Apps · The Paperback Collection
Six quiet apps, together.
The Paperback Collection is a set of single-purpose apps for iPhone with a shared paperback aesthetic: warm cream paper, serif typography, restrained motion. Each app does one thing well and gets out of the way.
No subscriptions. No notifications. No streaks. No analytics. No accounts. Whatever you buy is yours to keep, like a small book.
The four-app bundle: $7.99 on the App Store.
The apps
What they share
- No subscriptions. Paid once and kept, except Tallies, which is free to start with a single one-time unlock.
- No analytics, no tracking, no third-party SDKs.
- Quiet on purpose. No push notifications, no streaks.
- The same paperback design language: serif type, warm cream paper, calm amber accents.
- On Apple devices, your data syncs privately via iCloud. On Android, it stays on the phone.
Common questions
What is the Paperback Collection?
Six quiet, single-purpose apps for iPhone from sthreelabs (Tallies and A Spell of Work are also on Android): Tallies (habit tracker), One Line in Time (journal), A Spell of Work (focus timer), A Deep Breath (breathing), A Place Recalled (ambient field recordings of meaningful places), and Until Arrival (a quiet flight tracker for the person at home). Each app does one thing well, with no notifications, no streaks, and no engagement loops.
Are the apps free or paid?
Tallies is free to start, with a one-time $4.99 unlock; most of the others are $2.99 one-time on the App Store. The first four (Tallies, One Line in Time, A Spell of Work, and A Deep Breath) are also available together as a $7.99 App Store bundle, four dollars off the individual prices. A Place Recalled is sold individually for $2.99. Until Arrival is $4.99 individually, priced higher because it relies on a paid real-time flight-data feed. Both will join the bundle in a future update. No subscriptions and no ads; the Tallies unlock is the only in-app purchase. On Google Play, Tallies and A Spell of Work are sold separately. Whatever you buy, you keep.
Do the apps collect data?
No. On Apple devices, all apps process data on-device, sync via your private iCloud account, and use no third-party SDKs, no analytics, and no telemetry. The Android versions keep data on the phone, with no analytics either. There is no account to create.
Do they work without an internet connection?
Yes, apart from Until Arrival, which needs a connection to fetch flight updates. Otherwise internet is only needed for optional iCloud sync between your own Apple devices.
What is the paperback aesthetic?
All Paperback Collection apps share a visual language inspired by paperback books: warm cream paper backgrounds, serif typography, restrained motion, and a quiet feel. Each app is its own object, but they rhyme as a family.
The collection together
The first four apps (Tallies, One Line in Time, A Spell of Work, and A Deep Breath) are available as a single App Store bundle. $7.99, four dollars under the price of buying each individually.
A Place Recalled ($2.99) and Until Arrival ($4.99) are currently sold individually. They will be added to the bundle in a future update.