u/No-Candle-2698

Building something called Scholia and want honest feedback before I go further, both on the landing page itself and whether the core concept actually makes sense to someone hearing about it cold.

The idea: you photograph a page of any physical book; it identifies the book and exactly where you are in it, and you can ask it questions, characters, references, and confusing passages, using only what's happened up to that point. It won't answer anything past where you currently are, so it stays spoiler-free.

Landing page's here: scholia.cloud

Genuinely looking for critical feedback: does the concept make sense on first read, does the site explain it clearly, is there anything that feels confusing or off? Not trying just to farm waitlist signups; more interested in whether the idea itself lands with people who have no context going in.

Building something called Scholia and want honest feedback before I go further, both on the landing page itself and whether the core concept actually makes sense to someone hearing about it cold.

The idea: you photograph a page of any physical book; it identifies the book and exactly where you are in it, and you can ask it questions about characters, references, confusing passages, using only what's happened up to that point. It won't answer anything past where you currently are, so it stays spoiler-free.

Landing page's here: scholia.cloud

Genuinely looking for critical feedback: does the concept make sense on first read, does the site explain it clearly, is there anything that feels confusing or off? Not trying to just farm waitlist signups; more interested in whether the idea itself lands with people who have no context going in.

I read a lot of dense or classic books, and I kept giving up on them halfway through. I'd hit a confusing passage or reference, and my only options were to Google it (which usually meant wading through spoilers to find the answer) or just push through, not really understanding what was happening. Neither felt great.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, and it already knows the book, so there's no uploading or setup involved. From there you can ask it anything: who a character is, what a reference means, what's actually happening in a confusing passage, and it answers using only what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer, not with a vague non-answer either; it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

It also doesn't rely on page numbers to figure out where you are, since those shift between editions and printings. Instead, it reads the actual sentences on the page in front of you, so it works with whatever copy you happen to own: a battered charity shop paperback, a library hardback, doesn't matter.

Mostly built this to solve my own problem, but figured other people who keep bouncing off the same books for the same reasons might find it useful too.

Waitlist's open if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

Been heads-down building this for a while and could use fresh eyes before launch. It's the landing page for Scholia, an AI reading companion that lets you photograph a page of any physical book and ask questions about it without spoiling what's ahead.

Genuinely want honest feedback: does the messaging make sense on first read? Is it clear what the product actually does? Anything that feels off or confusing?

Site's here: scholia.cloud

If it's not obviously terrible and you're even slightly curious, the waitlist's on there too; we're picking early testers from it. No pressure either way; mostly just want the design/copy feedback.

Been heads-down building this for a while and could use fresh eyes before launch. It's the landing page for Scholia, an AI reading companion that lets you photograph a page of any physical book and ask questions about it without spoiling what's ahead.

Genuinely just want honest feedback: does the messaging make sense on first read, is it clear what the product actually does, anything that feels off or confusing.

Site's here: scholia.cloud

If it's not obviously terrible and you're even slightly curious, the waitlist's on there too; we're picking early testers from it. No pressure either way; mostly just want the design/copy feedback.

I read a lot of dense or classic books, and I kept giving up on them halfway through. I'd hit a confusing passage or reference, and my only options were to Google it (which usually meant wading through spoilers to find the answer) or just push through, not really understanding what was happening. Neither felt great.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, and it already knows the book, so there's no uploading or setup involved. From there you can ask it anything: who a character is, what a reference means, what's actually happening in a confusing passage, and it answers using only what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer, not with a vague non-answer either; it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

It also doesn't rely on page numbers to figure out where you are, since those shift between editions and printings. Instead, it reads the actual sentences on the page in front of you, so it works with whatever copy you happen to own: a battered charity shop paperback, a library hardback, doesn't matter.

Mostly built this to solve my own problem, but figured other people who keep bouncing off the same books for the same reasons might find it useful too.

Waitlist's open if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

I read a lot of dense or classic books, and I kept giving up on them halfway through. I'd hit a confusing passage or reference, and my only options were to Google it (which usually meant wading through spoilers to find the answer) or push through not really understanding what was happening. Neither felt great.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on; it already knows the book, and you can ask it anything: a character, a reference, what's actually going on in a passage, using only what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer.

It works with any physical copy, any edition or printing, since it reads the actual sentences on the page instead of matching a specific page number.

Mostly built this to solve my own problem, but figured other people who keep bouncing off the same books might find it useful too.

Waitlist's open if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

I read a lot of dense or classic books, and I kept giving up on them halfway through. I'd hit a confusing passage or reference, and my only options were to Google it (which usually meant wading through spoilers to find the answer) or push through not really understanding what was happening. Neither felt great.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, and it already knows the book, so there's no uploading or setup involved. From there you can ask it anything: who a character is, what a reference means, what's actually happening in a confusing passage, and it answers using only what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer, not with a vague non-answer either; it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

It also doesn't rely on page numbers to determine where you are, since those shift across editions and printings. Instead, it reads the actual sentences on the page in front of you, so it works with whatever copy you happen to own: a battered charity shop paperback, a library hardback, doesn't matter.

