In today’s busy world, time is a valuable resource. How can enthusiastic readers find time to stay informed without spending countless hours reading every book on their list? Book summary services might just be the answer. They offer concise and insightful overviews of your favorite books, making ongoing learning an achievable goal.
This article will guide you through finding the best book summary service that suits your needs. Furthermore, we highlight the best book summary websites available in 2024. The details in this article come from extensive online research, as well as insights from our surveys and interactions with thousands of readers and book summary users over the last 10 years.
Why Book Summaries?
Time constraints are the biggest reason we miss out on reading great books.
Book summaries that extract the most important takeaways and present them in a quickly-digestible content can help you to learn more from great reads, all at a fraction of the time.
According to Grand View Research, people are turning to different book formats that fit with their modern lifestyles–such as listening to an audiobook to learn while exercising.  Dalhousie University also found convenience to be a factor contributing to the increasing popularity of book summaries.
Indeed, whether you are a professional, a student, or a lifelong learner, book summaries can provide several benefits.
Time efficiency
Reading book summaries help you understand an entire book’s core concepts and valuable insights quickly. For example, Bookey provides audio summaries that last 30 minutes each, while ReadinGraphics‘ audio summaries are often 20 minutes long.
Other services offer even shorter summaries for those seeking an even quicker solution.
Enhanced comprehension
More words doesn’t necessarily mean better understanding. It can be easier to grasp and remember key ideas when they’re present succinctly upfront, instead of being “hidden” in the pages.
Moreover, when information includes visual and audio elements (such as book summaries offered in audio and infographic formats), it can increase your ability to grasp the concept and ideas. Research from Bestlink College of the Philippines found that audio-visual materials enhances the learning experience, potentially increasing engagement and making knowledge easier to understand. LucidPress found that the use of infographics increases the drive to read by 80%.
Engagement and interest
A common complaint about non-fiction books is that they can be long and boring.
Book summary services pique interest by providing quick access to a book’s main ideas. This can make reading and learning more enjoyable. You find yourself eager to explore more topics or delve deeper into the most interesting ones.
Adding visual and audio elements further enhances engagement. For instance, incorporating visual infographics can transform a simple summary into an engaging journey through the book’s ideas, making the learning process informative and captivating.
Cost-effective learning
Summaries are generally less expensive than full books. Subscription models offer access to a wide range of summaries at a fixed, often reasonable price.
Additionally, a few summary services provide à la carte options, allowing users to purchase individual summaries at a cost that is still lower than buying the full book.
Lastly, consider the value of your time. If you can gain knowledge from a book in just 20 minutes, instead of 20 hours reading it in full, how much is the saved time worth to you?
Tool for Quick Research
Book summaries are great for quick research, offering key points from various topics without overwhelming detail.
They come in different styles. Some give you just the main ideas for a quick overview, while others go deeper, adding exercises or extra information for those who want more. This variety means you can choose the type of summary that best fits your need for a quick grasp or a thorough understanding.
Deciding What Books To Read
Ever bought a book and felt disappointed because it didn’t meet your expectations? Unsure if a book has the content or answers you seek?
Browsing a book summary can help you to decide whether the book meets your needs and interests. That way, you can save your precious time to read only the bests books for you.
Developing Reading Habits
There’s extensive research to show the benefits of reading compared to other modes of learning. This includes: different stimulation for the brain brain, greater depth and breadth of coverage, enhanced focus and critical thinking, amongst other factors.
Yet, in a 2021 survey by Pew Research Center, 23% of American adults say they haven’t read a book (even partially) in the past year. A 2022 NEA survey showed a disturbing trend in the decline in reading over the last decade.
Indeed, a thick book can seem intimidating if you’re a visual learner, or someone who’s unused to heavy reading. Book summaries can be a great place to start, especially those with pictures or charts that make it easier to absorb the key ideas.
Each time you finish a book summary, you also feel a sense of accomplishment. This positive feeling helps to motivate you to keep up the reading habit.
BUT…Book Summaries Have Their Limitations Too
Despite the benefits above, book summaries have several limitations. Here are 2 main factors to consider.
In most cases, a summary cannot fully capture the ideas and details in a book. For example, a good non-fiction book typically includes detailed references, examples, or case studies, which cannot be replicated in a summary. A good fiction book takes the reader through an emotional journey or an adventure, and this experience is lost in a brief outline of the plot and characters.
