Read/Listen/Watch
A customizable sidebar plugin/widget to display what you're reading, listening to, and watching; with links to Amazon.
Consider an alternative
Read/Listen/Watch shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 15 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 15 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 3.0 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Read/Listen/Watch stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| amazon | >100 |
| listen | >100 |
| listening | >100 |
| read | >100 |
| reading | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Read/Listen/Watch
From the official readme · v2.1.2Description
This plugin will provide a customizable display along your sidebar for items which you are reading, listening to, and watching. There is a minimum of one item displayed required, but you are not limited to only one of each “type” (i.e. you can list two items reading, one listening, and none watching – or any combination!). In addition, this plugin was initially developed for me and my family to use concurrently, so different “owners” can be specified (“Joe is reading…”, “Mary is reading…”, etc). Content is created and maintained via the Settings panel.
Other features include:
- If an ASIN is provided, listed items are linked to their respective Amazon detail pages. In addition, if an Amazon Assoicates ID is provided, it will be appended to the link.
- Display options are configurable, via the Widget panel.
- If desired, an RSS feed is provided of items listed; when enabled the feed is linked from an icon adjascent to the widget title.
Installation
General
Download the zip file, unzip it, and copy the “read-listen-watch” folder to your plugins directory. Then activate it from your plugin panel (if you are upgrading, deactivate and then reactivate). After successful activation, “Read/Listen/Watch” will appear in your “Settings” menu and “Widgets” control panel.
Go to the “Widgets” control panel first and take a look at the default options, which for many people will not require any changes.
Now go to the “Settings” menu to add your content. Add items one at a time; updates and deletes can be performed to multiple items at once. The date field for each item is used for the optional RSS feed. It is important that the format of this field is not changed – as is, it conforms to the RSS 2.0 specification for GMT dates.
This plugin stores its data in the WordPress “options” database table. Two rows will be created: one for each serialized object corresponding to item content and widget configuration.
FYI
There is moderate use of the “htmlspecialchars” function throughout this plugin, including the “double_encode” parameter which wasn’t introduced until PHP 5.2.3. I’ve done my best to run PHP version checks, but if you’re running below PHP 5.2.3, be wary of HTML entity usage in any user, title, or author fields. You might experience some unusual [double] encoding behavior. If so, do not explicity type out entities – count on plugin code to encode entities for you (e.g. just type “&” – the plugin will convert it appropriately).
Changelog
No updates at this time.
2.1.2
Updated donate/home URL. Cleaned up some RSS formatting.
2.1.1
Cleaner display/formatting on admin settings. FIRST PUBLIC RELEASE.
2.1
Handle multiple deletes.
2.0.2
Better indicators and catches for required and optional fields.
2.0.1
Minor formatting changes, code cleanup. Lowered content admin permissions from “manage_options” to level 6 (Editor role).
2.0
Complete rewrite to conform with plugin development standards in preparation for first public release.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Read/Listen/Watch alternatives
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FAQ
Read/Listen/Watch: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 2, 2026
Is Read/Listen/Watch free?
Yes. Read/Listen/Watch is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Read/Listen/Watch safe to use in 2026?
Read/Listen/Watch shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 15 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Read/Listen/Watch?
Read/Listen/Watch is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,812 times since it launched in April 2010. It was downloaded 43 times in the last 30 days.
Does Read/Listen/Watch work with WordPress 7.1?
Read/Listen/Watch is officially tested up to WordPress 3.0.5, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Read/Listen/Watch last updated?
The latest version, 2.1.2, was released on April 19, 2011 (15 years ago).
Who makes Read/Listen/Watch?
Read/Listen/Watch is developed and maintained by sahearn.
What are the best alternatives to Read/Listen/Watch?
The most popular alternatives to Read/Listen/Watch are Advanced Ads (100K+ installs), WP Offload Media Lite for A… (30K+ installs) and Amazon Pay for WooCommerce (10K+ installs).
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