I tested every book tracking app I could find. That’s thirteen reading apps and book tracking websites where you can track, record, and keep tabs on the books you’ve read or have yet to read.
Watch the video version of this guide:
Some you have heard of, some you probably haven’t.
In this article, I’m going to save you the time it takes to set each up and test them out by describing what they’re like, what features they offer, and what I think.
13 book tracking apps tested for 2026
I created a criteria, so we can look at each platform through the same lens.
The onboarding, the design of the app or website, how easy it is to organise your library, what their book database is like, what reviews are like, the social or community features it has, and lastly, its unique selling point.
Finally, I’m going to put each platform into a tier list so we can see how they stack up.
Of course, this is how the platforms stand at the time of making this guide, and this is also my opinion, so keep that in mind.
Goodreads
Let’s start with the most popular book platform out there, Goodreads.
I’ve talked about Goodreads a lot on here, so if you want to know my thoughts on it and Amazon in detail, here are a few videos:
For this guide, we’ll focus on the criteria I set out earlier.
Onboarding
I had to sign up for a new Goodreads account to test their onboarding, and it was okay. The first thing you do is select the genres you like, then you rate or add some books based on this section, and then it suggests friends or communities you might want to add.
That’s essentially it. It’s okay as far as onboarding goes, but the books it shows you could be better or, honestly, more modern.
Design
Goodreads’ design hasn’t changed much since I joined in 2014. It has always had this kind of brown, cream, and green colour scheme.
It’s one of the complaints people have had about the platform, but it also just so happens to be one of the things some people like about it.
Goodreads has both the desktop version of the platform and the app. I’d say the app is kind of ugly, if I’m honest, the website looks a lot better.
Library organisation
Goodreads has some pretty decent library organisation. You can create bookshelves to categorise your books and keep track of them. Creating a shelf is easy, adding books to one is easy too, but once created, they’re a little boring and stale.
Book database
Goodreads, by far, has the best book database on this list for one simple reason – it uses Amazon. This means it has a huge database of books to pull from, and because it’s the most used platform out there, it’s going to be way more common to find user-added books too.
Reviews
Reviews are where Goodreads shines, at least in some aspects.
I’ll talk about the positives first. Because Goodreads has been around for so long and is the most used of the platforms on this list, it has a lot of reviews.
The review-writing section is so simple. Leave a star rating and add some text, that’s it. No fancy rating systems, just stars and words.
There are some negatives to all this, though. Goodreads doesn’t offer half-star ratings, no matter how much people beg them to add them. It also doesn’t offer more in the way of content warnings, and its spoiler-hiding system is very basic.
Social elements
The social element of Goodreads is a bit lacklustre. You can see what your friends are reading, their thoughts, reviews, etc, but the only reason I believe people stick to Goodreads for its social features is simply that almost every active reader you can think of likely has a Goodreads profile. Or did once upon a time.
Unique selling point
I was trying to think of Goodreads’ unique selling point, but honestly, I can’t think of one. It doesn’t do anything to really stand out now, other than be the largest, longest-standing platform out there.
I gave up using Goodreads this year, and because it doesn’t get updates, and of course, it’s Amazon, I’m putting it in Just no.
The StoryGraph
Onboarding
The StoryGraph’s onboarding, I think, is really good. They’ve thought about how to get you settled into the app and walk you through pretty much the key features you might be confused about if you knew nothing about the platform.
Design
I would say The StoryGraph isn’t known for its beautiful design. It’s more functional and simple than it is pretty.
However, I do think that’s how it appeals to a lot of people. It is clear, bold, and lets the covers of the books on your shelves shine. Everything, for the most part, is easy to find and use.
Library organisation
The library organisation of The StoryGraph is pretty similar to Goodreads. Instead of shelves, you create tags that host your books. As an added bonus, you can filter these, which I find particularly useful.
For example, you could find books in your tag that have a particular mood, or pace, but the one I find most useful is page count. That way, I can find shorter books if I don’t have a lot of time, or a longer one if I’m feeling ambitious. Which, let’s be honest, never happens.
Book database
The StoryGraph’s database is perhaps one of its weakest points. Some users have been known to leave because books are just not there, either at all, or in a particular format, or language.
There are ways to add books you can’t find, of course, but it’s quite a bit of effort to do this for a lot of books.