A summary is only as good as the person(s) reading and summarizing the book. Many book summary services use freelance writers, crowd-sourcing, or even artificual intelligence to create their summaries. As a result, not all summaries are accurate or well-written.
The Best Way to Use Book Summaries
Given the benefits and limitations outlined above, book summaries are best used as a supplement to actual books.
You can use book summaries to cover a wide range of books and topics, and to identify the best books to read. This frees up your time to read the most interesting and relevant books. Thereafter, you can use the summaries to recap and refresh what you’ve learned!
How to Choose the Right Service for You
There’s no shortage of book summaries, both free and paid. But, not all resources are created equal. Many do a good job of compressing a book’s main concepts. However, only a select few maintain accuracy and clarity while addressing different learning preferences.
Here are the most important considerations when looking for the best book summary services.
1. Define Your Learning Goals
Know Your Objectives
Before choosing a book summary service, consider why you want to use book summaries.
Are you looking for personal growth, to help with your studies, or just reading for fun? This will help you to find a service that fits your needs.
Also, do you prefer lots of summaries across different topics/genres to get a broader view, or do you prefer more detailed summaries of fewer books for deeper understanding? Choosing quality—going deep into a few topics—can often be more rewarding than skimming many topics.
Goal-Oriented Selection
Different book summary services specialize in different fields or types of content.
For instance, Readingraphics focuses on top business and personal development books, while getAbstract caters mainly to professionals and career development.
Scan the range of book categories and book titles offered by the summary services to determine if they have the content you want to access.
2. Consider Your Preferred Learning Format
Format Varieties
To learn faster and better, choose a service that offers summaries in your preferred learning format(s).
Most book summary services offer an option between text and audio summaries. Examples include Blinkist, getAbstract and Instaread.
However, only a few offer videos and graphic summaries. For example, Readingraphics provides infographic summaries alongside audio and text summaries. StoryShots has animated video summaries for some of its titles.
Accessibility and Convenience
Would you prefer listening to a book summary during a commute? Or maybe you’d rather browse through an infographic book summary during your lunch break?
Choose a service that offers you the formats and learning experience that best suits your needs and lifestyle.
3. Evaluate Your Budget
Free vs. Paid Services
Free and paid book summary services offer different advantages.
Free services allow users to access free book summaries, making it an appealing option for casual readers. However, these free services may have limitations in the range of book options and quality of summaries.
Paid services typically have a broader library covering various genres and topics. They are usually clearer, more consistent in quality, and come with a proper platform for delivering and consuming the summaries.
Subscription Models
Compare monthly fees to choose which book summary services better fit your budget. How far are you likely to utilize the subscription? Are you better off with a recurring subscription, or a one-time payment (be it purchasing ala-carte summaries or getting a lifetime subscription).
Also, consider whether you can access or retain summaries after your subscription has ended.
For instance, Blinkist has thousands of summaries that you can enjoy while your subscription is active. However, you’ll lose access to your summaries after you cancel your subscription.
Readingraphics has a smaller library of a few hundred titles, with an option to download and keep the summaries even after your subscription ends.
4. Assess the Content Quality and Variety
Expertise and Insight
Look for summaries offering more than surface-level recaps. They should analyze the key ideas, explain their importance, and provide context.
Services that include visual aids, checklists, or actionable tips alongside their text will likely accelerate and deepen your learning.
A great way to test quality is to look closely at the summaries for 1-2 books you know well. See how clearly and precisely each book summary service captures the book’s core concepts and insights.
Library Size and Scope
Evaluate the range of topics and formats available in a service’s library to ensure it addresses your needs and interests.
5. Read Reviews and Testimonials
Community Feedback
Look at reviews and testimonials to understand how satisfied users are with the respective services.
You can find such testimonials on the service providers’ website, app stores, blogs or third-party review sites.
Trial Periods
There’s nothing better than being offered a trial period to test drive the book summary services features and content quality.
Several book summary services offer free trials, like Blinkist and Sumizeit. ReadinGraphics offers 2 free pre-selected summary samples to help you evaluate the quality and functionality of their summaries.
6. Long-Term Value and Support
Continuous Library Updates
Consider whether the service regularly adds new content to its library and how it stays current with new book releases.
Customer Support
Reliable customer support ensures you’ll get quick answers to your questions and efficiently resolve problems.
