SA app brightens
book matchmaking

Bookist, a South African-developed app, provides personalised book recommendations by analysing users’ genre preferences, reading history, and in-app activity.

Bookist begins by gathering basic information about reading preferences through a few simple questions. This initial step helps the app tailor its recommendations to align with interests.

Using a swipe-based interface like that of some dating apps, the app allows users to browse through a stack of book suggestions or explore curated collections. Swiping right saves a book to your shelf, while swiping left removes it. This process refines the app’s recommendations over time, improving accuracy based on user input.

The app enables users to efficiently sort through many books and organise them into shelves. This functionality ensures that users can easily build a collection of books they want to read, streamlining the process of discovering new titles.

The Bookist app is free to download on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Development and history

Bookist was started in 2023 by Andrew Einhorn, a creative programmer, and Louise Grantham, a veteran of the publishing industry in SA.

Einhorn studied physics and computer science at Harvard. Despite his love of the hard sciences, he has always enjoyed and valued reading. As a slow reader, he found choosing the right book challenging, which sparked his particular interest in solving this problem.

Before joining Bookist, Einhorn worked as a team lead for SweepSouth, an app-based company that is similar to Uber but for home services. Prior to SweepSouth, he worked for Swift GeoSpatial, a satellite imaging and analytics company that services mining, forestry and agricultural sectors. Despite his focus on tech-related products, perhaps his most notable achievement is the founding of Numeric – a non-profit company that has raised and invested over R100-million in SA maths education.

With his experience founding Numeric, Einhorn thrives on building new companies. In Bookist, he has discovered an opportunity to combine his passion for books with his expertise in coding and developing technology that adds value to people’s lives.

Grantham brings over 30 years of experience in the publishing industry, with a particular focus on the intersection of books and technology. She has worked for a variety of companies, including Southern Book Publishers, Penguin, and Troupant, holding roles ranging from assistant editor to managing director. In 2010, she co-founded Bookstorm, a boutique non-fiction publishing company.

Throughout her career, Grantham has collaborated with renowned authors such as Jacques Pauw, Jonathan Jansen, Imtiaz Sooliman, John van de Ruit, Ken Newman, Damon Galgut, Alan Knott-Craig, and Jan Braai. She has also worked with local and international publishers, led the Publishing Studies Department at Wits University, and contributed to industry initiatives such as transformation, SMME development, and the implementation of metadata standards.

Grantham’s work with Bookist reflects her understanding of the book supply chain and her passion for innovation, blending her extensive industry knowledge with creative approaches to connect readers with new books and authors.

* Visit the Bookist website here.