Frequently Asked Questions

How does Lewis use my history to improve recommendations?

Lewis analyzes your book shelves, notes, and preferences to provide personalized recommendations. Here's how it works:

• Your Book Shelves: Lewis analyzes all the books you've added to your shelves, including your star ratings (1-5 stars) and any notes you've written.

• Your Notes: Lewis pays special attention to your notes—not just your ratings—to understand nuanced preferences. Recent notes are given more weight than older ones, so your current reading mood influences recommendations.

• Your Preferences: When you complete onboarding, you share your favorite genres, preferred writing styles, and reading goals. This helps Lewis understand your broader reading interests from day one.

• Your Mood: When you use "Ask Lewis" and tell it what you're in the mood for, it prioritizes recommendations that match that specific interest. This allows Lewis to adapt to your current reading desires, not just your historical preferences.

• Your Feedback: When you provide thumbs up or thumbs down feedback on recommendations, Lewis learns what types of suggestions work best for you.

The more books you add, rate, and write notes about, the better Lewis understands your reading taste and the more personalized your recommendations become.

How can I customize the recommendations I get from Lewis?

Subscribers can access advanced customization options to fine-tune their recommendations:

To access Customize Recommendations:

1. Go to Settings (tap your profile icon)
2. Navigate to the Recommendations section
3. Tap "Customize Recommendations"

Customization options include:

• Favorite Authors: List authors you want to see more recommendations from
• Authors to Avoid: List authors you'd prefer not to see in recommendations
• Favorite Topics: List topics or themes you want more of (e.g., "time travel," "character-driven stories")
• Topics to Avoid: List topics or themes you'd prefer to avoid
• Custom Instructions: Provide free-form instructions for how you want recommendations tailored (e.g., "prefer standalone novels over series," "avoid books with sad endings")

All changes are saved automatically and immediately influence future recommendations.

How can I add books to my book shelf?

You can add books to your library in two ways:

1. Search for Books:

• Tap the search icon in the top right corner
• Make sure you're on the "Search" tab
• Type the book title, author name, or ISBN
• Tap on any book from the results
• Select which shelf you want to add it to

2. From Recommendations:

• Tap the search icon and switch to the "Ask Lewis" tab
• Get recommendations (see "How do I use mood-based recommendations?" below)
• Tap the plus (+) button on any recommendation
• Select which shelf you want to add it to

How can I organize my books?

You can add different shelves to create unique lists and group your books together. Create custom shelves to organize books by genre, reading goal, or any category you choose, then access them by tapping the bookshelf icon to open the drawer and switch between shelves.

How can I add and delete notes?

You can add notes to any book in your library in three ways:

1. Text Notes:

• Navigate to the book you want to add a note to
• Type your note in the text input at the bottom of the screen
• Tap the send button or press enter to save

2. Voice Notes:

• Navigate to the book
• Tap and hold the microphone button in the note input area
• Speak your note—it will be transcribed in real-time as you speak
• Release to stop recording and save
• Voice notes are perfect for capturing thoughts while reading without breaking your flow

To delete a note:

• Find the note you want to delete in the book's note list
• Tap the trash icon on the note card
• The note will be permanently deleted

Notes help Lewis understand your reading preferences and improve future recommendations. The more detailed your notes, the better Lewis can personalize suggestions for you!

How can I summarize my voice notes?

Voice notes can be summarized to create concise, easy-to-scan summaries:

To summarize a voice note:

1. Find the voice note you want to summarize (voice notes are marked with a "Voice" tag)
2. Tap the sparkle icon (✨) on the voice note card
3. Lewis will generate a 1-2 sentence summary that captures the key points and insights
4. You can toggle between viewing the full transcription and the summary

Summaries are particularly useful for longer voice notes, making it easier to quickly review your thoughts about a book. The summary preserves your key points and emotional reactions while removing transcription artifacts like filler words or incomplete thoughts.

How do I see my past recommendations?

You can view your complete recommendation history:

To access past recommendations:

1. Go to Settings (tap your profile icon)
2. Navigate to the Recommendations section
3. Tap "Past Recommendations"

What you can do:

• View all past recommendation sets organized by date
• See which recommendations you've already added to your library
• Add recommendations to your library that you missed before
• Provide feedback (thumbs up or thumbs down) on past recommendations to help Lewis learn your preferences
• Load more recommendations by tapping "Load more" at the bottom

This history helps you rediscover great recommendations and provides feedback to improve future suggestions.

