BookWebsite is a modern, full-stack platform for authors to publish and update their books continuously and for readers to enjoy a seamless, lightweight reading experience. The platform uses a "Netflix-style" tiered data loading approach to ensure fast browsing even with a large library.

⚠️ Status: This project is currently in active development.

• Backend: Built with FastAPI (Python), providing a high-performance asynchronous API.
• Database: MongoDB for flexible document storage of books, authors, and reader profiles.
• Frontend: Built with Next.js 14 (React), TypeScript, and Vanilla CSS for a clean, "book-like" aesthetic.
• Infrastructure: Fully containerized using Docker and Docker Compose.

• Tiered Data Loading: Browse books using "Card View" (titles/images only) for maximum speed. Full content is only loaded when you start reading.
• Chapter System: Books are organized into chapters, allowing for organized reading and efficient data retrieval.
• Author Panel: Dedicated space for authors to create books, manage biographies, and publish new chapters.
• Reader Lists: Readers can save books to their "Favorites", "Currently Reading", or "Finished" lists.
• Cloud Seeding: Includes a utility script to seed the database with real book data from the Open Library API.

• Docker Desktop (Must be installed and running)
• Git

Recommended for users who just want to run the website without looking at the code.

This method pulls pre-built, production-ready images directly from our GitHub Container Registry (GHCR).

1. Download the Docker Compose file:

   # Create a directory for the project and enter it
   mkdir book-website && cd book-website
   
   # Download the compose file
   curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nzouh/BookWebsite/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml

2. Pull the latest images:

   docker compose pull

3. Start the application:

   docker compose up

4. Verify services:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8000

Recommended for developers who want to modify the code or contribute.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Nzouh/BookWebsite.git
   cd BookWebsite

2. Build and start:

   docker compose up --build

3. Seed the database (Optional): If you want to quickly populate the site with books:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   python scripts/seed_books.py

This project uses GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment.

• Automated Builds: Every push to the main branch triggers a workflow that builds and pushes new Docker images to GHCR.
• Image Registry: You can find all published images at github.com/Nzouh/BookWebsite/pkgs.
• Testing: A dedicated docker-compose.test.yml is available to simulate the production environment locally by pulling the latest images and running tests.

One of the most exciting upcoming features is the Context-Aware AI Assistant.

When reading a book, users often encounter complex terms or forget character details from previous chapters. You will be able to ask an AI assistant for help while reading.

Using Redis for high-speed context lookup, the AI will be engineered with a "Knowledge Guard":

• Spoiler Prevention: The AI only "knows" what the reader has already read. If a reader asks a question about a character while on Chapter 2, the AI will not reveal information from Chapter 10.
• Book-Specific Knowledge: The AI helps with definitions but focuses on the story's internal logic and character relationships based on the current progress level.

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.