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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Vanessa Thorpe

‘We may lose ability to think critically at all’: the book-summary apps accused of damaging authors’ sales

Composite image of the two authors, their book covers and logos for a number of book summary apps
Susie Alegre, left, author of Human Rights, Robot Wrongs and Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun, both have concerns about the rise of book summary apps. Composite: Tugce Nelson, Owen Richards/Observer Design

Hungry for niche knowledge to impress your colleagues? Troubled by the size of a hefty new book? Doubt your abilities to understand complex arguments? Well, today an increasingly competitive industry offers to take away these problems with one product: a book summary app.

Since these digital services first promised to boil down a title, usually a nonfiction work, a decade ago, the marketplace has become crowded. So much so that authors and publishers are concerned about the damage to sales, as well as to the habit of concentrated reading.

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