I’ve always wanted to build something that blends technology with a bit of social impact. AmCitit.ro (which means “I’ve read” in Romanian) started from a simple idea — a platform where Romanian readers can list the books they’ve read and make them available for local borrowing.
It’s a small step toward promoting reading and sharing in a country where books are often treated as personal treasures rather than something to circulate in the community.
💡 The Idea Behind AmCitit.ro
I wanted to make reading more social.
The goal wasn’t just to create another book-tracking app, but to help people connect locally through books.
Users can:
- List the books they own
- Mark the ones they’re open to lend
- Discover what others nearby are reading
It’s about building small communities around shared stories — because reading becomes more powerful when it’s shared.
⚙️ Tech Stack & Why I Chose It
This was my first complete project built with Next.js, and it turned out to be the perfect learning playground.
- Next.js — gave me both a fast frontend and the flexibility to build an API layer in the same codebase.
- Tailwind CSS — made styling fun again. Writing UI logic directly in markup helped me iterate much faster.
- PostgreSQL — a solid choice for structured relational data and long-term scalability.
- Vercel — made deployment ridiculously simple. Connecting my GitHub repo, pushing a commit, and seeing the app live within seconds felt like magic.
Along the way, I learned a lot about:
- Managing environment variables safely
- Handling database migrations
- Keeping deployment pipelines clean and automated
All the things that used to intimidate me suddenly made sense once I had a real project to build.
🧠 What I Learned
Working on AmCitit.ro pushed me to:
- Focus on shipping fast, not overthinking every detail.
- See how UI and UX decisions directly affect user engagement.
- Appreciate the importance of simple, maintainable architecture early in a project.
It also reminded me how satisfying it is to build something meaningful — even if it’s small.
🚀 What’s Next
I’m planning to expand the platform with:
- A local community feed for readers
- AI-powered book recommendations and summaries
- A mobile app built in Flutter for iOS and Android
The long-term goal: turn AmCitit.ro into the go-to platform for Romanian readers who want to share, borrow, and talk about books.
🧩 Tech Stack Summary
| Category | Technology | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend / Backend | Next.js | Hybrid framework, great DX |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS | Speed and consistency |
| Database | PostgreSQL | Reliable relational data |
| Deployment | Vercel | Zero-config hosting for Next.js |
| Language | TypeScript | Type safety and clarity |
✨ Final Thoughts
This project wasn’t just about learning a new stack — it was about understanding how technology becomes meaningful when it solves real problems.
If you’re a developer thinking about starting something similar, don’t wait for the perfect idea or the perfect moment.
Just start building.
You’ll learn everything you need along the way.
You can check out the live platform here → AmCitit.ro