Track Your Reading And Discover New Books With The 6 Best Book Apps
Finding new hobbies can help improve your mental health; they're exciting and stimulating. When you engage in a new activity, you reduce your stress levels, allowing you to enjoy the task. There are hundreds of hobbies you can get into, but if you've scrolled through TikTok, you might've seen users post all about the books they're reading and the apps they use to track them. Even if you haven't picked up a book since high school, BookTok can persuade you to read at least one. After you finish one, you'll want to read them all. Keeping track of books you've read helps remind you which ones you've already completed, especially when looking for something new to read at Barnes and Noble.
Moreover, reading tracking apps are all designed differently to make your reading journey more fun. They're excellent at making recommendations based on your past or current reads, which is perfect if you're in a book slump. You can browse through all the books, read their synopsis, and list the ones you'd want to read in the future. Since every reading track is different, we made a list of the top six best book apps you'll want to download.
Goodreads
Goodreads is the most popular reading tracking app that allows you to set annual reading goals if you decide to read more as part of your new year's resolutions. Even without a plan, you can still track the books you read throughout the months. Goodreads is available for Android and iOS. It's a standard, user-friendly app that categorizes your books into three sections: "want to read," "currently reading," and "read." You can switch them from category to category as you read your books. When you finish reading a book, you can rate it up to five stars and see other people's ratings. The home page lists books trending that week in your most-read genres and new recommendations.
A worldwide community on Goodreads lets you interact and meet new people. You can also follow people's profiles and see what's on their reading list to give you more recommendations if you enjoy the same genres. As you scroll through the discovery tab, you'll see suggestions based on your current book, what people have been reading most, trending books, and new releases.
Regarding tracking, you can mark the page you left off, and the app will let you know how much of the book you've read by percentage. In addition, you can link your Goodreads to your Kindle to gain access to your notes and highlights.
Basmo
If you want to dive deep into the book world, Basmo has you covered. It's different from most book-tracking apps because it helps you to improve your reading habits while tracking your books. It's available for Android and iOS. When you sign up for the app, you're asked questions about your favorite genres, reading desires and preferences, your reading goal, books you've read, etc. Basmo also has an intelligence feature where you can start a BookChat with AI and have an in-depth conversation about a book you've read to make you feel more connected to the story.
Basmo monitors how long it takes to finish a book, and you can create a reading schedule to ensure you meet your goals. Additionally, the app has many features to enhance your reading skills. For example, you can highlight parts of the book that speak to you or jot down any notes you thought about while reading.
However, to get every feature included in the app, you need a premium subscription that's $39.99 for 12 months. Or, you can get less than half the benefits for $4.99 a month. The basic membership allows you to plan reading sessions, get reminders, and take notes, but it doesn't track your reading time. A downside to Basmo is that it has no reading or social community you can join to meet other readers.
Tertulia
One of the more aesthetically pleasing book apps is Tertulia, with its black and white background and swoopy script. It's only available for iOS users but will come on Android soon. When you sign up for the app, it asks questions about your reading preferences, such as the types of books you want to see. Moreover, the app asks who you want to hear more from regarding your chosen genres. For example, if you picked poetry, mystery, and romance, you could ask to hear more from poets, authors, book critics, or people you follow on Twitter. Then, Tertulia will create a list of recommended books; you can also find reading options that catch your fancy.
Tertulia is easy to navigate; they have one tab that holds all of the books you're currently reading, have read, want to read, and have shared with others. In addition, you can keep track of all the books you plan to read throughout the year. While you can't rate your reads once you've finished them, the app scans discussions and uploads them mainly from Twitter so you can see what books people are talking about.
The free app gives you many book suggestions based on your preferences. You can purchase books in the app, and if you're a member, you get 10% off books and free shipping.
StoryGraph
One of the more diverse book apps is StoryGraph. While it syncs your books from Goodreads, it offers endless recommendations based on books you've read and your mood. In addition, it has a myriad of reading challenges you can join rather than sticking to a reading goal. For example, one challenge is reading a book from ten different countries, where you read a book set in a country where the author originates. It allows you to broaden your geography skills and learn about new cultures and places. Otherwise, you can create a specific reading, page, or hours goal. As you finish books, they'll pop up in a pie chart, and at the bottom of the tab, there's a bar graph that keeps track of the number of books and pages you've read.
As for the rating feature, StoryGraph allows you to rate books on a quarter system instead of whole stars. So, you could give a book a 4.2-star rating rather than a solid 4-star or 5-star rating. Furthermore, when you rate your books, the app can recommend them to someone with your reading preferences. For example, if you claim that the book you read is ideal for those looking for a slow-burn, spicy novel, it'll be recommended to someone interested in the same genre. It's available for Android and iOS devices.
Bookshelf
Bookshelf is another great book-tracking app that motivates you to achieve your reading goals – it's available for iOS devices. When you first open the app, it asks you what your goal is and lets you sync books on your Goodreads and Reading List. You can also browse books to add to your To-Be-Read (TBR). The app has three different tabs, books, cards, and stats. The books tab is where you create your library and add books to your TBR, currently reading, or read categories. There's also an abandoned tab where you can add any books you don't want to continue reading.
The cards tab consists of different decks that help you remember what you've read. You can create flashcards to quiz you or write notes on impactful books. Moreover, you can add multiple cards to a collection to review them daily. The last tab is stats: reading periods, completed books, the number of pages you read per session, your average reading speed, etc. The downside is the app doesn't have any social communities you can join and talk to about books, so it's best for those who want to focus strictly on reaching their reading goals.
TBR Bookshelf
TBR Bookshelf is the book-tracking app every BookTok worm uses. It has many cool features that make tracking your books fun. You can keep track of all your TBR books in the designated tab, and once you finish a book, you'll see it placed in one of the slots on your goal tab. When you sign up for the app, you're automatically given a reading goal of 25 books, but you can adjust your goal in the settings. All of your "TBRs," "currently reading," and "have read books," are divided into individual tabs instead of being in the same section.
TBR Bookshelf has one interesting feature: when you're done reading a book, you can give it multiple ratings instead of one. For example, if you read a romance novel, you can give ratings based on spice, fluff, tear, and humor. After rating those categories, there are other sections for you to reflect on who your favorite character was, your favorite quotes, and your overall thoughts on the book.
The app also offers a monthly subscription service for $4.99, giving you access to other features, like the book's tropes. You can also choose a six-month plan for $19.99 or a yearly plan for $29.99. Unfortunately, there isn't a social community, but it still has an organized, user-friendly layout.