Read alone. Not alone.
A quiet reading room for paper books. Avatars take a seat in a small room, and all that reaches you is the sense that someone else is reading too.
No sign-up — come in as a guest
The app is also available on iPhone and iPad. View on the App Store
A quiet sense of company.
This isn't an app that wants you staring at a screen. It's a room you leave open beside your book.
No video, no mic, no chat
No face, no voice. No one can start a conversation with you.
Only presence, and a little sound
A page turning now and then. A candle crackling. On some days, rain. That is all this room is.
Time with your book is what counts
We don't count pages. The hours you spend with a book settle quietly into your record.
How you read here
Walk right in
No account needed — enter as a guest. Nothing to set up.
Your book, at your own pace
Read your paper book at your own pace. The book on screen turns its pages by itself now and then, as a sign of reading life. Nothing to tap.
The time stays with you
Your reading time builds up quietly as a record of your own. It's not there for you to compete with anyone.
Time spent becomes a shelf
Every hour you spend with a book becomes one spine on your shelf. As the hours settle, the binding of your own book — its cover — slowly comes undone into new colours.
After a while of reading you can take home a quiet card of that time. How many pages you read appears nowhere.
Ways to begin
There are three main ways in.
Look for a room
Glance down the corridor at the rooms that are open and take a free seat. The corridor shows the look of a room, its size, its free seats and its lamp — never anyone’s name.
In a room of your own
Open your own study. Read there alone, or with reading companions and the people you invite.
Into a room you were invited to
Follow the invite link you were sent and take a seat. No account required.
So you can read together again
Only with someone you have actually read beside, quietly — and only as you leave, you can offer to become reading companions. No notification is ever sent.
What we left out, so reading stays undisturbed
mekuru is not a social network. To remain a place for reading, these were left out from the start.
- Chat
- DMs
- Likes
- Comments
- Follows
- Rankings
What we care about
- Time spent, not points
- A ritual, not a contest
- Presence, not notifications
- A reading room, not a feed
- Furnishing a room, not playing a game
- Your book, not the screen
Frequently asked questions
Do I turn the pages myself?
We never detect the pages of the book in your hands. The book on screen turns its pages on its own, as a quiet part of the room. All you do is read.
Does it use my camera or microphone?
Not in the reading room. No video or audio is ever transmitted. The camera is used only to read a title from a book cover, and that reading happens on your own device.
What can other people see?
Only when you open your room “to everyone” does it appear in the corridor — the list of rooms that are open right now. What shows there is the look of the room, its size, its free seats and its lamp; your name never appears. Once someone is inside with you, they can see your display name, your avatar, whether you are reading or on a break, and the sign of a page turning. The title of the book you are reading is never shown to the people sitting with you.
Could a stranger walk into my room?
There are three ways to open your own room: to your reading companions only, to whoever has the invite link, or to everyone. Only the last one lets anybody in. If a room troubles you, you can report it quietly from the corridor.
Can I read with friends?
Yes. Send an invite link and they can take a seat without an account. The link of a weekly recurring room works any time. If you want it to last, you become reading companions: only with someone you have actually read beside for five minutes or more can you make that offer, quietly, as you leave. Someone you met in a public room counts the same; merely crossing paths does not. Declining is never shown to the other person, and both making and accepting the offer need an account.
Do I need an account?
You can enter without one. Creating an account keeps the reading time you've already built, and lets you choose your name and avatar. Becoming reading companions does require an account.
Can I read an e-book instead?
You are welcome to. mekuru is made for paper books, but any quiet reading time belongs here, whatever you read on.
Is it free?
Entering someone else’s open room from the corridor, being taken to whichever room is open, hosting one-off reading circles, and the basic “rooms of your own” (the solo nook and the four-seat study) with their invites are free forever. Furnishing (the editor and presets), larger rooms (6 or 10 seats), making a room public, weekly recurring sessions, and registering the books you read belong to the monthly “Owner” plan (¥580 per month, tax included). You can try it for 14 days without entering a card. In the iOS app you can purchase through the App Store, at the price the App Store shows for your country or region.
More about pricing →Can I buy reading time or book covers?
No. Your reading time, and the binding it slowly undoes, can never be bought — by design.