An app to rate books and movies together makes sense when the people around you read as much as they watch. In Viewers books, movies and TV shows all get a score from 0 to 10 on the same scale, in the same place, so you can put a novel next to its adaptation inside a private group.
Why keeping books and movies apart gets in the way
People who read and watch tend to end up with two lists. One for books, one for movies, each with its own stars or its own "read" and "watched" ticks. Then a simple question has no answer: did you like the book or the movie more?
With one scale for everything, the answer is right there. If you gave the book a 9 and the movie a 6, there is nothing left to explain. If your partner did the opposite, you have something to talk about over dinner.
How to rate books and movies in Viewers, step by step
- Create your free account at viewers.app. It runs in the browser on your phone or computer, nothing to download.
- Rate what you already know. The rating screen shows covers of movies, shows and books, mixed together. Swipe right if you have seen or read it and give it a score from 0 to 10, left if it is not for you, and up to save it for later.
- Look up specific titles. To rate a particular book or movie, find it in the catalog, with cover, year and synopsis.
- Create a group and invite the people who read and watch with you. Only people you invite can join. Your partner, your family, or the friends you always end up arguing with about adaptations.
- Open the group ranking. Every title shows each member's score and the group average, books and movies in the same group.
One scale for the book and its adaptation
The point of rating books and movies together is the direct comparison. When the book and the movie sit in the same group on the same scale, you get questions two separate lists would never raise:
- Who in the group prefers the book? Some people always score the novel higher. With the scores in front of you, it is obvious.
- Which adaptations let everyone down? If the book scores high across the group and the movie scores low, that is a shared verdict, not just your opinion.
- What should you read after watching? If someone in the group gave a 9 to the book behind a movie you loved, you know what to read next.
TV shows use the same scale too, so you can also compare a book series with the show it became. If shows are your thing, there is a guide to the app to rate TV shows with friends.
Where the books and movies come from
The Viewers catalog has more than 26,000 movies, shows and books. Movies and shows come from TMDB, books from Google Books. Each page shows the cover, year and synopsis, and for movies and shows, which streaming service has them in your country.
Viewers does not host or stream anything, and it does not sell books. It is where you record what you thought, not where you get it.
The usual case: a couple or a family that reads and watches
In plenty of homes one person reads a lot and another watches a lot. Or both do everything and never agree. A Viewers group for two, or for the whole family, takes care of several things at once:
- Taste match. Viewers works out who you agree with and who you clash with, using the titles you have both rated. Books and movies count the same, so the more varied your ratings, the fuller the picture.
- Your biggest clash. The title where the two of you are furthest apart. Sometimes it is a movie. Sometimes it is the book one of you loved and the other gave up on.
- A thread per title. Every book and movie has its own thread inside the group, with spoiler warnings for whoever has not finished it.
- Movie night. When it is time to pick something to watch, the group votes from its watchlist and the majority wins. If everyone has already read the novel, the adaptation is a strong pick.
For something lighter, the group also gets seven free movie games to play with friends, right from the phone browser.
When Viewers is not what you need
- If you want to track pages or chapters. Viewers rates each book as a single title. It is not a reading log with pages per day or yearly goals.
- If you are looking for somewhere to buy or download the book. Viewers shows the book's page, but it does not sell it, lend it or host it.
- If you only read, or only watch, and always on your own. It still works, but the interesting part starts when someone else in the group has scores to compare.
Free and on your phone, no app store needed
Rating, groups, the threads and the games cost nothing. No subscription, no ads. Viewers is a web app: on iPhone you add it to your home screen from Safari, and on Android Chrome offers "Install". Your scores are only visible to the groups you choose, and you can delete your account and everything in it whenever you like.
Start for free, rate the last book you read and its movie, and send the invite to whoever always says the book was better.
Can I rate books and movies in the same app?
Yes. In Viewers books, movies and TV shows are all scored from 0 to 10 on the same scale and appear in the same group.
Where do the books come from?
From Google Books. Movies and shows come from TMDB. Every page has a cover, year and synopsis.
Can I compare a book with its adaptation?
Yes. Rate both titles and the group ranking shows each member's score for the book and for the movie.
Does Viewers sell or lend books?
No. Viewers is for rating and comparing with friends. It does not sell, lend or host books or movies.
Can my friends see everything I read and watch?
Only the groups you choose can see your scores. Nobody outside your groups sees what you have rated.
Does it cost anything?
No. Rating, groups, the threads and the games are free, with no ads and no subscription.