Bookends

A powerful reference manager for Mac and iOS

Image credit: Unsplash

For a long time, I managed refernces on a per project basis. This made writing difficult and I would often loss papers. Over time, I discovered reference managers. I tried several and settled on Papers. It worked well but was eventually sold and it became a mess.

I started looking for a new manager. I tried several including Mendeley, Sente, Zotero, and Endnotes. None of these fit what I was looking for. I then discovered Bookends by Sonny Software

When I initially looked into Bookends, I thought their website looked like a throwback to the 90’s. Before moving on, I decided to check frequency of software updates and to look up software reviews. I found that Bookends is updated regularly and it’s various features are evolving. I also discovered that Bookends is available for iOS which was a huge plus. Doing a quick search, I was also able to find that Bookends has numerous positive reviews. Overall, users were extremely positive. I decided to dive in and give Bookends a try.

I had sent initial issues figuring out the Bookends workflow but quickly found my way. I decided to go all in and buy the iOS apps. It should be noted that Bookends is now subscription based. For me it is a no brainer.

I have now owned Bookends for several years and I used it regularly. Bookends on both Mac and iOS were key to the completion of my dissertation. I can rest assured that all of the key references are stored and cataloged in Bookends.

Michael J. Wilson
Michael J. Wilson
Specializing in “What Not to Do” since 1972

My interests include GIS, 3D Printing (3DP), Machine Learning, and Productivity.