How can I share my book recommendations with others?

You can share both individual recommendations and books from your library:

To share:

1. Find the book or recommendation you want to share
2. Tap the share button (on recommendation cards or book details)
3. Optionally add your name for sharing, if you haven't already done so
4. Tap share to open your device's native share sheet

What gets shared:

• A beautiful shareable link that opens a web page
• Book cover, title, and author
• Lewis's personalized insight explaining why the book was recommended (for recommendations)
• Your name (if you added it)
• Links to purchase the book on various platforms

The share page makes it easy for friends to discover books you love. Recipients don't need the Lewis app to view your shared recommendations.

NOTE: Your name is only used for generating the shareable link, and is fully optional.

How do I rate books?

Rating books helps Lewis understand your preferences:

To rate a book:

1. Navigate to the book you want to rate
2. Tap the star rating below the book cover
3. Select 1 to 5 stars (1 = didn't like, 5 = loved it)
4. Your rating is saved automatically

Ratings inform Lewis's recommendation algorithm, helping it understand which books resonated with you and why. Combined with your notes, ratings provide a complete picture of your reading preferences.

How do I set when I finished reading a book?

Tracking when you started and finished reading helps you see your reading timeline:

To set dates:

1. Navigate to the book
2. Look for the date options below the book details
3. Tap "Set start date" to record when you began reading
4. Tap "Set finished date" to record when you completed the book
5. Choose the date and save

Display logic:

• Books with no dates show "Set start date"
• Books with a start date but no finished date show the start date and "Set finished date"
• Books with a finished date show only the finished date

This helps you:

• See your reading timeline when sorting by dates
• Track your reading pace and patterns
• Remember when you read specific books

How do I rename or delete books?

To rename a book:

1. Navigate to the book you want to rename (swipe through your bookshelf)
2. Long press on the book cover
3. Select "Rename" from the menu
4. Enter your custom name and save

To delete a book:

1. Navigate to the book you want to delete
2. Long press on the book cover
3. Select "Delete" from the menu
4. Confirm the deletion

Important: Deleting a book will also permanently delete all notes associated with that book. This action cannot be undone, so make sure you want to remove the book and all its notes before confirming.

How do I provide feedback on recommendations?

Providing feedback helps Lewis learn what types of suggestions work best for you:

To provide feedback:

• When viewing recommendations (in "Ask Lewis" or "Past Recommendations")
• Tap the thumbs up (👍) button if you like a recommendation
• Tap the thumbs down (👎) button if you don't like a recommendation
• Your feedback is saved and influences future recommendations

You can provide feedback on:

• Current recommendations in the "Ask Lewis" tab
• Past recommendations in your recommendation history

The more feedback you provide, the better Lewis understands your preferences and the more accurate future suggestions become.

How do I use mood-based recommendations?

Mood-based recommendations let you get suggestions tailored to what you're in the mood for right now:

To use mood-based recommendations:

1. Tap the search icon in the top right corner
2. Switch to the "Ask Lewis" tab
3. Type what you're in the mood for (e.g., "something light and funny," "a thought-provoking mystery," "an emotional coming-of-age story")
4. Or tap one of the suggested interest buttons
5. Tap the microphone or submit button to get recommendations

How it works:

• Lewis prioritizes recommendations that match your current mood or interest
• It considers your mood context along with your reading history
• Recent reading activity is weighted more heavily when matching your mood
• You can ask for recommendations multiple times with different moods

This feature is perfect for when you want something specific—whether you're in the mood for fast-paced thrillers, slow literary fiction, or anything in between.

What are the benefits of upgrading to Lewis Unlimited?

Lewis Unlimited provides enhanced features for avid readers:

• Unlimited Recommendations: Get as many personalized book recommendations as you want, whenever you want. No balance limits or restrictions.

• Customize Recommendations: Access advanced customization options including favorite authors, authors to avoid, favorite topics, topics to avoid, and custom instructions. Fine-tune how Lewis tailors recommendations to your exact preferences.

How do I cancel my subscription?

Subscriptions are managed through your device's settings, not within the Lewis app:

On iOS:

1. Open Settings
2. Tap your name at the top
3. Tap "Subscriptions"
4. Find "Lewis" in your list
5. Tap "Cancel Subscription"

Important: Your subscription will remain active until the end of your current billing period. You'll continue to have access to Lewis Unlimited features until that date, even after canceling.

Still Need Help?

If you couldn't find the answer you're looking for, please don't hesitate to reach out.