Interview Questions › Product Design

Design a book recommendation app for casual readers

Design a modern, delight-driven book discovery and reading tracking app for casual readers (who want to read 6-12 books a year) who find Goodreads clunky, intimidating, and overly academic.

Context

Goodreads is dominated by hardcore power readers logging 100+ books/year, leading casual readers to feel reading shame and decision paralysis.

Clarifying questions to ask first

• Are we selling/delivering e-books or recommending across physical books, Kindle, and audiobooks?
• Is the focus on solitary habit formation or social community? (Both).

How to approach it

1. User Personas & Mindsets: The Aspiring Casual Reader (wants to read before bed instead of doomscrolling TikTok), The Mood-Based Reader (picks books based on current vibe or favorite movie/show genre)
2. Key Friction Points: 500-page book intimidation, sterile star rating reviews, lack of sample previews, losing reading momentum after Chapter 2
3. Design Core Innovations:
4. 1. "Mood & Vibe Picker": Discover books by aesthetic/mood ("Cozy autumn rainy day mystery", "Fast-paced Silicon Valley thriller")
5. 2. Micro-Sample "Taste Test": Read the first 5 pages instantly in a swipeable vertical feed before committing
6. 3. Reading Streak & Micro-Goals: "10 minutes a day" goal tracking rather than intimidating whole-book quotas
7. 4. Social Book Clubs with audio voice notes from friends
8. Define North Star Engagement Metrics

Framework: Casual Reader Psychology -> Goodreads Deficits -> Discovery Innovation (Mood/Samples) -> Daily Habit Tracking -> Success Metrics

Sample answer

• Casual readers choose entertainment based on emotional vibe, not author pedigree; mood-based tagging drives 3x higher discovery conversion
• Tracking daily reading minutes (e.g. 15 mins/day) creates habit retention without intimidation

1. MVP: Swipeable 5-page micro-sample discovery feed, mood-based tags, daily 15-minute timer streak with widget, and bookmark sync with Kindle and local libraries (Libby)

Executive design: A friendly, aesthetic book companion featuring mood-based discovery feeds, 5-page instant taste-tests, and bite-sized 15-minute daily reading habit streaks.

What interviewers look for

• Casual Reader Psychology vs Hardcore Goodreads Flaws
• Mood-Based & Media-Comparison Discovery UX
• Micro-Sample Previews & Frictionless Onboarding
• Bite-Sized Daily Habit Reinforcement