If you’re anything like me, you dove head first into a reading goal without a single thought beyond, “That sounds like a good number,” and now, half a dozen books and two months down the road, you’ve realized that not only do you not remember anything about the plot of the first book you read, but you’re not actually sure who the author was.
Finding a way to track your reading is a quick and easy solution, but not all methods are created equal. I’ve got a breakdown of five of the most popular apps that work for both iOs and Android, one tracking-adjacent app, and two non-app tracking methods.
Bookly
Bookly is a habit driven book tracker.
Bookly was built for the purpose of making a reading habit fun! Their mascot, Bloo, is a personal assistant who will recommend books based on your preferences, offer personalized suggestions for habit building, generate reports with your stats, and level up as you log hours in the app! It also has little outfits you can buy with reading rewards.
Tracking can be done through manual recording of pages or through an in app timer that runs while you read. Ratings include the basic star system (with half stars) and a variety of “extra ratings,” including fluff, predictability, spice, humor, and nine more.
Extra tracking features include a character log to describe the cast of the book, a quote log to stash your favorite quotes, a thoughts log to record your impressions as you read, and a definitions log to track words you learned while reading.
Extra non-tracking features include the option to track if and where you borrowed a book from and if and to whom you’ve lent a book too. You can also set and track your reading goals, which can be based in time or pages, and can range from daily to yearly benchmarks.
Subscription: Required. Only ten books can be logged without a subscription. Plans range from $2.50 billed monthly to $30.00 billed yearly with frequent special offers.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Feature Highlight: Summaries! Bookly will generate a PDF summary of all the data you added for a certain book. This includes notes, quotes, character profiles, and ratings.
Check out the Bookly for iOs here.
Check out Bookly for Android here.
Bookmory
Bookmory is an organization focused book tracker.
Bookmory is focused on keeping your reading experience clean and functional. The home page keeps track of the books you’re currently reading and how many days you’ve been reading them. There’s a small section that shows your TBR and a list of various reading statistics.
Tracking can be done through manual recording of pages or through an in app timer that runs while you read. Rating is limited to the basic star system (with half stars).
Extra tracking features include a notes section that can be tagged as book content, summary, thought, or question with a corresponding page number. The notes themselves can include images and screenshots and text can be imported through these images.
Non-tracking features include collections and tags, which allow you to quickly sort and search your books, annual and daily statistics, a book calendar that shows you what books you read on which days of the month, and a short TBR list.
Subscription: Freemium. Tracking features can be used without a subscription (but with ads); in depth statistics require a subscription. Plans range from $3.50 billed monthly to $31.00 billed yearly.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: The Book Calendar! Seeing the covers of the books I read on a calendar is like a little mini-trophy case.
Check out Bookmory for iOs here.
Check out Bookmory for Android here.
Bookshelf - Your Virtual Library
Bookshelf melds an organization focused book tracker with social media.
Bookshelf helps readers focus on goals while also introducing a social aspect to reading. Simplistic and easy to navigate, it’s reminiscent of a library without any quiet rules. It exists in that liminal space between private and public.
Tracking is done through manual recording of the percentage of book finished. Rating is limited to the basic star system (with half stars).
Extra tracking features include short notes (free) and advanced customizable notes and a quote log to track favorite quotes (both subscription).
Non-tracking features include the ability to track if the book was borrowed or has been lent, when and where the book was purchased, and how many copies of the book are owned. There is also a very detailed tagging and collections system that encourages a highly organized digital library.
Social reading features include a Discover page that highlights various categories of books broken down by genre or user-data, such as popularity. There is also the ability to follow friends’ libraries and share your own bookshelf with them. The rating system is also public.
Subscription: Freemium. Tracking features can be used without a subscription or ads, but statistics require a subscription. Plans range from $1.50 billed monthly to $12.50 billed yearly or a $50.00 one time payment.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Special Offers! Under settings, there is a Special Offers section that tracks and presents book sales from various vendors. At the time of writing, that includes Amazon, Books-a-million, and Libro.fm.
Check out Bookshelf – Your Virtual Library for iOs here.
Check out Bookshelf – Your Virtual Library for Android here.
