Bookshelf
Md StarterShare the Books You Read, With Reviews and Highlights
Bookshelf adds a Books section to your site. Show your covers on a shelf, write reviews with star ratings, and keep the passages that stuck with you as highlights.
Requirements
Details
Screenshots (8)
The Bookshelf page
Covers on shelves
Popup preview
A book page
Highlights on a book page
A single highlight
A Highlight Topic archive
A book categoryUpdates (1)
1 change in the latest release
See full history →- EnhancementApplies book items per page setting to Book category shelves
Every book can have a page of its own, and so can every highlight, so a visitor can start at your shelf, open a book, and keep reading the passages you saved. Visitors who would rather stay on the shelf can preview a book in a popup.
Start here
A Shelf for the Books You Read
Your Bookshelf page shows the books you read as covers on shelves, so visitors can see your whole reading life at a glance.
Show a grid of covers on shelves, or covers with details: author, rating, and how many highlights you’ve saved. Category filters sit above the shelves, with your latest highlight and the books with the most highlights for visitors who want somewhere to start.
- Covers on shelves, or covers with details
- Category filters above the shelves
- Your latest highlight and most highlighted books
Reviews With a Star Rating
Every book can have a page of its own, with a star rating, the author and your review.
Every book has its own details, and you decide which books get a page of their own. A book without a page doesn’t link anywhere, and a book page with no review shows a “No book review available yet” note.
- A star rating from 1 to 5, in half stars
- The book’s author
- An optional review title that replaces the book title on its page
- Book pages for every book, or only for books with a review or highlights
Highlights Worth Keeping
Save passages from a book as highlights, and keep the notes and details that make them worth coming back to.
Each highlight can carry a personal note, a chapter, a page number, and topics.
- Book pages list their highlights in a numbered section
- A Highlights archive, plus an archive for each Highlight Topic
More Features
The details that round out your shelf.
Preview without leaving
A cover can open the book’s page or a popup preview. The popup shows the book’s details, a short excerpt, its latest highlight, and previous and next buttons, so people can flip through your shelf without leaving it.
A page for each highlight
Every highlight has its own page, with the book cover, previous, next and shuffle navigation, and your note.
Browse by topic
Every Highlight Topic gets its own archive, with topic filters and a timeline of highlights.
Browse by category
A category page shows one category’s books on shelves.
All Features
Everything Bookshelf adds, big and small.
Shelves of covers
Show your books as covers on shelves, or as covers with details.
Category filters
Filters above the shelves, plus a category page for each category’s books.
Popup preview
A cover can open a popup with the book’s details, an excerpt, its latest highlight, and previous and next buttons.
Star ratings
A rating from 1 to 5, in half stars, with the book’s author.
Review titles
An optional review title that replaces the book title on its page.
Book pages
Create a page for every book, or only for books with a review or highlights.
Highlights
Save passages with a personal note, a chapter, a page number, and topics.
Highlight pages
Each highlight has its own page, with the book cover and previous, next and shuffle navigation.
Highlight Topics
An archive for each topic, plus a Highlights archive.
MD → Bookshelf widget
A grid of covers in any widget area. Choose the title, number of books, books per row, and sort order.
The [book] shortcode
One book or a list of books anywhere, as covers or with excerpts.
Byline items
Book Rating, Book Author, Read Date, Highlight Count, Source Book, and Chapter/Page.
Archive sections
Highlight Spotlight and Most Highlights sections for archive pages.
Post navigation
Book covers in previous and next post navigation.
Works With Your Other Drop-ins
Bookshelf works with these Drop-ins when they’re active on your site.
Labels books you share as “book”.
Adds a book’s highlights section to its contents list.
Shows Books → Book → Highlight trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every book need its own page?
No. In Books Settings, Book Pages can create a page for every book, or only for books with a review or highlights. A book without a page doesn’t link anywhere.
Can visitors preview a book without leaving the shelf?
Yes. Set Book Action to show a popup preview. It shows the book’s details, a short excerpt, its latest highlight, and previous and next buttons.
Can I show books outside the Bookshelf page?
Yes. Use the MD → Bookshelf widget in any widget area, or the [book] shortcode to show one book or a list of books anywhere.
What do I need to run it?
MD 6.0 or later, WordPress 6.2 or later, and PHP 7.4 or later.