BookBase

A command-line interface (CLI) tool to search for books, generate AI-powered summaries, and manage your personal reading list with status tracking.

Built with Python, the Google Books API, Google GenAI, and SQLite for local data storage.

Features

• Search for books via Google Books API and view the top 5 results with AI-generated summaries

• Add selected books from search results to your personal reading list

• List all books in your reading list, with optional filtering by reading status (TBR, Reading, Read)

• Update the reading status of books in your list

• Delete books from your reading list

• Local persistence using SQLite

Installation

1. Clone the repository and navigate into it.

2. Create and activate a Python virtual environment (recommended):

macOS:

source venv/bin/activate

Windows:

venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the package in editable mode. This will install your package and all required dependencies:

pip install -e .

After this step, all dependencies are installed and you can start using the CLI commands.

Usage

Run the CLI command bookclub:

python -m bookclub <command> [arguments]

Or, if installed as a script:

bookclub <command> [arguments]

Commands

search <query>

Search for books matching <query> using the Google Books API. Shows top 5 results with AI-generated summaries.

Example:

bookclub search "harry potter"

add <number>

Add one of the last search results to your reading list by its index number.

Example:

bookclub add 2

list [--status <status>]

List all books in your reading list, optionally filtered by status (TBR, Reading, Read).

Examples:

bookclub list
bookclub list --status TBR

update-status <book_id> <status>

Update the reading status of a book in your reading list by its database ID.

Example:

bookclub update-status 3 Reading

delete <book_id>

Delete a book from your reading list by its database ID.

Example:

bookclub delete 4

How It Works

• Search: Queries Google Books API for top 5 matching books, generates AI summaries per book.

• Add: Saves selected book from last search to SQLite database along with its summary.

• List: Retrieves and displays stored books with optional filtering by reading status.

• Update-status: Updates the reading status (TBR, Reading, or Read) of a specific book by its ID.

• Delete: Removes a book from the list based on its position in the current displayed list.

Requirements

• click for CLI commands

• API keys/configuration for Google Books and AI summary generation (stored in app/config.py)

• SQLite (bundled with Python)

Development

• Database management functions in app/book_list_db.py

• Google Books API integration in app/google_books.py

• AI summary generation in app/genai.py

• Configuration and API keys in app/config.py