StoryGraph
StoryGraph is a data-lovers social reading choice.
StoryGraph is an extroverted data-lover’s dream. The main focus of the app is goal setting and tracking, with an entire tab dedicated to simple statistics and goals. Goals can be set for books, pages, and hours. Statistics are offered on length, genre, format, star ratings, and five more categories!
Tracking is done through manual recording of pages read. Ratings are very detailed, including the basic star system (with quarter stars!), moods, pace, a short character questionnaire, a brief notes section, and a trope / topic section. These reviews are used in your own statics and anonymously in others.
Extra tracking features include a short note that can be included at the end of a reading session.
Non-tracking features include a recommendations feature where StoryGraphs uses the detailed rating system to provide you with personalized recommendations based on what you’ve previously enjoyed. It also provides a robust analysis of your reading in the form of a detailed statistics breakdown.
Social readings features include user recommendations (like libraries and bookstores have) based on frequently read and well rated books each week. There is also a large community section, which includes recommended readers who match your habits, friends and followers, a buddy reading tracker that allows you to read and discuss with friends as you go, and readalongs that allow you to read in real time with friends or recommended readers.
Subscription: Freemium. Tracking features can be used with a subscription, but advanced statistics and personalized suggestions require a subscription. Plans range from $5.00 billed monthly to $50.00 billed yearly.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Giveaways! This is a beta feature, but StoryGraph has paired with publishers to host random lottery book giveaways.
Check out StoryGraph for iOs here.
Check out StoryGraph for Android here.
Check out StoryGraph for browsers here.
Goodreads
Goodreads is the original social reading app.
Goodreads is a firm believer in you don’t fix what ain’t broke. Now owned by Amazon, Goodreads is built on public book recommendations and ratings.
Tracking is done through tagging, with books being sorted into “Want to Read,” “Currently Reading,” or “Read.” Rating is limited to the basic star system (with full stars).
The non-tracking features include a customizable tagging system and personalized weekly trends sorted by genre. Discover provides generalized trends broken down into weekly, monthly, and yearly groups. Most of these trends are further broken down by genre, members like you, general members, and release date. Goodreads also provides curated reading lists like most bookstores.
The social reading features are largely based on the data provided by and used in the non-tracking features. Depending on your settings, friends and others can see your lists, reviews, and bookshelves. You can also join and create public and private groups to coordinate book clubs and buddy reads.
Subscription: Free. At the time of writing, Goodreads is free to use and does not have plans to move to a subscription based model.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Groups! As a social reading site, Goodreads encourages readers to interact with each other in a variety of ways, and the option to create and join private or public groups is nice.
Check out Goodreads for iOs here.
Check out Goodreads for Android here.
Check Goodreads for browsers here.
Library Organization Apps
Unfortunately, most library organization apps are iOs or Android exclusive. As an iOs user, I’m reviewing the most popular iOs one: BookBuddy.
BookBuddy, and other library organization apps, are a minimalist’s approach to book tracking.
BookBuddy strips away most of the extra features and leaves you with the ability to sort and rate books as you finish them and add books as you find them. Most apps of this nature are used by small libraries, and the features play to that. There are forty-one extra fields – beyond author, title, etc. – that can be added to the description of every book, but ratings and notes are limited.
Tracking is done through tagging, with books being sorted into “Unread,” “Being Read,” “Finished,” or “Unfinished” for those DNFs. Rating is limited to the basic star system (with half stars).
Extra tracking features include dates read and a note section for each book. There is a one note limit, although the length of that note is unlimited, or at least I wasn’t able to find the end in my attempts to.
Non-tracking features include categories and tags, which make searching for books quick and easy. Even without these, there are various ways to filter books (including by author or genre). There is a loan tracking feature. You also have the opportunity to favorite books.
Subscription: Free. At the time of writing, BookBuddy is free to use and does not have plans to move to a subscription based model. There is also a paid Pro version, but payment is required upfront to download.
Aesthetics: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Read Next! BookBuddy has a specific section where you can create a personalized TBR of the books that you most want to read next.
Check out BookBuddy for iOs here.
Excel / Google Sheets
The spreadsheet tracker is the maximalist’s approach to book tracking.
