Reading Tracker
A minimal tool for tracking what I read, with highlights and notes exported from Kindle and other sources.
Background
I read a lot — books, papers, long-form articles — but I had no system for retaining what I learned. Kindle highlights were locked in Amazon’s ecosystem. Notes were scattered across different apps. There was no single place to search across everything I’d read.
My Role
I built this tool end-to-end: parsing Kindle clippings, normalizing highlights from different sources, and building a simple CLI for search and review.
Solution
Reading Tracker imports highlights from Kindle (via the My Clippings.txt file), Readwise API, and manual Markdown notes. Everything is stored in a local SQLite database, and a CLI interface lets you search, tag, and review your highlights.
Features:
- Import from multiple sources: Kindle, Readwise, manual Markdown
- Full-text search: Find any highlight or note instantly
- Daily review: A simple command shows random highlights from your library
- Export to Markdown: Generate reading notes for any book
Reflection
The most valuable part of this project wasn’t the code — it was developing the habit of reviewing highlights regularly. The daily review command became a small ritual that significantly improved my retention.
I also learned that local-first tools have a different feel than cloud services. There’s something satisfying about owning your data in a format you can inspect and modify.