Reading more books is a popular New Year‘s resolution for many people. But actually keeping up with what you‘ve read and still want to read can quickly become challenging. That‘s where book tracking apps come in handy.
Book tracking apps allow you to easily catalog the books you‘ve finished, are currently reading, and want to read in the future. Beyond just creating lists, the best apps provide insights into your reading habits over time. Some will even recommend new books based on your preferences.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover the top 12 book tracking apps available in 2023 along with key information to help you decide which one best matches your needs.
Top Book Tracking Apps
Here are 12 fantastic options for keeping your reading life organized:
1. Goodreads
Goodreads reigns supreme when it comes to book tracking and cataloging. With over 100 million members, it‘s the world‘s largest site for readers and book recommendations.
Goodreads lets you shelve and rate books you‘ve read, get suggestions on what to read next, join online book clubs, follow friends to see their reviews, and more. It‘s available as a website and mobile app on both iOS and Android.
Key Features:
- Shelve and rate books
- Get personalized recommendations
- Join groups and discussions
- Available on web, iOS and Android
2. Bookly
While Goodreads focuses on cataloging, Bookly takes a more active approach to tracking your actual reading progress over time. Think of Bookly as your own personal reading coach.
Bookly‘s key feature is its built-in timer that records your reading sessions. You simply tap to start when you open your book and stop reading. Over time, Bookly provides helpful statistics like your average pace, best reading day, total pages, and fastest speed.
The basic app is free on both iOS and Android. A paid Bookly Pro subscription unlocks additional analytics.
Key Features:
- Track reading speed and time
- Set goals and view progress
- Get reading habit statistics
- iOS and Android apps
3. Basmo
Basmo bills itself as the reading tracker for bookworms. It focuses squarely on helping avid readers take their habits to the next level through progress tracking and statistics.
You can log the books you‘re reading or want to read, record pages read per session, set future reading goals, export data, and more. Quotes and fun facts related to reading also provide extra encouragement along the way.
Basmo offers iOS and Android apps with a free version covering all key features.
Key Features:
- Track reading sessions by time and pages
- Set and monitor reading goals
- Collect motivational quotes
- Free version available
- iOS and Android compatible
4. Turn
For those who want a simple and intuitive design, Turn is a great choice. It allows you to easily track books you own, books you‘re currently reading, books you‘ve finished, and more.
Turn also lets you record the specific start and finish date for each book. An integrated timer shows how long you‘ve spent reading. Notes can also be added for quick thoughts or favorite passages you want to save.
This book tracker app is available on both iOS and Android. The free version includes unlimited book tracking.
Key Features:
- Track reading time for each book
- Record start and finish dates
- Save notes and favorite quotes
- Minimalist interface
- iOS and Android availability
5. Bookshelf
Bookshelf aims to be your virtual library accessible anywhere at any time. It makes cataloging your home library effortless.
The app automatically imports key metadata like title, author, genre, rating, and more by simply scanning each book‘s barcode with your phone‘s camera. Custom virtual shelves help keep your growing collection organized just how you like.
Bookshelf also enables lending books to friends and family to keep track of whos got what. Its available as a free download for iOS and Android devices.
Key Features:
- Scan barcodes to import books
- Create custom virtual shelves
- Lend books to others
- Syncs across devices
- iOS and Android apps
6. Luna
For an easy yet powerful reading tracking experience, Luna hits the right notes. It enables you to easily build personalized bookshelves, set reading goals, record stats over time, and more.
Luna breaks down detailed statistics like average pages per minute, percentage of yearly goal achieved, longest single session, total hours read, and more. Charts help visualize progress and relative speed compared to other Luna users.
This free book and reading tracker is available on both iOS and Android platforms. For hardcore bookworms, Luna provides premium subscription plans to unlock more metrics.
Key Features:
- Detailed reading statistics
- Set and monitor reading goals
- Visual charts and graphs
- Social features to share shelves
- iOS and Android apps
7. Libib
Libib takes book tracking to the next level by serving as a complete media management platform for your entire library across books, music, movies and games.
It focuses heavily on cataloging by enabling advanced tools like CSV import, barcode scanning, cover art imports, custom fields, tags, virtual shelves, and more. Libib also makes sharing and accessing your catalog easy online.
While primarily a web app, Libib is also available mobile apps for iOS and Android. The free version supports 100 items while premium plans enable unlimited entries and advanced permissions.
Key Features:
- Track books, music, movies and games
- Robust cataloging and organization
- Accessible via web and mobile
- Custom pricing plans
- iOS and Android apps
8. Litsy
Litsy is a bit different than other book tracking apps in focusing more on the social experience. At its core, Litsy aims to be the Instagram for readers.
You can post shots of book covers you‘re reading, favorite quotations, reviews, and general thoughts. Follow friends and popular profiles to see a stream of what they‘re reading too. Use hashtags to discover different genres.
Litsy is currently only available on iOS but an Android version is under development. The apps basic features are free to use for everyone.
Key Features:
- Social feed of community reading updates
- Post reviews, covers, quotes and thoughts
- Discover reading recommendations
- iOS app only (Android version in progress)
9. StoryGraph
For getting highly personalized reading suggestions, StoryGraph stands out from the pack. Its book taste profiling and recommendations engine is one of the best around.
StoryGraph maps your unique tastes based on books you‘ve loved—or hated—in the past across various attributes like tone, theme, mood, pace and more. Suggestions adapt as you log and rate even more books over time.
