Whitepaper & Roadmap
Bringing back
physical reading.
BookMerang is a platform built to revive the bond between people and physical books — a connection eroded by short-form entertainment. We make it easy to exchange, discover, and share real books with real readers.
The Problem
Books are gathering dust.
TikTok, Reels, and short-form content have reshaped how people spend their time. Physical books sit unused on shelves. Readers feel disconnected from each other. Local bookstores and libraries struggle to reach new audiences.
The Solution
A place for readers.
BookMerang gives every reader a virtual room — a personalised space to showcase their library, exchange books with others, meet fellow readers in a shared Park, and support local bookstores. It turns idle books into connections.
Platform
How it works
My Room
Every reader gets a virtual room with a bookshelf, monitor, poster wall, and personal identity. It's your digital reading space.
Book Exchange
List up to 3 books you want to swap. Find readers in your city, request a trade, and meet to exchange physical copies.
The Park
Every city has its own virtual park. Walk around, discover reader profiles, browse their shelves, and initiate swaps.
Libraries & Stores
Physical bookstores and libraries can create verified profiles with a storefront inside the Park to sell directly to readers.
Spotify Integration
Connect Spotify to your room and the Park. Set the mood for visitors with your reading playlist.
Digital Store
A curated collection of posters, skins, and collectibles ($1–$3) to personalise your room. Powered by BookMerang.
Events & Fairs
Book fairs, reading contests, and seasonal events inside the Park with native camera and microphone support.
Seasonal Themes
The Park changes with the seasons — Halloween graveyards, Christmas snow, spring gardens. A living world for readers.
Ecosystem
Sustaining the platform
BookMerang sustains itself through a lightweight digital store. Items are priced between $1–$3 USD each — affordable cosmetic items that let readers personalise their rooms without creating a paywall for the core exchange experience.
Posters
$1
Wall art for your room
Skins
$1–$3
Room themes and shelf styles
Collectibles
$3
Limited edition items
Technical
Built with
Next.js 14
PostgreSQL
Prisma ORM
NextAuth JWT
Tiled Map Engine
Framer Motion
Tailwind CSS
PM2 + VPS
Credits
Team & Contributors
Jake R Delany — Concept & Development
Zoriza Stojanovich — Logo & Graphic Design
NanoBanana — Room View Assets (v1)
We're looking for designers, security engineers, support staff, and community managers. Interested? Reach out via the forum.
Roadmap
What's ahead
Define brand identity — logo by Zoriza Stojanovich, two-tone palette (bm-red + bm-black)
Build core platform: profiles, bookshelves, exchange slots, monitor overlay
Room View first version — visual assets by NanoBanana
Deploy MVP at bookmerang.org with PostgreSQL + Next.js stack
Launch forum for early community feedback
Recruit founding team — web designer, security engineer, support, community managers
Secure at least one sponsor or early investor
Replace placeholder assets with original illustrations and room designs
Optimise the platform — performance, accessibility, mobile experience
Promote book fairs and reader meetups through the platform
Launch the Park — clean, polished Tiled map with interactivity
Character avatar generation — personalised pixel avatars for every reader
Walk, explore, and interact inside the Park in real time
Seasonal templates — Halloween graveyard, Christmas snow, Spring gardens
Integrate Spotify — play music in your Room and in the Park
Launch the Store — curated digital items ($1–$3 each) for room customisation
Library & bookstore profiles — commercial spaces with a Park storefront
In-Park events — reading contests, book fairs with camera + microphone (native system)
Reader competitions and seasonal challenges with collectible rewards
Scale to new cities and regions worldwide
Join the movement.
BookMerang is open, growing, and looking for readers, creators, and collaborators.