pulled from public sources (and AI when needed).
Share your reading wins
Reading stats share as one polished card instead of a pile of separate images — with refreshed backgrounds for quotes and milestones too.
Fixes
Guardian 100 progress now correctly recognizes books you've added to your library.
We also add tons of new books. Enjoy reading!
Build 887815397v1.13.02026-07-04 21:36:40
Smarter AI Explain — Select a passage and ask your own question. Stuck on a long sentence? Ask who is being referred to, or what it’s actually saying — we send your question and the text together for a clearer answer.
Imported books, richer About pages — Sideloaded EPUBs now get author profiles and book summaries looked up on your device from public sources (no reading data sent to our servers). Word count and chapter count show on About too.
Faster book opening — Large titles open more smoothly, with less waiting when you jump back in.
Footnotes & links work — Tap in-book links and footnotes to jump to the right place.
Polish — Book summaries render bold and italic correctly. Saved AI notes in My Reading are easier to read. Cleaner About pages for imported books (no duplicate quote and summary).
Build 887647387v1.11.02026-07-01 04:34:50
More to read — We’ve added many new books to the catalog. Browse Discover to find fresh classics, plays, and more.
A better first visit — New readers land on Discover right away, so you can pick your first book instead of staring at an empty shelf.
Plays read like plays — Shakespeare and Greek drama now show speaker names and dialogue in a clear two-column layout (including Macbeth).
Irish literature — A new Irish section on Discover.
Polish — Smoother navigation between Discover and My Books, and more reliable highlighting when you select part of a line.
Questions or feedback? hello@betterreads.online
Build 887575058v1.10.02026-06-29 17:13:32
• Tons of new books in Discover
• Start reading faster — pick a starter book or tap Start Reading to add and open in one step
• Smarter News inbox with unread-first ordering and monthly groups
• Share news updates with friends
• Pathway and news links open the reader directly when possible
Build 887545936v1.9.02026-06-28 17:57:57
The Guardian 100
Share the list and your progress
Mark titles read elsewhere — they count toward your X / 100
Consistent book detail pages from any entry point
Reading Pathways
Fixed “Browse pathways” from announcements
Discover shows up to 3 pathways + See all
New page to browse every pathway
Imported books
Opens more retail EPUBs (including books that failed before)
Word count and accurate chapter count on About pages
Short pull quote + full summary, without HTML tags or cut-off sentences
Build 887523821v1.8.02026-06-27 18:48:09
The Guardian 100 Explore The Guardian’s ranking of the 100 best novels — right from Discover. Track your progress on titles in the BetterReads library, filter the list, and jump to author profiles or book details.
Author profiles Author pages now include portrait photos where available, with a much wider set of profiles — including authors from the Guardian list. Share an author profile with friends from the author page.
Improvements
Update badges on Discover are more reliable
Faster return to your bookshelf from the reader
Build 887467522v1.7.02026-06-26 21:15:15
• Smarter imports — Sideloaded EPUBs now pick up the correct title, author, language, and chapter count from the file itself.
• Better quote sharing — Share cards show the right author, cleaner details, and BetterReads branding.
• Author profiles — Tapping an author on imported books is more likely to find the right profile.
• Reader fixes — Various stability and polish improvements.
Build 887363507v1.6.12026-06-24 16:59:36
Pick up where you left off — Reopening a book returns you to the same act or chapter, including plays like The Importance of Being Earnest.
Smoother reopen — Less jumping or flashing when you return to a saved spot.
More reliable bookmarks — Reading position is saved more accurately within each section.
Build 887325224v1.6.02026-06-23 18:27:06
Author profiles on book detail pages
Updated glossaries for War and Peace
Clearer chapter titles, fewer duplicate glossary highlights, and more reliable imported book covers
Build 887169844v1.5.02026-06-19 15:13:57
Eight new classics in Discover — including Mansfield Park, The Brothers Karamazov, David Copperfield, and four Shakespeare plays — with a new Stage & Speech reading pathway.
News & updates in Profile keeps you posted when new books land. No more hunting through Discover.
Share reading pathways as story cards — send a curated book list to friends with one tap from any pathway.
Plus the usual polish and fixes. Happy reading.
Build 887032303v1.3.22026-06-18 01:28:20
- New app icon branding
- Reading Activity now goes beyond the last week — see trends over 28 days, 90 days, a full year, or all time, plus streaks and other history at a glance.
- Share your progress with story cards for streaks, weekly and monthly totals, goals, and finished books — right from Reading Activity or when you hit a milestone.
- Contents are easier in long books: it scrolls to where you are, and big tables of contents (like War and Peace) fold by book and part so you can find your place quickly.
- We also fixed a scrolling issue in very long books that could jump you to the wrong chapter.
Build 887118538v1.4.12026-06-18 16:39:15
Eight new classics in the library, plus a News inbox so you hear about updates in the app.
