The Ultimate 2023 Guide to Blinkist: Summaries and Reviews of Popular Books

Are you an avid reader who struggles to find time to read all your favorite books? Do you wish you could read faster and more effectively? Look no further than Blinkist! This app provides summaries and reviews of popular books to help you get the key takeaways in just a fraction of the time.

In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about Blinkist, including its features, cost, pros and cons, and more. By the end, you'll be a Blinkist expert and able to decide if it's the right tool for you.

What is Blinkist?

Blinkist is a mobile and web-based app that provides book summaries and reviews of popular books. It offers over 3,000 titles in various categories, including business, personal development, health, and more. Blinkist's mission is to help people get access to the most important ideas from the world's best non-fiction books.

How Does Blinkist Work?

To use Blinkist, simply download the app from the App Store or Google Play or visit their website. Once you create an account, choose a book from Blinkist's library and read its summaries.

Blinkist breaks down books into 15-20 minutes summaries, so you can easily understand the takeaways from any book. It also offers audio summaries and full-text versions, so you can read or listen based on your preference.

Blinkist Features

Library

Blinkist has over 3,000 titles in its library, covering various disciplines such as psychology, science, economics, health, history, and more. Regardless of your interests, you'll find a book on Blinkist that caters to your needs.

Tip: Search for books on Blinkist by keyword, title, author, or category.

Personalization

Blinkist allows you to personalize your reading based on your interests. Once you create an account, you can take a quick quiz that it provides to better curate your reading list.

Tip: Add books to your reading list and Blinkist will suggest related book summaries that you might find interesting.

Audio Version

Blinkist offers an audio version for most of the book summaries, making it easy for you to listen to them on-the-go. Whether you're commuting, doing chores, or just want to consume information without reading, the audio feature is perfect for you.

Tip: Adjust play speed to slow it down or speed it up based on your preference.

Highlighting

Blinkist allows you to highlight key takeaways from summaries and review later in the "Highlights" section. This feature is useful for future reference or sharing with friends.

Tip: You can tag your highlights with keywords for faster access later.

Read the Full Book

For some titles, Blinkist offers a full-text reading option in addition to summaries. This is useful when you want to read the full version of a book that interests you.

Tip: Check Blinkist's 'Full-Text' section for books that have full-text versions available.

Blinkist App: The Mobile Experience

Blinkist's mobile app is the easiest way to access and use its services.

User Interface

Blinkist's mobile app is very user friendly. Its design is clean and intuitive, making it easy for users to navigate the app.

Subscription Management

The mobile app allows you to manage your Blinkist subscription. You can update your subscription plan, such as upgrading to Premium, view your billing history, and cancel your subscription.

Offline Reading

Blinkist's mobile app allows you to read or listen to summaries and full-text versions offline. This is incredibly useful when you're traveling or have limited internet connectivity.

Blinkist Web Service

If you prefer accessing Blinkist via your laptop or desktop, you can also use its web service.

User Interface

The web service has a similar interface to the mobile app, making it easy for users to navigate.

Subscription Management

You can manage your subscription and billing information through the web service. You can also update your account settings, such as email and password.

Book Catalog

The web service has a full catalog of titles, similar to the mobile app. However, it doesn't have all the same features as the mobile app, such as highlighting and offline reading.

How Much Does Blinkist Cost?

Blinkist offers two subscription plans: Free and Premium.

Free Plan

With the free plan, you have limited access to Blinkist's library. You can access one pre-selected title per day and read the summary only.

Premium Plan

The Premium plan costs $15/month, or $80/year. It offers access to all the titles in Blinkist's library, full-text versions of its summaries, audio versions of summaries, and personalized recommendations based on your interests.

Tip: Blinkist occasionally offers discounts to new users. Visit Blinkist's website and check if any discounts are available.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Provides access to the most important ideas from top books
• Saves time by providing summaries
• Provides personalized recommendations based on interests
• Offers audio summaries and full-text versions.
• User-friendly mobile app interface
• Offers offline reading and highlighting feature

Cons

• Doesn't provide access to all information in the book
• Summaries may not cover all aspects of the book
• Some books may not have audio summaries or full-text versions

Blinkist for Teams

Blinkist offers a team subscription plan that allows businesses to provide Blinkist's services to their employees.

Features

• Access to the entire library
• Personalized recommendations based on employee's interests
• "Team View" feature allows teams to see what their members are reading and highlight
• Billing and user management options

Pricing

Blinkist's team subscription plan costs $200/team member/year. Contact the Blinkist sales team for customized quotes and bulk discounts.

Common Misconceptions About Blinkist

Misconception #1: Blinkist Summaries Can Replace Reading Entire Books

Whilst Blinkist's summaries provide a good overview of a book's essential information, they can in no way replace the experience of reading a book in its entirety. The summaries may not cover all the aspects of the book, and some critical information may be missed out.

Misconception #2: Blinkist is Free

Blinkist does offer a free plan. However, it is incredibly limited in terms of access and functionality. If you want full access to Blinkist's feature set, you need to subscribe to their premium plan.

Misconception #3: Blinkist is for Busy People Only

Many people think Blinkist is for busy people only who want to save time. However, anyone can benefit from Blinkist's services. It's a perfect tool for those who want to consume new information quickly and effectively.

Quick Tips and Facts

• Blinkist offers summaries and reviews of over 3,000 books
• Blinkist has a library of non-fiction titles across various categories
• Audio versions are available for most book summaries on Blinkist
• Blinkist's premium version provides full-text summaries and recommendations
• Blinkist's user interface is very user-friendly and easy to navigate

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Blinkist do?

Blinkist provides summaries and reviews of popular non-fiction books, making it easier for readers to get the main takeaways in a fraction of the time. It also provides personalized recommendations based on the user's interests.

Does Apple really recommend Blinkist?

Yes, Blinkist has been recommended by Apple's App Store editorial team multiple times and was named one of Apple's "Apps We Love."

Is Blinkist free?

Blinkist offers a free plan that provides limited access to its library. To access all the features, you need to subscribe to its premium plans.

Our Verdict

Blinkist is an excellent tool for readers who want to consume new information quickly and effectively. It's especially convenient for busy people who don't have time to read full books but still want to stay up-to-date with the latest ideas. Although it can't replace reading entire books, it provides a great overview of the main takeaways. The app's audio summaries make it a perfect pocket companion for people on-the-go.

Based on our review, we recommend Blinkist to anyone who wants to save time and consume new information effectively. Try it out for yourself, and you might be surprised at how much you can learn.

References

1. Blinkist Website
2. Blinkist on the App Store
3. Blinkist on Google Play
4. ["The Ultimate 2023 Blinkist Review: 5+ Years of Testing" by Levon S.
   Wojciechowski] (https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/millennial-money-en)