Beyond just algorithms, StoryGraph facilitates engaging with fellow readers by allowing direct conversations and commentary on books. Apps for both iOS and Android are available.
Key Features:
- Gets to know your reading tastes
- Personalized recommendations
- Social features to engage other readers
- iOS and Android apps
10. LibraryThing
True to its name, LibraryThing focuses on giving you the most robust tools possible to catalog your home library. It also doubles as a social network connecting you to over 2.5 million other book lovers.
LibraryThing allows you to list, tag and review the books you own. Others can browse your library for ideas and engage in discussion groups focused on different genres. A basic account supports 200 books for free.
Mobile apps complement the website to give you LibraryThing access on-the-go. These helpful companions come equipped on both iOS and Android platforms.
Key Features:
- Catalog personal library collections
- Connect with fellow book lovers
- Robust tagging and metadata
- iOS and Android mobile apps
11. BookBuddy
As an easy-to-use book manager, BookBuddy helps you keep reading lists and loan records at your fingertips. It streamlines adding books through ISBN lookup, barcode scanning, manual entry and even full CSV database imports.
BookBuddy also facilitates sharing books with friends. The app tracks who you‘ve loaned items out to and when. Give the BookBuddy browser extension a spin too for easily adding books from Amazon or Goodreads.
While BookBuddy offers iOS and Android apps, the core cataloging experience resides on the web. A free lite version supports 50 books while premium plans unlock unlimited entries and advanced tools.
Key Features:
- Add books quickly through scans and search
- Lend books to friends
- Browser extension available
- Primarily a web app
- Also on iOS
12. Bookmory
Sometimes simple is best when it comes to design. That‘s what Bookmory believes. Its streamlined interface cuts out the fluff and focuses strictly on effective book tracking.
You can quickly log books as you start reading them, record pages covered per session, time spent, notes and favorites quotes. Ongoing statistics reveal total pages and percentage completed across all books.
Lists can be created to organize titles into read, reading, or to-read status. Bookmory comes equipped for iOS and Android to support mobile reading on-the-go. And its entirely free.
Key Features:
- Simple and intuitive tracking
- View real-time reading statistics
- Create organized reading lists
- Completely free to use
- iOS and Android apps
Benefits of Book Tracking Apps
Now that you have a better sense of the top book tracking apps available, you might be wondering why bother using one in the first place?
Here are 5 compelling benefits:
-
Helps Achieve Reading Goals – Apps that track reading time, completion rates, year-to-date totals and more keep you motivated and on pace.
-
Get Personalized Recommendations – Advanced algorithms suggest new books you‘ll hopefully love based on past preferences.
-
Remember Details Better – Logging thoughts and favorite passages right in the app helps jog your memory even years later.
-
Discover New Titles – Social features let you browse books your friends are reading and loving to uncover hidden gems.
-
Take Your Library Anywhere – With your collection cataloged electronically, searching and browsing your library is now mobile.
As you can see, there are quite a few advantages to utilizing a dedicated book tracking platform. But getting the most out of any app requires knowing how to use it properly.
How to Use a Book Tracking App
The first step is choosing the right book tracking app for your needs. Take some time to explore multiple options first before jumping right in.
Once signed up, most apps share common workflows to add, organize, track, and engage with your ever expanding library. Here are helpful guidelines for new users:
Organizing Books into Lists
Nearly all book apps allow creating custom shelves or lists to categorize titles. Follow these tips for easy organization:
- Tap "My Books" then locate "Book Collections" or "Lists"
- Tap the "+" icon to add a new bookshelf
- Name your list then start adding books!
- Sort books on shelves by author, title, genre etc.
With an organizational scheme that makes sense for you, keeping track of your reading will be much easier.
Tracking All Books You‘ve Read
Most avid readers struggle remembering every past book they flew through over the years. Book apps solve this by making tracking a breeze:
- When finishing a book, navigate to its details screen
- Look for "Mark as Read" or toggle switch indicating its status
- The book then shows up in your "Read" or "Completed" list
And thats it! Now you‘ll have an automatic log of every book you read going forward.
Over time, seeing all your completed books accumulate is tremendously gratifying. It serves as visible proof of the consistent reader you‘ve become.
Choosing the Best Book Tracking App
With so many impressive book tracking apps now available, deciding on just one can feel overwhelming for some readers.
To determine the best match for your needs, keep these evaluation criteria in mind as you explore different options:
- Does the app track the metrics most important to your reading goals?
- What limitations exist between the free vs paid app versions?
- Do you want social and community features or purely solo tracking?
- Is the app easy and enjoyable enough to use daily?
By prioritizing core features, budget, social interactivity and user experience during testing, you‘ll know which book app feels right over longer term usage.
Don‘t rush this discovery phase. Download multiple apps, play around watching tutorial videos, and give each extended evaluation time before deciding. This will pay dividends by matching you with the optimal book tracker.
Keep Track of Your Reading With Ease
Reading more books is among the most popular personal goals out there. Yet accomplishing continual progress at scale can prove challenging amidst life‘s steady distractions.
This is where a purpose-built book tracking app steps in to help. Cataloging lists of what you‘ve read and want to read saves tremendous mental strain. Advanced algorithms even recommend your next great book automatically.
So give one of these top-rated book tracking apps above an earnest try. Consistently logging titles over the coming weeks and months will unlock helpful insights into your tastes and habits over time. Just remember to keep the app updated after each book finishes!
With your newfound personal librarian working steadily behind the scenes, hitting ambitious reading targets will feel smoother than ever. More importantly, you‘ll grow into an even happier and well-read person along the journey.