Reviews
Reviews are a big part of what makes The StoryGraph great, although they’re not perfect.
They have options to pick mood, pacing, features within the book, half and quarter stars, and content warnings.
Some might find this overwhelming, but I personally find it incredibly useful to find a breakdown of all these things on the book’s page.
Because The StoryGraph has so many options when submitting your review, I do think it gives users fatigue, though, and it might discourage written reviews, but that’s just a theory.
Social elements
In terms of social elements, The StoryGraph has a community feed where you can like but not comment on updates, and it also has community features like buddy reads, readalongs, and bookclubs.
To me, The StoryGraph does a great job with buddy reads and readalongs. They’re fun to use and set up. The only reason I don’t use them, is because I host both of these things on my Discord server.
Unique selling point
The unique selling point of The StoryGraph is, of course, the stats. This is the feature that drew people to the platform in the first place. Especially as a Goodreads competitor.
When you use The StoryGraph for logging your books, you’ll get fun graphics, charts, graphs, and breakdowns of your progress. I really enjoy looking at and sharing these with my community each month.
The StoryGraph is a solid platform for me and one I really enjoy using, so we’re putting it in Love it and using it.
Fable
Onboarding
Fable doesn’t have an onboarding process or page. Instead, you’re thrust into the app. I think this is a shame. Fable has some good features, so a walkthrough would be very useful.
Instead, I headed straight for the import feature. They only allow you to import from Goodreads, but the process is pretty simple if you’re happy to log in to Goodreads through the Fable app.
Design
Fable’s design is probably one of my favourites on this list. It’s clean, modern, but is still pretty colourful.
The difference with Fable is that it’s an app only; they don’t have a desktop version of the platform.
Fable uses quite a few different AI features. One to note is their reader summary, which over the years has been the source of some controversy with the AI saying things it absolutely should not. So keep that in mind.
Library organisation
Fable’s library organisation is pretty simple. You can set up reading lists, much like tags and shelves in other platforms. You can filter and sort them, and Fable comes with an additional feature called Scout’s Pick, which is essentially an AI feature used throughout the site. In this case, Scout will pick a book for you at random.
Fable also allows you to log the shows or films you watch, which sets it apart from some of the other reading tracker platforms on this list.
Book database
I couldn’t find any information on how Fable’s book database was created or what it’s based on. I’ve not had any issues finding books on the platform personally, but if you do, you can request a book be added using either their Google form or Chrome browser extension.
Reviews
For reviews, Fable walks you through a series of steps, starting with your star rating, which allows for quarter and half stars, then how the book made you feel, how you would describe the book, and space for a written review.
This kind of review system works well for the platform and looks great if you want at-a-glance thoughts on a book, but it might not work for people who want something a little more detailed.
Social elements
The social elements in Fable are where it shines.
Fable has a home feed which doesn’t just show reviews or reading updates, but posts too, much like a social media platform. Users can post images, text posts, or quotes, and they can tag specific books, TV shows or book clubs within that post.
One of the main selling points of Fable is the book clubs. Users can create their own club,s have a chat book, book recs, and books they’ll be reading for that month. Complete with spoiler-free milestones
There are a lot of influencer-led book clubs in Fable, including clubs created by people like Jack Edwards.
Unique selling point
Fable’s unique selling point is everything social. If you’re essentially looking for a book platform that’s very close to social media, you’ve got it in Fable.
I enjoyed using Fable as a platform, I think it’s reliable, looks great, and definitely has appeal. For me, though, the kind of social media elements Fable has are just not something I use, so I’m going to put it in Great, but not for me.
Pagebound
Onboarding
Pagebound’s onboarding is great. Once you’ve created your account, you get to personalise your profile, which is quick and easy. Then, the platform gives you a checklist of things you can do to get you set up and running.
Design
Pagebound has a very unique design. It’s like the old web. Very colourful, bold, and nostalgic. It makes emojis a priority in its reviews, recommendations, and lists. But despite so much boldness and colour, it’s not overwhelming, at least to me.
Library organisation
Library organisation in Pagebound is pretty similar to the rest of the platforms on this list. You have custom shelves you can create with basic filtering.
They also have an ‘Interested’ shelf. Instead of having a huge number of books on your TBR that you’re not sure you want to read or not, you can add books to interested. Which I think is pretty cool.
