No Time To Read? 3 Best BOOK SUMMARY WEBSITES You'll Love

This video introduces three top book summary websites for those short on time but eager to learn. Blinkist stands out with its vast library of 4,500 titles and audio/text options. Read it For Me offers a smaller selection with video summaries, while Shortform excels with its clean interface and one-page summaries. All services provide valuable insights and highlights, encouraging users to delve deeper into full books if desired.

Takeaways

• 📚 Blinkist is a popular book summary service with around 4,500 titles, offering text and audio formats for summaries.
• 💡 Blinkist's premium subscription gives access to the entire library of summaries and includes features like highlights and a mobile app.
• 🔍 Blinkist also offers 'shortcuts', which are key insights from podcasts, in addition to their book summaries.
• 📚 Read It For Me has over 300 titles and offers text, audio, and sometimes video summaries, with a more affordable pricing structure.
• 💻 Read It For Me has a dated interface and a less impressive mobile app, but it includes interactive learning experiences through Zoom meetings.
• 📚 Short Form is a favorite for its clean interface and consistency across devices, offering both one-page and comprehensive summaries.
• 📈 Short Form provides a unique feature of summarizing popular articles from financial news outlets, in addition to book summaries.
• 📘 Short Form allows users to download PDF versions of summaries and offers exercises for a deeper learning experience.
• 💰 The pricing for Short Form is slightly lower than Blinkist, at $13.90 per month, providing a cost-effective option for book summaries.
• 👍 Book summary services are recommended for getting the gist of a book and deciding whether to invest time in reading the full text.
• 📝 These services also help in recalling the content of books previously read and centralizing highlights and notes for easy reference.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of book summary services mentioned in the video?

The main purpose of book summary services is to provide readers with a condensed version of a book's content, allowing them to quickly grasp the key points and implement what they've learned without having to read the entire book.

How many titles does Blinkist offer and what types of content can be found there?

Blinkist offers about 4,500 titles, predominantly non-fiction, covering categories such as entrepreneurship, management, leadership, psychology, money, and investment. The content is text and audio-based.

What are the subscription options for Blinkist?

Blinkist offers a subscription at $6.99 per month if paid yearly, or $19.90 on a monthly basis. A premium subscription gives access to all the titles.

What is unique about Blinkist's 'Shortcuts' feature?

Shortcuts is a feature where Blinkist teams up with podcast creators to bring key insights from particular podcasts, in addition to their large library of book summaries.

How many titles does Read It For Me offer and what formats are available for their summaries?

Read It For Me offers about 300 titles, with summaries available in text, audio, and sometimes video formats for popular titles.

What is the pricing for Read It For Me and are there any unique features?

The pricing for Read It For Me is $9 per month or $99 per year. A unique feature they offer is interactive learning experiences through Zoom meetings called Action Class, now rebranded to Adaptive.

What differentiates Short Form from the other book summary services discussed?

Short Form provides a one-page summary as well as a more comprehensive summary for each book, allowing users to choose based on their needs. They also offer a clean interface, a great mobile app, and the ability to download PDF versions of summaries.

How many titles does Short Form offer and what is their pricing?

Short Form offers over a thousand titles with a pricing of $9.50 per month paid annually or $13.90 on a monthly basis.

What additional feature does Short Form provide besides book summaries?

In addition to book summaries, Short Form also summarizes popular articles from sources like Financial Times and Fortune.

How does the video suggest using book summary services in relation to full books?

The video suggests using book summary services to get the gist of a book and if the summary sparks interest, then purchasing and reading the full book for a more comprehensive understanding.

What does the video recommend for users who have read a book but can't recall its content?

The video recommends using book summary services as a refresher to recall the content of a book that one has previously read.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Discovering Book Summary Services

The video introduces three favorite book summary services that cater to individuals who struggle to find time for full-length books. These services offer condensed versions of books, allowing users to grasp the essence and implement key insights. Blinkist is highlighted as a popular choice with a vast library and options to read or listen to summaries. The service covers non-fiction categories like entrepreneurship, management, psychology, and finance. Blinkist's subscription model is outlined, with premium access to all titles. The user interface is explored, including how to navigate categories, access summaries, and utilize features like highlighting and audio playback. Blinkist's unique 'shortcuts' feature, which offers insights from podcasts, is also mentioned. The video promises to provide links to all services in the description.

05:01

📚 Comparing Book Summary Platforms

The second paragraph compares Blinkist with two other services: Read it For Me and Short Form. Read it For Me is described as a smaller service with around 300 titles, offering text, audio, and occasionally video summaries. It has a more affordable subscription but a less frequently updated library. The user interface is considered dated, and while there's a mobile app, it's not highly recommended. A new feature called Action Class (rebranded as Adaptive) is introduced, which provides interactive learning experiences through Zoom meetings. Short Form is the presenter's favorite, offering one-page or comprehensive summaries and a narrated version of each. The service stands out for its customizable reading settings, highlighting capabilities, and mobile app consistency with the desktop version. Short Form also provides summarized articles from reputable sources, adding value for users short on time. The paragraph concludes with the presenter's preference for Short Form due to its clean interface and the option to download PDF versions of summaries.

