Anyone who thought Co–Star and all its ~starstruck~ followers have no depth outside those monochrome dimensions can suck it. Beginning this Thursday, the horoscope app best known for delivering unsolicited truthpills and embellishing nonsense will also be launching…….. a dating app for self-identified readers. How’s that for having your next Deep Meaningful Conversation!?
On Friday, journalist Emily Sundberg revealed in her daily newsletter Feed Me that Co–Star will be launching Readme, an app for “people who read (or want to date people who read).” The project, spearheaded by Co–Star Founder and CEO Banu Guler and artist Emily Segal, aims to address an “existing dating app culture” that’s “profoundly broken,” per the latter. Which clearly calls for breaking it even more.
“Readme emerged from a running observation between me and Banu, that even though our friends were constantly in bookstores, we never actually saw anyone have that meme-famous ‘meet cute at a bookstore experience,’” further explained Segal. Welp. Not everyone can be Dua Lipa, I guess.
we’re launching a dating app for people who like books pic.twitter.com/n3klQ51S1P
— Banu Guler (@banu__guler) September 8, 2026
Of course, there’s some good in diversifying people’s swipe-diets with something other than Hinge, Tinder, and (the now-enshittified) Bumble. But harder to swallow is the fact that we have but one quick lap around the sun before, ahem, a “dating app for readers” enters the timeline. Moreover, we’ve probably only got a millisecond more than that before men find a way to ruin the space, too. And that’s not even dipping into how said app will also be pipelining in those that rely on a daily fix of pseudoscience (and—dare I say—pseudoastrology). Haven’t we already been through enough?
As of now, there’s no indication on what exactly the app will constitute, whether anyone can sign up, and/or how astrology will play a role—if at all. Or if, like many apps, some AI will be involved. (BTW: Co–Star was also acquired by an AI lab last month.) Even less clear is how people will be able to integrate their reads into wooing prospective partners, or even whether there’ll be any swiping involved. All we know is it’s an app for people who “read (or want to date people who read.)” So many possibilities! Why can I only imagine the worst??
Alas, because the planet’s a flaming heap of dumpster fires and I can only add more to the flames, here are a few guesses at what I think will be the best (read: worst) lines that’ll probably soon grace the app’s five walls. Enjoy.
1. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Again, no idea what exactly the interface will look like re: users’ profiles, pictures, and their biographies—but you can bet this one-liner will find some way of haunting anyone that logs in, in some shape or form.
2. Are you a reader?
Granted, it’s asshole behavior to poke fun at this question, especially in the context of Readme. But as someone who’s heard her fair share of dating app absurdities, and (unrelatedly) who worked at a café in the biggest bookshop in Europe, I can tell you this’ll usually devolve into a, “Well, the self-help book I’m currently reading is…”
3. Have you ever read The 48 Laws of Power?
OK, fine, this list is mostly about men. Oops!
4. Wanna see me on All Fours?
For the adventurous reader.
5. So… we’re on the same page.
Of course, there’ll be some souls out there ready to take a note from Callum Turner’s book (hey-o!) and recycle the line that bagged Dua Lipa’s heart all those months ago. Godspeed, friends. It’s never been more rough out there.
