The Problem We're Solving
Finding your next book shouldn't feel like guessing.
You have time to read. You know how you're feeling—cozy, unsettled, curious, restless, hopeful. But when you go looking for a book, nobody's asking the right question. They're asking "What genre do you like?" when what you actually need is "What do you need to feel right now?"
Genre is too broad. Amazon's algorithm doesn't know you. Goodreads requires years of reading history. And asking friends works until you want something they've never heard of.
We built LiterallyJustBooks to solve this gap.
What We Do
LiterallyJustBooks is a book discovery tool powered by mood and real reading samples.
You describe how you're feeling in plain English. Our AI recommendation engine—informed by what real readers on Reddit actually recommend, validated against comprehensive book data, and shaped by our own reading expertise—finds five perfect books for that specific mood.
Then you read a sample. Not a marketing description. Not what the publisher wants you to think. The actual first pages of the book. So you know before you commit.
Then you buy with confidence.
It's the only place where you describe your reading mood in plain English, get personalised recommendations, and can actually read a few pages before deciding to buy—all in one place.
Why We Built This
Books matter. Reading is how we process the world, escape from it, understand ourselves and others. A great book at the right moment can change how you see everything.
But the act of finding that book is broken. It's friction when it should be frictionless. It's complicated when it should be simple. It requires you to already know what you want when you're often searching because you don't know.
We're book lovers who got tired of that friction. So we built a better way.
How We Work
Mood-Based Discovery
Instead of browsing by genre or author, you describe how you're feeling. "I want something that makes me feel smart." "I need comfort reading." "I want to be completely absorbed." Natural language. No category browsing. No dropdown menus. Just conversation.
Real Recommendations
Our recommendations come from three sources: what real readers on Reddit actually recommend for specific moods, book data from Open Library, and our own reading expertise. We validate every recommendation before it reaches you.
Reading Samples
You get to read actual pages from the books we recommend through Google Books, Open Library, and Project Gutenberg. See how the book actually reads. Decide if you like it before you buy.
One Click to Buy
When you find a book you want, buying is one click. We handle the affiliate links. You support us. Everyone wins.
What We Believe
- Mood matters more than genre. How you're feeling determines what book will resonate, not the marketing category.
- Reading samples should be standard. You wouldn't buy shoes without seeing them on. Why do it with books?
- Book discovery should be frictionless. Finding your next read should take minutes, not hours.
- Real readers know best. Communities of actual readers know what works better than algorithms alone.
- The right book at the right moment matters. We're not here to sell you books you don't want. We're here to help you find books you'll actually love.
Who We Are
LiterallyJustBooks was built by people who read obsessively and got frustrated with how hard it was to find their next book. We spent months researching how people actually discover books, what they wish existed, and what would genuinely help.
The result is a tool we built for ourselves first—and that we're sharing with every reader who's ever felt that moment of "I want to read something, but I have no idea what."
Our Content Strategy
Beyond the tool, we publish regular blog posts about books, moods, and reading. We write about Booker Prize winners and bestsellers, we organize great fiction by mood, we help you understand what you actually want to read.
It's not reviews or criticism. It's curation. It's answering the question: "What should I read given how I'm feeling?"
Contact Us
Have thoughts? Questions? Recommendations? Complaints about a book we suggested?
Email us at contact@literallyjustbooks.com. We read every message.
Support Us
LiterallyJustBooks is free. We keep it free. We monetize through Amazon affiliate links and advertising—which means when you buy a book through us, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
If you love the tool, the best support is using it. If you want to help directly, recommend us to a friend who loves books.