One of my favourite parts about Pagebound is the lists. These are curated book lists you can create and name to showcase books. Think of them like a music playlist. People create these for others to see, upgrade, downgrade, and save.
I personally think they’re fantastic for book discovery.
Book database
Pagebound’s book database isn’t the best, and they’ve been pretty transparent about that. It’s one of the newest platforms on this list, so there’s still time for them to improve it, but for now, know that their database is perhaps not the reason you might want to use Pagebound.
Reviews
Reviews on Pagebound are pretty basic. You’ve given a rating system to follow for the book, which you can give half stars for. You can then add up to three emojis to describe the book – I happen to quite like this, it’s just a bit of fun.
Social elements
Pagebound’s social elements are pretty unique. In their words, it’s like if Reddit and Goodreads had a baby. In your home feed, you can see people’s updates on books you’ve read, updates from people you’re following, and you can like and comment on them.
In their forum areas, you can upvote and downvote people’s posts. It makes the platform more community-minded and encourages interaction, especially because you get points for doing so.
Unique selling point
Pagebound’s unique selling point is the fact that there’s no AI used in the platform, and the creators said there never will be. It’s like stepping back a little in time, when using the internet felt like fun.
Alongside this, Pagebound uses a lot of gamification. You can earn points when interacting on the platform, and you can go on quests which give you awards when you complete them. These awards can be displayed on your profile.
I’ve not found these gamify elements to be too intense or influence my reading at all. Nor do I really use them personally. So if you’re curious, I’d give it a try.
I’ve only recently started using Pagebound. It has been maybe a month. But I’m really enjoying it for discovering new books in particular and seeing what people are saying in the forum. So for now, I’m putting it in Love it and using it.
Bookmory
Onboarding
Bookmory has essentially no onboarding. When you open the app, you’re faced with a page where you can add your books in various sections. It’s pretty straightforward, so maybe onboarding isn’t necessary in this case.
One thing I like about this, though, is that it doesn’t require an email address or an account from the get-go; you can just get to using it.
Bookmory is a reading platform that allows you to track your books, but it also has things like a reading timer, a note system, and achievements.
Design
Bookmory’s design is very safe. Its blue and cream theme makes it very unassuming and accessible for everyone. The choice of font makes it very easy to read, and in general, it’s a very clear and easy-to-use app.
Library organisation
Bookmory has no import feature that I could find. So if you want to use it as a platform, you’d be starting from scratch or adding your books manually.
Once you have them added, you can create collections of books within your library, much like you would with any other platform.
One of the things that Bookmory does well, is the series section. You can mark books as part of a series and then look at them as a kind of collection in your library. To me, that is very satisfying.
Book database
Because Bookmory has no import feature, it’s hard to say if its database is any good. However, adding books is pretty easy, and you have multiple methods for doing so. These are by search, as in through their database, by barcode via your camera, or by input, which means you manually add the book yourself. Not bad if you have an obscure book to add to your library.
Reviews
Book reviews on Bookmory are very basic, you have a star rating and then a text area to write your review. That’s essentially it.
Social elements
As for social elements, Bookmory has none. It’s a solo book tracking app, so there are no user profiles, no friends, and absolutely no social features whatsoever.
Unique selling point
The unique selling point of Bookmory, I think, is the notes and timer features.
If you’re reading a book and have some thoughts you want to get down, some quotes you want to save, you can do so within the app either via manual input, or from a photograph. The frustrating thing with this experience though, is that if you want to do either of the latter two, you have to pay for the premium version of the app. Or watch an ad to use it.
For the timer, you can essentially set up a reading session for your current book and have a reading time or countdown running. Once you’re done, you can input how many pages you read in that session, and it saves it for you on the book page. It also calculates your reading speed and gives you an idea of how long it might take you to read the rest of the book, which is pretty cool.
Bookmory has some real potential, but because you can’t import your existing library, I’m thinking it would work better as a companion app to your main book tracker platform. So, for that reason, I’m going to put Bookmory in Has Potential.
Bookly
Onboarding
Bookly’s onboarding is pretty good if you ignore the not one, but three ad popups I got for the premium version of the app. I’ve not even used it yet, so it feels a bit much.
It has proper step-by-step onboarding, which is pretty cool, and the app itself focuses a lot on helping you develop a reading habit and schedule. So while it is a book tracker platform, I’d say it’s not the main reason why you’d use something like Bookly.