Mostly built this to solve my own problem, but figured other people who keep bouncing off the same books for the same reasons might find it useful too.

Waitlist's open if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

When I started building Scholia (AI reading companion photograph a book page and asks questions about it), my first instinct was to make it work like every other book-AI tool: answer anything about the book, any time, like a search engine for the text.

Tested it on a few people and the feedback was oddly negative, even when the answers were accurate. Took a while to figure out why: people don't want a search engine for their book; they want a companion that respects where they actually are in the story. The second someone got an answer that referenced something 100 pages ahead, they felt like the "magic" of reading was ruined, even if the answer itself was technically helpful.

So I rebuilt the core logic around a much harder constraint: it has to know exactly where you are (using the actual sentences on the page, not a page number, since editions differ) and refuse to answer anything past that point. Went from "smart search" to something closer to a reading companion that holds a boundary. Felt like a downgrade in capability on paper, tested infinitely better in practice.

Small lesson but one I didn't expect: the feature that makes a product feel trustworthy is often the thing it refuses to do, not the thing it can do.

Join the waitlist we will be choosing people from here to be testers! : scholia.cloud

Anyone else build the "more capable" version first and have to strip it back before it actually worked?

The idea started from a personal problem: I read a lot of dense/classic books, kept getting stuck on references or context I didn't understand, and every "explain this book" tool either assumed I'd already finished it (so it'd casually spoil the ending) or only worked on ebooks.

What I built: Scholia. You photograph the page you're on; it identifies the book, and you can ask it anything: a character, a reference, what's actually happening in a passage, using only the content up to your exact position. Ask about anything ahead, and it won't answer. It locates your position by reading the actual sentences on the page, not a page number, so it works with any edition or printing.

No uploads, no account-based library to build, no ebook requirement, just a photo and a title.

Currently pre-launch on iOS, building out the waitlist in waves. Would genuinely value feedback from this community, especially on onboarding flow, pricing expectations, and whether the spoiler-blocking feels like a killer feature or an annoying limitation once people actually use it.

Waitlist will be in comments if anyone's interested

Happy to answer anything about the build, the AI matching logic, or the decision to go photo-first instead of requiring an ebook upload.

When I started building Scholia (an AI reading companion, which photographs a book page and asks questions about it), my first instinct was to make it work like every other book-AI tool: answer anything about the book, any time, like a search engine for the text.

Tested it on a few people and the feedback was oddly negative, even when the answers were accurate. Took a while to figure out why: people don't want a search engine for their book; they want a companion that respects where they actually are in the story. The second someone got an answer that referenced something 100 pages ahead, they felt like the "magic" of reading was ruined, even if the answer itself was technically helpful.

So I rebuilt the core logic around a much harder constraint: it has to know exactly where you are (using the actual sentences on the page, not a page number, since editions differ) and refuse to answer anything past that point. Went from "smart search" to something closer to a reading companion that holds a boundary. Felt like a downgrade in capability on paper, tested infinitely better in practice.

Small lesson but one I didn't expect: the feature that makes a product feel trustworthy is often the thing it refuses to do, not the thing it can do.

Live waitlist if anyone wants to become a tester we will be picking from the list at random; scholia.cloud

Anyone else build the "more capable" version first and have to strip it back before it actually worked?

When I started building Scholia (AI reading companion photograph a book page and asks questions about it), my first instinct was to make it work like every other book-AI tool: answer anything about the book, any time, like a search engine for the text.

Tested it on a few people and the feedback was oddly negative, even when the answers were accurate. Took a while to figure out why: people don't want a search engine for their book; they want a companion that respects where they actually are in the story. The second someone got an answer that referenced something 100 pages ahead, they felt like the "magic" of reading was ruined, even if the answer itself was technically helpful.

So I rebuilt the core logic around a much harder constraint: it has to know exactly where you are (using the actual sentences on the page, not a page number, since editions differ) and refuse to answer anything past that point. Went from "smart search" to something closer to a reading companion that holds a boundary. Felt like a downgrade in capability on paper, tested infinitely better in practice.

Small lesson but one I didn't expect: the feature that makes a product feel trustworthy is often the thing it refuses to do, not the thing it can do.

Join the waitlist we will be choosing people from here to be testers! : scholia.cloud

Anyone else build the "more capable" version first and have to strip it back before it actually worked?

The idea started from a personal problem: I read a lot of dense/classic books, kept getting stuck on references or context I didn't understand, and every "explain this book" tool either assumed I'd already finished it (so it'd casually spoil the ending) or only worked on ebooks.

What I built: Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it identifies the book, and you can ask it anything: a character, a reference, what's actually happening in a passage, using only the content up to your exact position. Ask about anything ahead and it won't answer. It locates your position by reading the actual sentences on the page, not a page number, so it works with any edition or printing.

No uploads, no account-based library to build, no ebook requirement, just a photo and a title.

Currently pre-launch on iOS, building out the waitlist in waves. I would genuinely value feedback from this community, especially on the onboarding flow, pricing expectations, and whether the spoiler-blocking feature feels like a killer feature or an annoying limitation once people actually use it.

