# Bookshelf

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookshelf/

15 people recommended Bookshelf in Hacker News comments and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 12 months, in 7 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free ebook library that shows books by metadata instead of folders, so nesting doesn't matter. Fits self-hosted setups without cloud lock-in.

Summary written by Claude from 19 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Library view by author or series (3 comments in the sample): "There are several plugins that give you a library view based on metadata instead of folders and filenames." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48540144)) "Best UI for viewing my books by author/series/etc IMHO." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49097411)) "You can add a library view!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49101486))
- Shows all books regardless of folder nesting (2 comments in the sample): "that solved it: you can see all your books no matter how deeply nested they are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49095273)) "it does the job very well independently of your file structure and nesting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49095279))
- Self-hosted with no cloud lock-in (2 comments in the sample): "BookShelves app might be an option, with no cloud lock-in." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47840973)) "available from anywhere with limited infrastructure" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49429764))

## Other ebook reader apps people recommend

- [KOReader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/koreader/): 160 recommend, 28 mixed, 28 criticize
- [Kindle app](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kindle-app/): 7 recommend, 2 mixed, 11 criticize
- [Librera Reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/librera-reader/): 7 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize
- [BookFusion](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookfusion/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Bookshelf", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookshelf/ (15 recommend, 0 mixed, 5 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.