10:02

📚 Choosing the Right Summary Service

The final paragraph emphasizes that while all three services offer a free trial, the presenter recommends Short Form for its user experience and value. The video wraps up by encouraging viewers to explore the services and determine which suits their learning style best. It also invites viewers to share their preferred learning styles in the comments. The presenter expresses gratitude for watching, asks viewers to like, subscribe, and enable notifications for future content, and suggests watching more related videos.

Keywords

Book summaries

Book summaries are condensed versions of full-length books, capturing the main ideas and key points in a shorter, more digestible format. In the context of the video, book summaries are presented as a solution for individuals who struggle to find time to read entire books. The video discusses three platforms that offer book summaries, highlighting their features and benefits for those seeking to gain insights from books without the time commitment of reading them in full.

Blinkist

Blinkist is one of the book summary services mentioned in the video. It is described as an established and popular service with a library of about 4,500 titles, offering text and audio summaries. Blinkist is tailored towards non-fiction books in categories such as entrepreneurship, management, leadership, psychology, money, and investment. The service allows users to read or listen to summaries and also provides a feature called 'Blinks' which are key insights or ideas extracted from the book.

Read it for me

Read it for me is another book summary service highlighted in the video. It has a smaller library of about 300 titles and offers text, audio, and sometimes video summaries. The service is noted for its affordability, with a pricing model of $9.99 per month or $99 per year. Although the interface is described as dated, Read it for me offers a unique feature called 'Adaptive', which involves interactive learning experiences through Zoom meetings.

Short form

Short form is the presenter's favorite book summary service, as mentioned in the video. It specializes in non-fiction books and offers a library of over a thousand titles. What sets Short form apart is its provision of both one-page and more comprehensive summaries, allowing users to choose based on their preference. The service also includes narrated summaries, customizable reading settings, and the ability to download PDF versions of summaries.

Non-fiction

Non-fiction is a category of books that represent real events, people, and facts, as opposed to fictional narratives. In the video, all three book summary services primarily focus on non-fiction titles, which cover a range of topics from personal development to business and finance. These summaries aim to convey the educational and informative content of the books in a concise manner.

Audio summaries

Audio summaries are a feature offered by book summary services, allowing users to listen to the content instead of reading. In the context of the video, Blinkist and Read it for me provide audio options for their summaries, which is beneficial for users who prefer auditory learning or are multitasking while consuming the material.

Mobile app

The mobile app feature is discussed in relation to Blinkist and Short form, allowing users to access book summaries on their mobile devices. This feature enhances the convenience of the services, enabling users to explore and listen to summaries on the go, such as during a commute or while traveling.

Highlights

Highlights refer to the user's ability to mark and save important text or ideas from the book summaries. Both Blinkist and Short form offer this feature, which allows users to compile key insights into one place, categorized by book or date, making it easier to review and retain information.

Pricing

Pricing is a key aspect discussed for each of the book summary services. Blinkist offers a monthly subscription at $6.99 paid yearly or $19.90 on a monthly basis, Read it for me is priced at $9 per month or $99 per year, and Short form is available for $9.50 per month paid annually or $13.90 on a monthly basis. These pricing structures cater to different user preferences and budgets.

Free trial

A free trial is a promotional offer that allows potential users to test out a service without payment, to evaluate its features and benefits. The video mentions that all three book summary services provide a free trial, encouraging viewers to explore each platform and determine which one best suits their needs.

Highlights

This video shares three favorite book summary services for those who struggle to find time to read full books.

Blinkist is the most established and popular book summary service with about 4,500 titles.

Blinkist offers text and audio formats for summaries and has categories like entrepreneurship, management, psychology, and money and investment.

Blinkist's pricing is $6.99 per month paid yearly or $19.90 on a monthly basis for a premium subscription.

Blinkist's interface allows users to explore categories, read summaries, and listen to audio versions.

Blinkist features 'Blinks' which are key ideas taken from the books.

Users can highlight text in Blinkist, and highlights are organized by book or date.

Blinkist has a mobile app for reading and listening to summaries on the go.

Blinkist offers 'Shortcuts,' a new feature with key insights from podcasts.

Read It For Me has about 300 titles and offers text, audio, and sometimes video summaries.

Read It For Me's individual pricing is $9 per month or $99 per year.

Read It For Me has a feature called 'Adaptive' for interactive learning experiences through Zoom meetings.

Short Form is a favorite for its clean interface and mobile app consistency with the desktop version.

Short Form specializes in non-fiction books and offers both one-page and comprehensive summaries.

Short Form's pricing is $9.50 per month paid annually or $13.90 on a monthly basis.

Short Form allows users to download PDF versions of summaries and provides exercises for a better learning experience.

Short Form also summarizes popular articles from sources like Financial Times and Fortune.

Book summary services should be used as a way to get the gist of a book and decide if a full read is necessary.

Highlighting in these services compiles valuable text into one place, categorized by book or date.

The video recommends trying out the free trials of all three services to see which one suits the user best.