Book Counter – E-Paper & Arduino

Backstory: 

My wife reads over a hundred books a year and tracks everything on Babelio. A month ago, while scrolling on social media, she showed me a book counter, the kind where you hang little number tags. She liked the idea of having something visual in the living room. 

I wasn’t in the mood to recreate someone else’s design, and I wanted something that matched her mix of paper books & eReader reading. That’s how this project was born: 
a mini eReader embedded in a decorative bookshelf made of fake books. 

Note: The display text is in French. The display shows “Livre lu” (0 or 1 book read) or “Livres lus” (multiple books read). If you prefer another language, the text is easy to modify directly in the code. 

How it Works: 

• A base that holds two supports, where the e-paper module is placed. 

• Six fake books, with textured, printed covers bent around 3D-printed “pages” (see assembly video below). 

• All books clip onto the base for a clean visual finish. 

• A battery-powered 2.13” e-paper display shows how many books you’ve read this year. 

• The display comes with built-in buttons. No soldering needed.

Controls: 

• Short press: +1 book 

• 2sec press: –1 book 

• Reset: Turn off the display → hold the main button → turn it back on. 

Future improvement idea :

I don’t have the knowledge (yet), but the dream version would scrape your Babelio account automatically once a day (Wi-Fi on for just a few minutes to save battery). 
If you implement this, please share your code — I’d love to update the project. 

Additional Materials: 

• DFRobot 2.13” e-ink Display Module with ESP32 

  • Documentation

• LiPo Battery 1000mAh 3.7V (102050) JST-PH 2Pin 1.25mm 

  • Size: 52 x 20 x 9mm 

Technical Specifications: 

• Printer used: Prusa Core one 

• Nozzle: HF 0.4 mm (extrusion width: 0.45 mm) 

• Filaments used:  

  • Polymaker Polyterra PLA: for the colorful tops (nice matte finish) 

  • Polymaker Poylite PETG: for the structures and tools 

Printing Instructions: 

• Layer height: 0.15 mm (first: 0.2 mm) 

• 3 perimeters | 5 bottom layers (0.8 mm) | 4 top layers (0.6mm) 

• Infill: 15% Gyroid 

 Assembly Instructions: 

The easiest and most accurate method is to follow the full step-by-step assembly video