To assess whether a book summary service may prioritize customer interaction, check whether it offers multiple channels for users to get in touch and provide feedback.
By weighing all the above factors, you can better assess which book summary service will offer accurate summations of your favorite books that align with your needs and expectations.
Best Book Summary Services of 2024
After extensive research, here are our top picks for the best book summary services.
Comparison of Book Summary Services
Looking for more options? Below, you’ll find a simple comparison of 9 different book summary services. Read on to see a deep-dive into our top 5 picks!
 |
Service Provider | Price per month | Text | Audio | Graphic |
1 | Blinkist | $12.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
2 | ReadinGraphics | $19.97 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
3 | GetAbstract | $ 29.90 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
4 | Shortform | $24.00 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
5 | 12min.com [annual only] |
$ 9.16 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
6 | Instaread | $8.99 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
7 | Four Minute Books | $5.2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
8 | ReadItFor.Me | $29 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
9 | Sumizeit | $6.99 | ✓ | ✓ |
✗ |
Get Abstract
GetAbstract is a pioneer in the field of book summary services. They started over 2 decades ago and have amassed a huge content library.
They have over 5000 book summaries, focused on business, leadership, and personal development niche. They offer value to individuals trying to enhance their career skills but also have unique solutions for team learning.
Organizations can customize the GetAbstract platform to suit their teams’ specific needs and choose key book summaries from the vast collection for team members to explore. Moreover, GetAbstract has introduced an AI tool to streamline the search process for team leaders and individuals.
While its AI tool is available to all subscribers, many of its other advanced features, like those aimed at organizational learning, come at a significant cost.
Blinkist
Blinkist is a well-known book summary service that provides quick access to key insights and main ideas from non-fiction and, more recently, fiction books.
Blinkist also has one of the more extensive libraries, with over 6500 titles. Topics range from psychology and self-help to business, politics, and more.
Blinkist offers text and audio versions of their book summaries.
They don’t have a visual or infographic version of their summaries. However, they recently introduced an additional option, Guides, which offers exercises, infographics, or quizzes on specific topics (rather than books). These are especially useful for organizations or corporate learning.
Blinkist was acquired by EdTech startup Go1 in 2023, and it’d be interesting to see if this would skew focus increasinly toward the corporate space.
InstaRead
While many book summary services only offer summaries for non-fiction books, Instaread also vastly covers fiction books.
In both subcategories, the topic range is diverse. There is something for everyone, from Health & Fitness, Social Science, History, and politics.
While its topic range is diverse, its content library is considerably smaller.  It compensates for this by having professionals create summaries for accuracy and depth.
Their app also offers a unique feature called cards, which contain the quotes extracted from book summaries that you can save to review later.
Lastly, they also cater to different learning styles with summaries available in text and audio formats.
SumizeIt
If you’re looking for quick insights that help you capture the essence of non-fiction books on the go, SumizeIt offers just that.
Each summary is 10 – 15 minutes long and is accessible on iOS, tablet, laptop, and Kindle.
Apart from accessibility, they also strive to cater to various learning styles, including text, audio, and video summaries. They also offer quizzes, PDF summaries, and additional content curated by experts to help teach business and self-development skills.
ReadinGraphics
ReadinGraphics is the only summary provider that includes infographic summaries for visual learners, in addition to text and audio summaries.
It prioritizes quality over quantity, carefully curating only top personal development and business development books. Despite having fewer titles (more than 300) in its library, their summaries are rich in detail with a money-back guarantee for quality assurance.
ReadinGraphics is also one of the few providers with the option to buy a la carte summaries if you’re not ready for a recurring subscription.
Additionally, they provide free snippets from their book summaries on their blog, offering users a taste of their content.
If you’re seeking quality book summaries with carefully-crafted visuals to enhance understanding and recall, ReadinGraphics is your perfect match.
Why not give them a try? They offer 2 free pre-selected summary samples so you can experience it for yourself.
Conclusion: Knowledge At Your Fingertips
In conclusion, the world of book summaries is vast and varied, offering something for everyone. Whether you’re a busy professional, a curious learner, or someone in between, these services provide a gateway to a world of knowledge, efficiently and enjoyably.Â
Remember, while summaries are a fantastic tool, they don’t replace the depth and richness of reading a full book. Use them as a complement to your reading journey, and you’ll find yourself well-equipped in the fast-paced world of 2024.