A reading companion for great novels
Read closely. Remember everything. Never be spoiled.
Before each chapter, ChapterAlly tells you what to notice. After it, a lecturer’s close reading, two questions and a hook into the next. It never gets a word ahead of your page.
Takes two minutes. Your first chapter is free.
Before you read
Norwegian Wood · Prologue · Hamburg, 1987
- Notice 01Notice the narrator’s age, and how far back he is reaching.
- Notice 02Listen for the song, the Beatles’ ‘Norwegian Wood.’ Ask why this one melody, of all things, can undo a grown man in an airplane seat.
A library worth reading slowly.
Classics and modern favourites, each prepared chapter by chapter and checked for spoilers before it reaches the shelf.
How it works
One chapter, start to finish.
Every chapter runs the same calm loop. Here it is on the first chapter of 1984.
- 01
Before you read
The Brief: two or three things to notice. A hunt, not homework.
Notice 01Watch the telescreen and the posters. Notice that the screen receives as well as transmits, that it cannot be turned off, and that Big Brother’s eyes seem to follow Winston.
- 02
Read
In your own copy, at your own pace. Mark a moment or leave a prediction in the margin.
Moment marked: the telescreen can’t be switched off.
- 03
After you read
A lecturer’s close reading you can read or listen to, plus two questions and what you unlocked.
The lecturer’s take
Opens when you finish the chapter - 04
The hook
One line that closes the chapter and pulls you into the next.
Chapter two is ready when you are.
A scene for every chapter.
Illustrated books open with a plate for the Foreword and add a new scene for each chapter you close, all in one hand-printed style.
The Companion
It knows exactly where you are.
Ask about a character, a symbol, a line that puzzled you. The Companion answers with everything up to your chapter and nothing past it. Characters, motifs and the field guide fill in as you read, never before.
Is Boo Radley even real?
That’s further along than you’ve read, so I won’t say. What chapter one does show is where the children’s ‘facts’ about him come from: gossip, dares and imagination. Hold on to that; the whole town runs on the same fuel.
Your reading life
Read your way to a title.
Close chapters, spot motifs, keep lines and make predictions. Points add up to titles, starting at Reader and climbing to Scholar of Small Things. Every book has badges of its own too.
Level 1
Reader
0 pts
Level 2
Close Reader
120 pts
Level 4
Marginalian
550 pts
Level 7
Scholar of Small Things
2100 pts
ChapterAlly Plus
Start free. Stay for the whole shelf.
Try every book on the shelf free for 7 days. If it isn’t for you, cancel before the week is out and you won’t pay a thing.
Today
Every book, every chapter and the Companion open up. No charge today.
Days 1–7
Read as much as you like. Cancel from your account page and you won’t be charged.
After 7 days
Your year begins at $59.99, about $5 a month. Cancel anytime.
The whole shelf, and every book we add to it. Each chapter is checked for spoilers before it reaches you.
Yearly
Every book, every chapter, the Companion.
$59.99/ year$155.88 if paid monthly
That’s $5 a month, or about 16¢ a day. Less than a paperback.
Start my 7-day free trialNo charge today. After 7 days, $59.99/year until you cancel.
Monthly
$12.99 / month · no free trial
Not ready to decide? Read your first chapter free, no card needed.
- Secure checkout
- Cancel anytime
- Use it with any edition
Free and Plus, side by side
| What you get | Free | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| The Brief before each chapter | Chapter one | Every chapter |
| The lecturer’s take and two questions | Chapter one | Every chapter |
| Characters, motifs and lines, as you meet them | Chapter one | Every chapter |
| Ask the Companion anything, spoiler-safe | — | |
| Every book in the library, and each new one | — | |
| Progress on every device |
Questions
Is it really spoiler-free?
Yes. Everything ChapterAlly shows you stops at the chapter you’re on: the briefs, the lecturer’s take, the characters, even the Companion’s answers. It can’t read ahead, so neither do you.
Do I need my own copy of the book?
Yes. ChapterAlly doesn’t include the books themselves. You read your own paperback, e-book or audiobook, and ChapterAlly reads alongside you.
What’s free?
The first chapter of the first book you start, with its Brief, the lecturer’s take and the questions. That’s enough to see how it works before you decide.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes, it works in any browser on any device. Your progress is saved to your account, so it’s there wherever you sign in.
How do I cancel?
Anytime, from your account page. If you cancel during the free trial, you won’t be charged.
Your next book, read closely.
Two minutes to a reading plan. The first chapter is on us.
Start your reading plan