Waitlist/link: scholia.cloud

Happy to answer anything about the build, the AI matching logic, or the decision to go photo-first instead of requiring an ebook upload.

I read a lot with my partner, same books at the same time, and the constant "don't tell me anything yet, I'm only on chapter 6" negotiation got exhausting. Neither of us wanted to look anything up because every search result, wiki, or "explain this book" tool assumes you've either finished it or don't care about spoilers.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it already knows the book, and you can ask it anything about a character, what a reference means, what's actually going on in a confusing passage, but only using what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer. Not a vague non-answer either, it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

Works with any physical copy, any edition or printing, since it reads the actual page in front of you rather than matching a page number to a specific version.

I built this mostly to solve my own problem, but other people reading the same book as a partner/friend/book club at different paces might also want it.

Curious if anyone else has the "reading buddy but at different paces" problem, or if it's just us.

I read a lot with my partner, same books at the same time, and the constant "don't tell me anything yet, I'm only on chapter 6" negotiation got exhausting. Neither of us wanted to look anything up because every search result, wiki, or "explain this book" tool assumes you've either finished it or don't care about spoilers.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it already knows the book, and you can ask it anything about a character, what a reference means, what's actually going on in a confusing passage, but only using what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead and it just won't answer. Not a vague non-answer either, it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

Works with any physical copy, any edition or printing, since it reads the actual page in front of you rather than matching a page number to a specific version.

I built this mostly to solve my own problem, but I figured that other people reading the same book as a partner/friend/book club at different paces might want it too.

Waitlist's here if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

Curious if anyone else has the "reading buddy but at different paces" problem, or if it's just us.

I read a lot with my partner, same books at the same time, and the constant "don't tell me anything yet, I'm only on chapter 6" negotiation got exhausting. Neither of us wanted to look anything up because every search result, wiki, or "explain this book" tool assumes you've either finished it or don't care about spoilers.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it already knows the book, and you can ask it anything about a character, what a reference means, what's actually going on in a confusing passage, but only using what's happened up to that exact point. Could you ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer? Not a vague non-answer either, it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

Works with any physical copy, any edition or printing, since it reads the actual page in front of you rather than matching a page number to a specific version.

I built this mostly to solve my own problem, but I figured that other people reading the same book as a partner/friend/book club at different paces might want it too.

Waitlist's here if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

Curious if anyone else has the "reading buddy but at different paces" problem, or if it's just us.

I read a lot with my partner, same books at the same time, and the constant "don't tell me anything yet, I'm only on chapter 6" negotiation got exhausting. Neither of us wanted to look anything up because every search result, wiki, or "explain this book" tool assumes you've either finished it or don't care about spoilers.

So I built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it already knows the book, and you can ask it anything about a character, what a reference means, what's actually going on in a confusing passage, but only using what's happened up to that exact point. Ask about anything ahead, and it just won't answer. Not a vague non-answer either, it genuinely holds the line until you catch up.

Works with any physical copy, any edition or printing, since it reads the actual page in front of you rather than matching a page number to a specific version.

Built this mostly to solve my own problem, but figured other people reading the same book as a partner/friend/book club at different paces might want it too.

Waitlist's here if anyone wants to try it: scholia.cloud

Curious if anyone else has the "reading buddy but at different paces" problem, or if it's just us.

Everyone's got that one guilty pleasure where you're supposedly too old for it, but you'd still pick it off a shelf without hesitation. Mine's David Walliams. I know it's aimed at kids half my age, but the humour holds up in a way a lot of "grown-up" books don't even try for anymore. Curious who everyone else still secretly reads.

After finishing the Jackson biopic, I was having a light-hearted debate about who that figure was for literature. think about it as a lighthearted GOAT debate I want to bring to Reddit

My pick is Toni Morrison; Beloved alone did things with structure and voice that novels just weren't doing before, and she didn't just write great books, she basically expanded what English-language fiction was allowed to sound like. Everyone writing literary fiction after her is working in a world she reshaped

The child in me really wanted to say a J.K. Rowling or a Roald Dahl, as building an IP as big as those is no easy feat, but I'm curious to hear who and why for more experienced readers who may come across this fun topic

Every single year I pick up Ulysses and try to get through it, but every time I get to the Proteus chapter, I have no idea what I'm reading anymore. I've tried the annotated versions, but they either spoil or assume I have a classics degree

I brought this question to my brother and he proposed the idea of a paper book reading companion and together we built Scholia. You photograph the page you're on, it already knows the book, and it explains whatever's happening, allusions, context, what the hell Stephen is thinking about using only what's happened up to that point. Ask it about something later in the book and it just won't answer yet, which sounds annoying but is honestly the whole point: I don't want spoilers, I want a professor sitting next to me who happens to know exactly where I am.

Just thought I would share if anyone is in the same position as me. Genuinely curious what everyone's own "I've started this book four times" book might use a few as test cases before launch.

Anyway heres the waitlist if anyone is interested in my idea https://scholia.framer.website/