While library organization apps limit the amount of data you record when you track books, spreadsheet trackers completely remove any limits!
The tracker I experimented with (by TikToker @mearaisreading) included month read, personal versus book club readings, author details (including minority status to diversify reading), technical details, book details, genres, tropes, key themes, and representations.
Tracking is typically done through input, with book information only being added once the book has been completed or DNFed. If more detailed tracking is what your heart longs for, it’s not hard to create a “Pages Read” column! Rating is personalized and can use the star system, a love to hate scale, or anything else that makes you feel happy.
Non-tracking features are largely limited by your own skills (or willingness to pay for a premade template). I’ve seen trackers that break down the data collected into advanced statistics and ones use hidden columns to note down thoughts and impressions. It’s also easy to color-code, tag, and sort through spreadsheets! Unfortunately, while a spreadsheet can do many things, suggesting new books isn’t going to be one of those.
Subscription: Varies – there are free and paid templates out there, but you can also just make your own!
Aesthetics: Customizability means aesthetics are up to you!
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Charts! Listen, I’m aware this makes me look like a little OCD nerd but that’s okay because I am one. The list of things I’d do for a good chart is longer than it should be.
Check out the template from @mearaisreading here.
Check out the Etsy search “excel book log” here for examples.
Digital Journal Book Log
A digital journal log is the love child of a book obsessed Amy Santiago and her bullet journal.
Do I want one? More than anything. Is it a good idea? Absolutely not. I would be worse than Amy.
Digital journal logs are designed to review and track personal readings without all the fuss and with all the aesthetics. Templates can include options for book boards, playlist links, character boards, TBR mood boards, character breakdowns, and pretty much whatever you can dream up being fun and beautiful to record.
Tracking is typically done through input, with the book information only being added once the book has been completed or DNFed. However, there are templates that include daily reading logs where you can track the pages you’ve read. Rating is personalized, but typically uses the star system. Many templates also come with extra rating categories like spice, angst, and fluff.
Non-tracking features are, again, largely limited by your own skills or willingness to pay for a premade template. I’ve seen templates that use internal linking to create indexes and cover libraries or that have separate rating pages for the series as a whole and each individual book. But again, unfortunately there is no amount of skill that will use your notes to recommend your next read.
Subscription: Varies – subscriptions will depend on what type of digital journal you want to use. The most popular digital note taking apps, GoodNotes and Notability, both have free versions and subscriptions. A GoodNotes subscription is $10.00 billed monthly. A Notability subscription is $15.00 billed yearly.
Aesthetics: Customizability means aesthetics are up to you!
User Friendly: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feature Highlight: Indexes! Most digital journal templates include an index where each book has a basic rating and then links to a detailed log and rating page!
Check out the Etsy search “digital book log” here for examples.
FAQ
What is my personal favorite way to track?
I’ve found that a combination book tracker / library organization app is the perfect balance of choices and limitations for my brand of OCD. There is enough detail that I feel organized, but not so much that I spend hours color-coding and tag-sorting.
Unfortunately, the specific app I use (Book Tracker) is only available to iOs users.
How do I decide what’s best for me?
Experiment! At least a little. When I first started tracking my reading, I used three apps for a week each (~2 books) and then stuck with the one that made me feel happiest.
How should I rate books?
Everyone focuses on different things when they read, and should rate books in the way that feels honest to them as a reader! I’m a vibes reader, and there are definitely a few grammar troubled books that I vibed with enough to give them five stars.
Is there a reason to review books publicly instead of privately?
Yes! As long as you’re comfortable with it. Reviews help both authors and readers by directing books toward their ideal audiences.
However, if you’re socially anxious and uncomfortable sharing your reviews publicly, don’t feel guilty. Personal comfort should always come before public promotion.
Elizabeth Miles
Written for The Plottery
I’m Elizabeth Miles, but you can call me Lizzie! I am a full-time stay-at-home mom and part-time author during breaks from chasing down over-confident toddlers. Mystery, romance, and fantasy are my favorite genres for both reading and writing. You can find me on Instagram (@authorlizziem) and TikTok (@authorlizziemiles)!
