Many readers highlight passages that resonate with them, but there's currently no easy way to connect with others who've marked the same lines. While platforms like Goodreads allow broad discussions about books, they don't tap into the potential of shared highlights to spark deeper conversations between like-minded readers.

How It Could Work

One approach could involve creating an app that connects readers based on overlapping highlights from their digital books. Users might grant access to their e-reader highlights (through services like Kindle or Apple Books), allowing the app to identify others who've marked similar passages. The matching could consider factors like:

• How frequently a passage is highlighted (prioritizing rarer selections)
• The genre or topic of the book
• How recently the book was read

From there, users could start conversations, join topic-specific groups, or participate in virtual reading circles centered around their shared interests. For those concerned about privacy, controls could allow users to exclude certain highlights or books from being shared.

Potential Benefits and Challenges

Avid readers who annotate heavily might particularly value this kind of platform, as could book clubs looking for discussion-worthy passages. Authors and publishers might also find the highlight data useful for understanding what resonates with readers.

However, there could be hurdles around getting access to highlight data from major e-reader platforms. Starting with a simpler version where users manually enter their highlights could help validate the concept before tackling API integrations. Another consideration would be distinguishing between truly meaningful highlight matches versus common passages that many people mark.

Comparing to Existing Options

While Goodreads facilitates book discussions at a general level, this approach would enable connections based on specific shared passages. Unlike tools like Readwise that help individuals manage their highlights, this would add a social component. Past attempts like Glose required using a proprietary e-reader, whereas this could work with the platforms readers already use.

By focusing on the specific lines that speak to readers, rather than entire books, this approach could create more targeted and potentially meaningful connections between readers.