The beauty of book summaries is that you can distill the key points of a book into easily digestible information. too busy to read all the books on your list? look for a summary of the book instead, so you can quickly gain insights, prepare for a meeting, or decide to buy the book. Instead of spending six to 10 hours reading a single book, you can spend a few minutes to an hour.
Time-hungry entrepreneurs, busy managers, executives, students, and others get value from book summaries. Read on as we cover the best book summary websites and resources for business people.
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what is a book summary?
When we define a book summary, we mean someone who has taken the time to read a book and create a new product called a summary. A summary is much shorter than the original book and covers key points made by the author of the book but in the words and sentences of the summary. a book summary is neither plagiarism nor a copycat pretending to be the original. rather, the abstract is his own new work, but shorter and credits the original writer for his great ideas.
where to find book summary websites
we were surprised by the number of services that provide book summaries – there are several options. but you want to know, ‘where can I find summaries of business books?’ we have answers ten of the best places to find business book summaries are:
1. get summary
getabstract is one of the big players in this industry, for good reason: it has the largest catalog, with over 20,000 abstracts. The service is aimed at the business world with categories such as management, innovation, corporate IT. getabstract claims to serve more than a third of fortune 100 organizations.
His book summaries are of high quality, although some are a bit dry. they come in seven languages, including the English language. Each summary includes a rating, conclusions, popular quotes, and an author biography. great features include the ability to highlight things, like a favorite idea or multiple sentences.
There’s a 3-day free trial and if you like it, you can subscribe for $99 a year to get 5,000 summaries. An update gives you access to all books, as well as multiple formats, including Kindle, along with Android and iOS apps.
best for: employees and managers who work in large companies. With the largest catalog of high-quality book summaries, it’s also great for people with long reading lists and Kindle users.
2. sound view
soundview predates the internet and pioneered the concept of easy-to-read 8-page text and 20-minute audio summaries. he’s another big player, and a pro plan for $199 per year gives you access to over 2,500 summaries, webinars, and newsletters. the service features corporate plans as well as individual ones, including authored webinars and advice videos.
Best For: Corporate learning and individuals looking for a continuing education platform.
3. flashing
blinkist has an extensive library of over 3,000 titles. Many topics are in the areas of career and life success, ranging from entrepreneurship to parenting to communication skills. also get highlights from featured podcasts.
a premium subscription gives you unlimited access to all titles to read and listen to voice recordings. You can highlight ideas and sync them to Evernote, as well as get the ability to download them for offline access and send to Kindle. sign up for the free daily newsletter to read one title a day for free.
Ideal For: Those who are auditory learners who want full access to a variety of non-fiction topics.
4. readitfor.me
readitfor.me is really two services in one: a virtual learning platform called actionclass and book summaries. More than a book club, Action Classes are a leadership development program that applies book themes to your own plan of action. readitforme offers a schedule of classes three times a week around a specific book. books include 36 leadership and interpersonal skills.
free book summaries have a 14-day trial. if you like the books, you can subscribe. pricing is very simple at $49 per month, or they can customize a program that allows team access at their company.
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Best For: Anyone who wants more than just filling out a reading list. If you are looking for leadership development training, give it a try to make better decisions in life.
5. summaries
summaries calls itself a lifelong learning company that provides concise information and tools, specializing in business books. has some great books: self-help classics like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and recent advice guides like Built, Not Born.
One of the best things about summaries.com is that each summary condenses a 300+ page book into eight pages. the company says its experience shows that eight pages is the ideal length for someone to grasp the main ideas. More than 1,000 works are part of its offer, which includes everything from sales books to finance books.
A subscription starting at $12 per month gets you a new weekly digest. or buy by the piece, with prices starting at $15 for five. The website also offers a free plan with shortened 5-minute snapshots in blog posts (also downloadable in PDF format). the short and free ones give you an idea; the longest ones are more complete in terms of topics and advice.
Best For: People who prefer to have a steady diet of ideas and topics doled out on a regular basis.
6. optimize
optimize.me is a resource website in the self-improvement niche. Along with motivational content and lectures from founder Brian Johnson (the “Chief Philosopher”), subscribers also get access to a section of the website called Philosopher’s Notes. If you’re looking to pick a self-help book or leadership book to learn how to improve your life and career, and want summaries, then Philosophers Notes is a great place.
You get detailed written summaries along with attached mp3 files. Examples include summaries of The Compound Effect: Boost Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy, and a lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court by John Wooden. there are even some free ones, although most are premium.
Best For: Those seeking deep insights to carve out their place in the world. this service is really part of a learning and personal development platform.
7. chart reading
Here’s an interesting concept: what if you could experience a book summary in a visual format, like an infographic? sounds crazy? It is not. readingraphics says that “ideas come to life” with their non-fiction book graphics. readingraphics offers three formats:
- infographic summary
- 10-15 page written summaries
- 20 minute audio files
Written summaries are interesting to read and highly visual with bullet points and caption boxes. you can purchase a book summary package that includes all three formats. pricing starts at $14.14 per month. or you can buy a summary of a single book starting at $9.97.