Design
Bookly has a pretty nice design. It feels very app-like, which works because well, that’s what it is. There is no desktop version of Bookly.
Once you’ve added a few books to Bookly, they look really cool in the My Books section, and scrolling through them in this way is a lot of fun.
Library organisation
The thing that frustrated me about Bookly was that its import feature was locked behind a paywall. If I wanted to add my years of book reading to the platform, I would have to do so manually. Alongside this, there’s a ten-book limit on a free account. So it would only have the data of my reading goals and stats from the moment I started using it, and I could only add ten books before I would have to pay.
Having said that, Bookly does have some library organisation, although it’s very basic. You can set up collections within the app, and there are some created by default.
Book database
It’s hard for me to comment on Bookly’s database because I couldn’t import my entire library of books without paying, and even then, you can only do so with Goodreads. However, they do have a few different methods of adding books, searching online, via ISBN, which you can scan with your camera, or entering them manually.
Reviews
Reviews in Bookly are pretty interesting. You add a star rating as usual and your written review, but you can also add additional ratings for a specific set of traits. It adds another dimension to the reviewing experience, but it’s a shame because it’s only visible to you. This kind of thing would be very useful on a more social platform.
Social elements
Which brings me onto the social elements, Bookly doesn’t have any because it’s not a social platform, it’s a book tracking app. So you won’t see other Bookly users, the books they read, the reviews they write, none of it. It’s all private and just for you. A bonus if you like that kind of thing.
Unique selling point
The unique selling point of Bookly is the ability to track your reading progress as a habit. It encourages this with calendar days, specific reading stats on books, daily goals, and reminders.
I will say though, there’s an element of gamification here and microtransactions that I don’t like. Certain features are locked under a premium subscription, and they have an in-app currency called diamonds, which says you get more by reading more. But the types of things you might want to upgrade with are so expensive, you will probably feel the pull towards your wallet just to get them.
Either that or you’ll watch some ads just to get more currency which to me, defeats the point of an app that’s trying to encourage you to read.
I like some aspects of Bookly, but because it has no import feature and because it has microtransactions and in-game currency, I’m going to put it in Just no.
Libib
Onboarding
Libib is probably one of the simpler platforms on this list because its main focus is creating a catalogue of your books, music, films, video games, and board games. Essentially, it’s not just for books.
I decided to sign up via the app, and while the onboarding process was very simple, it didn’t need to be any more complicated.
Design
Libib’s design could not be more straightforward. It has basically one purpose, which is to help you catalogue your media, and it looks pretty good doing it.
Library organisation
The library organisation couldn’t be more basic. You can create collections, and that’s about it. But the interesting thing with these collections is that you can mix the media. So you could have a collection that encompasses board games and books, should you want to.
Book database
Libib doesn’t really have a book database. Instead, you manually add books or use your camera to scan the barcode. It will then add them for you in a log. It’s easy to use but does require a lot of manual work.
Reviews
Book reviews on Libib do exist, but they are basic. You can rate books, including half stars, and then add a review in a very basic text area. That’s essentially it.
Social elements
There are no social elements in Libib. It’s not the point of the app.
Unique selling point
Libib’s unique selling point is that it does one thing and does it well. If you’re only interested in understanding what you have for multiple different media types in one place, Libib is an excellent platform for that.
For that reason, I’m going to put it in Solid. I can think of a few people who would find this really useful.
Hardcover
Onboarding
Hardcover had an interesting onboarding experience. When first opening Hardcover, you’re presented with a basic version of it. Once you click login and then join, that’s when the onboarding experience starts.
You get to pick your profile image, your username, and then you’re given the option to import your library from Goodreads, The StoryGraph, or a CSV file. Once done, it asks you to add a reading goal, follow some other people, and finally, to add some more specific details about yourself, should you want to.
Design
I like the design of Hardcover. It’s clean and bold. I also quite like the design of the profile images; they’re cute in their own way. Although some of the yellow notices within the app are very bright compared to the rest of the interface.
Library organisation
Hardcover works with Lists as a way of categorising your books. For me, this imported my The StoryGraph custom tags and automatically converted them to lists.
These lists have some extra features, like telling you how many books you’ve read in the list, and you can change how you view them with some layout changes. You can also like other people’s lists, which is fun.
Book database
Hardcover’s book database seems pretty solid. Importing from The StoryGraph was pretty quick, and once done, you get a notification whic,h when clicked, shows you how the import did, and if any books failed when adding to your library.