New books
Sense and Sensibility, The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Tale of Two Cities, The Prince
Middlemarch, The Three Musketeers, The Importance of Being Earnest, Robinson Crusoe
News & updates
Check Profile → News & updates for new titles and app news
Unread items show a dot on your Profile tab
Reading pathways
New curated paths for Austen, Sherlock Holmes, Dickens, and political philosophy
Victorian Lives, Adventure & Exile, and Wilde: Wit and Corruption
Build 886858493v1.1.02026-06-12 17:53:54
Share books via Instagram story or WhatsApp—now with book cover and CTA
Build 886609890v1.0.162026-06-09 09:12:07
- Readers can share BR books via links
- Dark theme improvements
Build 886340795v1.0.152026-05-31 18:21:20
- Readers can change the typeface and theme per book
- Turn character inlay and glossary inlay on or off under Profile → Reading preferences
Build 885184255v1.0.142026-05-03 02:01:46
- Improved reading pathways
- Various fixes
Build 884960754v1.0.132026-04-27 18:53:27
- A soft color palette for highlights and annotations
- Various fixes and improvements
Build 884688699v1.0.122026-04-20 23:51:16
New books in Discover
- Short Stories — Leo Tolstoy
- Madame Bovary — Gustave Flaubert
- Moby-Dick — Herman Melville
- Siddhartha — Hermann Hesse
Various improvements
Build 884660810v1.0.112026-04-18 21:43:35
Readers see a congratulations dialog upon completion of the daily reading goal
Various fixes and improvements
Build 883922516v1.0.102026-04-11 18:19:08
Users can share selected texts.
UI improvements.
Build 883774807v1.0.92026-03-26 23:28:08
New Books in Discover:
- The Magic Mountain
- Buddenbrooks
- The Sorrow of Young Werther
- Siddhartha
- Die Verwandlung
New Features:
- Parallel Text
- Large book loading
- Various other UI improvements and fixes
Build 883733423v1.0.82026-03-25 17:41:14
New book in Discover
Beyond Good and Evil — Friedrich Nietzsche
What’s new
Reading Activity — Under each title in Time per book, you may see a second, softer line for average pace (typically words per minute in the EPUB reader, or pages per minute when you’re tracking with page counts). Time read stays the headline; pace is there for context, not competition. We hide it when data is still thin or unreliable (for example, very little logged time, or a title that’s only Started).
Reader — Word estimates used for pace stay better aligned with logged reading time: they can refresh during a session, not only when you leave the book, and we keep a fuller book word-count snapshot when available so averages behave sensibly on long reading histories.
Chapter Companion — Fixes for chapter lens alignment so summaries and navigation match the section you’re actually reading more reliably.
Build 883685012v1.0.72026-03-24 21:32:15
We’re shipping 1.0.7 with another free classic in Discover, a calmer My Books experience centered on what you’re reading now, and a clearer Character Web for exploring relationships without overwhelm.
New book in Discover
Anna Karenina — Leo Tolstoy
What’s new
My Books — Your current read is front and center with a simple “Continue reading” path; in-progress titles stay in Your library, and finished books live in a collapsible Completed section so the screen answers one question: what should I pick up next?
Reading pathways — Curated journeys on Discover (and related book detail cues) make it easier to follow a thread through the catalog when a pathway applies to a title you’re viewing.
Build 883664041v1.0.62026-03-23 20:25:35
New books in Discover
Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
War and Peace — Leo Tolstoy
What’s new
Reading Activity — Trend and weekly summaries are easier to read: time-per-book context, clearer “under goal” styling, and fixed weekly percentage display.
Discover — Catalog sections and browsing behave more consistently for the expanded library.
Build 883624851v1.0.52026-03-22 23:26:18
- Trend for reading habit: https://www.betterreads.online/blog/reading-trend-habit-building
- Free and scholar plan comparison screen
- Various improvements
No pricing data captured yet — comparisons appear once the app has paid storefronts or in-app purchases.
Availability 1 of 1 storefronts
| Region | Language | Price | Ratings | Avg | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | en-US | Free | 1 | 5.0 | 1.14.0 |
Reviews 1 reviews · US
★★★★★
Exceptionally well put together book reader
I would like to complement the Developer on putting together a wonderful application to read classic literature books. First one I opened was the metamorphosis and what a pleasure. I love how. The app explains passages when necessary.
abeautifulnewworld2026-04-15
Change log 29 changes · US
✎
releaseNotes updated
Your profile, your way
Edit your name, bio, and photo — changes show up right away. Set a public profile and choose a custom link to share with other readers.
✎
description updated
BetterReads is a reading app designed for people who want to read classic literature with clarity, focus, and depth.
It brings together carefully curated publi
✎
subtitle updated
Classics insights/annotations
✎
name updated
BetterReads: Classic Books
◆
Version 1.14.0 released
Your profile, your way
Edit your name, bio, and photo — changes show up right away. Set a public profile and choose a custom link to share with other readers.
