Building Book DNA: A big migration and rebranding as Book DNA!
Notes on building a smarter, more personal way to manage your reading life, with recommendations shaped by your Book DNA.
Every 3 weeks, I share notes on building Shepherd and Book DNA.
Join the rebellion and help me create a smarter, more personal way to manage your reading life, with recommendations shaped by your Book DNA. Think Goodreads, but rebuilt for readers who want a private space to track what they read, keep notes, and get truly personalized book recommendations (like Pandora or Spotify for books). It is also designed from the ground up to help authors. We are on track to start testing the beta in February (apply here to be a beta tester).
Three hurrahs for our 800+ members who support us! Readers and authors can become members (both get special perks, and more perks are coming as we grow).
I am feeling…
The last three weeks have been busy!
We spent a ton of time interviewing and finding a fantastic full-stack developer (onboarding later this week). That will help us move a little quicker and take some things off Marton’s plate so he can focus on the big stuff.
Because of the time we put into finding our new hire, the Book DNA beta slipped a little. We are on track to open a rough beta in February and start getting feedback from early users (apply here to be a beta tester).
A big migration and rebranding as Book DNA!
Soon, we will be moving the website from Shepherd to Book DNA.
This is a huge move, and we wanted to get it done before we launch the app's first beta. We will be moving over the entire website, followed by emails and other parts of our infrastructure.
This was not an easy decision; I’ve been thinking about it for most of 2025. Ultimately, I decided it is a better brand going forward and fits what we are building with the full app. I’ll share more in the official newsletters and on the website as we get rolling…
What else?
We are finishing up the UX for the first version of folders.
And the same for our public review feature:
And the UX for the import process is coming along nicely:
And, I built a snazzy Airtable app to help me manage all the user testing for the upcoming beta.
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
I’m trying to enjoy Winter as it is not my favorite season. We are taking my son up to the mountains to see snow (he was so little the last time he saw it). That will be fun! Otherwise, I am scarfing down Vitamin D, using a sun lamp, and working a lot.
What am I reading now?
I am reading...
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer: This is part of my deep dive into the rise of Fascism I’ve been doing over the last few years. I love history, and I thought I knew a lot about this period, but this book has been far more detailed than any of my previous studies. I am enjoying it immensely. I just finished a chapter on the Weimar Republic, the rise of propaganda/opinion “newspapers,” and the daily editions that barely touched upon the truth. Reading about how the far-right newspapers would attack politicians with very little truth felt a bit dark, given our modern world full of Fox News, podcasts, and social influencers doing the same thing. It didn’t seem like politicians or society in those areas had any recourse, as the libel and defamation laws were weak and ineffective.
Have a great week,
Ben
P.S. From a summer bike ride with my son.