Sign up for the company newsletter to get a roundup of two of the best business books of all time, for free: Think and Grow Rich, and How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Ideal for: Visual learners and those who prefer skimming through short bullet points and callouts, rather than reading longer blocks of sentences.
8. installed
instaread covers over 1,000 books on a wide variety of topics, including politics, art, fiction, nutrition, and psychology. It gives the feel of a high-level MBA, and also offers summaries of Harvard Business Review, Kellogg Insight, and articles from the New York Times. features writing and voice, with a focus on its mobile applications. prices start at $7.49 per month. requires a credit card to obtain an advance.
Ideal For: Those who want a cosmopolitan, mba-like reading list with a wide range of current topics.
9. four minute books
fourminutebooks specializes in non-fiction books, with over 800 focused primarily on self-improvement. new summaries, which according to the service can be read in 4 minutes, come out three times a week and you can be notified via email newsletter. You can buy the PDF library for $99 or 300 audiobooks for $49. The audiobooks come in MP3 format and on SoundCloud. also offers free book summary packages.
Best For: Those who want book podcasts and/or a reminder to engage in a regular reading regimen.
10. booksummaryclub
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the booksummaryclub appears to be an affiliate site. That’s not bad, but it’s important to realize that you can get a small sample of the 140 books that the site offers, and then you’ll be referred to another site like Blinkist or InstaRead to purchase their digest. is a simple, easy-to-navigate website with books new entrepreneurs will like and other interesting content, like lists of reading aids.
ideal for: entrepreneurs who like simplicity.
alternatives to free book summaries
One great thing about book summary websites is that they not only do the job of summarizing books, but make it easy to find them all in one place, often in multiple formats. An important part of its added value is comfort. but if you don’t want to subscribe to a service, the following tools can go some way to replacing the free summaries:
11. wikipedia
The wikipedia website has thousands of pages that are equivalent to summaries of free books. You have to search for each job separately, but you can find many well-known books with their own Wikipedia pages. Books must meet Wikipedia’s notoriety standards to qualify. Although we may not call them summaries, some pages on the Wikipedia website explain the topics well. the quality varies depending on the writer of the post.
12. amazon search inside the book
Amazon’s preview feature, called In-Book Search, may partially replace free book summaries. publishers determine how much to make visible, but 20% of the book is the default. this includes the table of contents and more. While not book summaries like others on our list, this Amazon feature is a quick way to see some of the author’s work and decide whether to buy books.
13. book reviews
Book reviews help you decide whether to buy a book. Reading reviews of great books is one more way to get a rundown of the topics before spending more time or money. A typical book review will tell you the main topic and why you should read the book, the lessons it contains, a little about the author, and who would enjoy the book the most. check out our business book reviews section for over 800 reviews.
why read book summaries?
people read book summaries to:
- learn information faster and save time for other things.
- be successful in business, in life, or in school.
- sound good informed in meetings.
- create reading lists to build your team.
- get inspired to do bigger and better things.
musician frank zappa once said, “so many books, so little time.” book summaries address our reduced attention span in the information age of the internet. today some people have trouble concentrating on longer books. book summaries allow us to read more books in less time.
what makes the best book summaries?
great book summaries have simple organization. they are easy to scan, with bullet points and limited amounts of text.
For nonfiction books, the book summary offers an interpretation of the big ideas and main themes, without the reader having to do all the hard work. book summaries can be useful for book marketing or million dollar books, and much more.
consider availability in different formats. for example, you may prefer to read on a kindle, or you may be in your car a lot and need to listen to information.
with summaries you always get only part of what the original author said.
what is the ideal length of a book summary?
The ideal length of a book summary depends on reading frequency and goals. see the following considerations.
- objective: decide whether to buy a book; for this purpose, a few sentences or paragraphs may be all you need to decide if the topic interests you enough to buy the book.
- goal: to be inspired by the information and ideas: A longer summary is better if you want to learn what the author wants to say or the key issues without having to read the entire book.
- Goal: To quickly digest the Books: Some people want to read voraciously but have limited time blocks. a number of services specify how long it takes for your digests to be consumed. Whether reading, listening to book summaries over coffee at work, or using an app between appointments or at home, focus on a speed reading experience.
what formats do book summaries come in?
Traditionally, book summaries are done in writing. But the best book services today offer summaries in multiple formats, including infographics, videos, mp3 files, downloadable pdfs, epub and/or kindle e-files. The sites also provide summaries as part of the mobile apps in a phone setting so you can check your reading list at your local Starbucks instead of wasting time on social media.
summaries vs study guides: what’s the difference?
Study guides or study notes go beyond book summaries. Intended primarily for students, the guides aim to add value by providing analysis and study aids. study guides can be a 75 page pdf, or more. Options include Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, Bookrags, A-Plus Notes. Study guides like Cliff Notes tend toward classic literature like Macbeth or educational topics like biochemistry, not the latest business books. The best ones, like Spark Notes or Cliffs Notes, also offer a mobile app. teachers may also find them valuable.
image: small business trends media outlets
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