A cleaner Profile tab
The Me tab is easier to scan: reading settings up front, w
◆
Version 1.13.0 released
Smarter AI Explain — Select a passage and ask your own question. Stuck on a long sentence? Ask who is being referred to, or what it’s actually saying — we send your question and the text together for a clearer answer.
Imported books, riche
◆
Version 1.11.0 released
More to read — We’ve added many new books to the catalog. Browse Discover to find fresh classics, plays, and more.
A better first visit — New readers land on Discover right away, so you can pick your first book instead of staring at an emp
◆
Version 1.10.0 released
• Tons of new books in Discover
• Start reading faster — pick a starter book or tap Start Reading to add and open in one step
• Smarter News inbox with unread-first ordering and monthly groups
• Share news updates with friends
• Pathway and
◆
Version 1.9.0 released
The Guardian 100
Share the list and your progress
Mark titles read elsewhere — they count toward your X / 100
Consistent book detail pages from any entry point
Reading Pathways
Fixed “Browse pathways” from announcements
Discover shows up
◆
Version 1.8.0 released
The Guardian 100 Explore The Guardian’s ranking of the 100 best novels — right from Discover. Track your progress on titles in the BetterReads library, filter the list, and jump to author profiles or book details.
Author profiles Author pa
◆
Version 1.7.0 released
• Smarter imports — Sideloaded EPUBs now pick up the correct title, author, language, and chapter count from the file itself.
• Better quote sharing — Share cards show the right author, cleaner details, and BetterReads branding.
• Author
◆
Version 1.6.1 released
Pick up where you left off — Reopening a book returns you to the same act or chapter, including plays like The Importance of Being Earnest.
Smoother reopen — Less jumping or flashing when you return to a saved spot.
More reliable bookmarks
◆
Version 1.6.0 released
Author profiles on book detail pages
Updated glossaries for War and Peace
Clearer chapter titles, fewer duplicate glossary highlights, and more reliable imported book covers
◆
Version 1.5.0 released
Eight new classics in Discover — including Mansfield Park, The Brothers Karamazov, David Copperfield, and four Shakespeare plays — with a new Stage & Speech reading pathway.
News & updates in Profile keeps you posted when new books land. N
◆
Version 1.4.1 released
Eight new classics in the library, plus a News inbox so you hear about updates in the app.
New books
Sense and Sensibility, The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Tale of Two Cities, The Prince
Middlemarch, The Three Musketeers, The Importance o
◆
Version 1.3.2 released
- New app icon branding
- Reading Activity now goes beyond the last week — see trends over 28 days, 90 days, a full year, or all time, plus streaks and other history at a glance.
- Share your progress with story cards for streaks, weekly an
◆
Version 1.1.0 released
Share books via Instagram story or WhatsApp—now with book cover and CTA
◆
Version 1.0.16 released
- Readers can share BR books via links
- Dark theme improvements
◆
Version 1.0.15 released
- Readers can change the typeface and theme per book
- Turn character inlay and glossary inlay on or off under Profile → Reading preferences
◆
Version 1.0.14 released
- Improved reading pathways
- Various fixes
◆
Version 1.0.13 released
- A soft color palette for highlights and annotations
- Various fixes and improvements
◆
Version 1.0.12 released
New books in Discover
- Short Stories — Leo Tolstoy
- Madame Bovary — Gustave Flaubert
- Moby-Dick — Herman Melville
- Siddhartha — Hermann Hesse
Various improvements
◆
Version 1.0.11 released
Readers see a congratulations dialog upon completion of the daily reading goal
Various fixes and improvements
◆
Version 1.0.10 released
Users can share selected texts.
UI improvements.
◆
Version 1.0.9 released
New Books in Discover:
- The Magic Mountain
- Buddenbrooks
- The Sorrow of Young Werther
- Siddhartha
- Die Verwandlung
New Features:
- Parallel Text
- Large book loading
- Various other UI improvements and fixes
◆
Version 1.0.8 released
New book in Discover
Beyond Good and Evil — Friedrich Nietzsche
What’s new
Reading Activity — Under each title in Time per book, you may see a second, softer line for average pace (typically words per minute in the EPUB reader, or pages
◆
Version 1.0.7 released
We’re shipping 1.0.7 with another free classic in Discover, a calmer My Books experience centered on what you’re reading now, and a clearer Character Web for exploring relationships without overwhelm.
New book in Discover
Anna Karenina —
◆
Version 1.0.6 released
New books in Discover
Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Lewis Carroll
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — Arthur Conan Doyle
The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
War and Peace — Leo Tolstoy
What
◆
Version 1.0.5 released
- Trend for reading habit: https://www.betterreads.online/blog/reading-trend-habit-building
- Free and scholar plan comparison screen
- Various improvements