This would be particularly useful if you weren’t sure which books would import or not.
If you spot a book missing on Hardcover however, you can submit it pretty easily.
Reviews
Reviews on Hardcover are interesting. You can add half stars and write your review as usual, but there are a few extra features which I think are pretty clever.
The first is marking your review as a Sponsored or ARC review. I think all book platforms should have this as a feature so readers know when reviews are incentivised in some way.
Then, there’s a space to add private notes that only you see. This is particularly useful if you want to remember something down the line, but you don’t want to write a public review.
Right at the bottom is a place to add a URL of the review and then your media URL. Hardcover seems to be encouraging content creators to use the platform as their platform of choice for sharing reviews.
Social elements
The social elements of Hardcover, to me at least, seem to work best in their book discovery. On Hardcover there’s a tab called explore, and quite honestly, the options here are overwhelming at first, but look pretty cool.
Unique selling point
I’ll merge this with the unique selling point because Hardcover has a few interesting features that I’ll highlight. The first is Prompts, which are essentially questions you can ask the book community, and in the answer, other users will recommend books.
Another feature I really like in Hardcover is the way it shows upcoming books. No need to research this yourself, Hardcover shows you.
I’ve got to give it to Hardcover, there are a lot of features within the app that other platforms on this list are missing. They’re doing a great job in my short time there. So I’m going to put it in Solid.
Italic Type
Note: Since publishing this guide, Italic Type has closed down.
Onboarding
Italic Type’s onboarding was a little different from the other platforms on this list because, although it says it’s an app, I couldn’t actually find evidence of an app for your phone. Instead, it looks like it’s a website-only app.
So I signed up via their website. I had some trouble getting through to the main account and then verifying via email, but once I was in, the actual onboarding was pretty simple.
Design
Italic Type is very simple and minimalistic in both design and features.
I personally think it looks quite good. The design is clean and not at all overwhelming, but due to the lack of features within the platform, it can look quite barren.
Alongside this, some of the covers for the books are either outdated, or really low quality. A lot of them are blurry, which is also a real shame.
Library organisation
Library organisation is pretty much nonexistent with Italic Type. You can add tags to books, but you don’t seem to be able to use those tags to form lists.
Book database
Italic Type does have an important feature which allows you to import from Goodreads, The StoryGraph, or a CSV file. However, I had some real problems with the books it imported.
There were books added to my completed books that I had never seen before in my life. I imported from The StoryGraph, which is my most used platform, so the only thing I can think of is that it can’t find the book it’s trying to import, so it opts to import the next best thing instead.
You do get an email after the import telling you which books weren’t added, though, which is useful. However, when I checked to see if I could add them, they were on the site already, just not added to my library.
Kind of frustrating because it means you’d have to go through your entire list to clean it up after, which is a shame.
They do say this is a new feature, so it has the possibility of being improved over time.
Reviews
Reviews are very basic, but they do have a few additional things that are interesting. It asks for your thoughts on the book and allows you to select from some interesting buttons, and then you can write your review, plus star rating with half stars. This was a little clunky to use, but I got there in the end.
It is quite difficult to find your reviews once you’ve written them though. They kind of disappear into the platform.
Social elements
Italic Type seems like a solo kind of platform. You can’t see anyone else’s reviews or activity; it’s just you on your own.
Except if you want to read a book at the same time as someone else. Then you can invite them to a chat room you both use together to discuss the book.
Unique selling point
I would say the Book Board is perhaps one of the unique selling points of Italic Type. Essentially, you can write notes on a book as you go in a note-taking type environment.
In general, I think Italic Type could do with some work to make it a really great platform, because I am sure there are plenty of readers who will like the style and solo nature to it.
For now, I’m putting it in Has Potential.
Bookshelf
Onboarding
Onboarding for Bookshelf was pretty much non-existent. You sign up, and then you’re thrown into the app.
So one of the first things I did was import my The StoryGraph library using their CSV import option. The frustrating thing with this, though, is that it gives you an estimated time it would take, and then a percentage counter for how much it has imported.
Which meant I had to keep the app open for the length of time it took to import my library. I couldn’t do anything else.
Other platforms take a better approach to this, allowing you to explore the app while the import is happening.
Design
Bookshelf’s design is pretty good. It’s clear, and easy to navigate for the most part, but I did have some issues figuring out what was what within the app. Without a clear onboarding, you are essentially left to fend for yourself. If that’s the case, navigation needs to be a lot clearer to allow newbies to get the hang of things.
Something to also note is that there are ads within Bookshelf, which typically appear at the bottom of app screen. There is also a pro plan.
Library organisation
The library organisation is okay. The import feature forces you to pick a shelf to add your import CSV to. Which meant all of my books, no matter if I had read them or not, got added to one big bookshelf.
You can filter this in loads of different ways, which is pretty cool, but I wish I didn’t have to. If I had added them manually, I would have created different shelves.
Book database
The book database seemed okay, but from my import, it struggled to find details on some pretty big books. Notably, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. My books that were imported had no details, but the books are in the app, so I’m not sure what happened there.
Reviews
Reviews are basic in Bookshelf. You add your star rating, with half stars, and then there’s a text area for you to add your written review.
Social elements
Bookshelf does have some social features. You can follow and be followed by others, and interact with their activity.
Unique selling point
I’d say the unique selling point for Bookshelf is its book logging features. You can set if you’ve lent or borrowed a book, if you’ve purchased it or were gifted it, you can say if you’ve sold or donated it, add notes, what condition it’s in, if it’s signed, and loads more.
That’s pretty detailed stuff, and if you’re looking for an app that lets you track all of those things, it might be a good fit for you.
For me, though, Bookshelf felt a little clunky, so I’m going to put it in Mid.
BookPine
Onboarding
BookPine doesn’t have any onboarding; you essentially create your account, and then you’re left to explore the app.
So the first thing I did was import my library from The StoryGraph. Although it added all my custom shelves or tags from The StoryGraph, it didn’t actually put any of those books in my shelves. Nor did it seem to put my read books in the ‘read’ category. So all my books were jumbled together. Which is a real shame.
Design
The design of BookPine is a little lacklustre. It’s hard to find where things are located or how to use certain features. Especially after import, I couldn’t seem to work out how to use my shelves or even see the books in my shelves.
There were also things called lists, but creating one was a strange experience, and I was unsure how to add books to them.
Library organisation
Library organisation in BookPine is okay, but a little clunky. You can organise it like you would on most other platforms, but understanding how to do it is a challenge without a walkthrough or onboarding.
Book database
The book database could be better, but interestingly, as I was importing, there were 28 books it added to my library that they didn’t have within their database. BookPine created these as private books. I’m guessing so I can check the data and keep them in my library without them being public.
Reviews
The review system in BookPine is pretty basic. You can add your star rating, written review, like usual, but it also has something extra called emotional palette, which does add a little extra something, but doesn’t seem to inform the book’s public page, which is a shame.
Social elements
There is a community tab on BookPine, but it’s unclear how to follow people or gain followers.
Unique selling point
It seems to me that BookPine’s unique selling point might be its AI features. Which is not something I’m personally interested in.
When on a book page, you can get a summary of the book, show similar books, get suggestions for what to read next, and it will tell you about the author. They also seem to have an AI chatbot built, too.
BookPine could do with some finessing, an onboarding or welcome screen, and in general, it’s just not for me. I’m going to put it in Just No for that reason, but I totally think it could move up with a little work.
Anobii
Onboarding
When you first open Anobii, you’re greeted with their onboarding screen. It essentially tells you the basics of what you can do with the app.
The first thing I tried looking for was an import feature. Anobii doesn’t have this, so you have to add your books to the platform manually.
It does come with a barcode scanner, but I tried this a few times with the books I’m currently reading, and it couldn’t find them at all. They were in the app database, though, so I’m not sure why that feature didn’t work for me.
Design
The design of Anobii is okay; it’s pretty simple with black, grey, and orange being the primary colour scheme. I wouldn’t call it pretty, but it doesn’t hurt.
I would say though, I’m not keen on how some of the book covers are displayed. Even super popular books like Fourth Wing look stretched or blurry.
Library organisation
In Anobii, you can create collections within the app to categorise books. Although I think it would be useful if you could add books to collections from the book page, too. You also seem to be able to follow other people’s collections, which could be good for book discovery.
Book database
I have struggled to test the book database without an import feature, but so far, it looks okay. Searching for books is pretty straightforward, but if you have a large collection, adding them manually, especially if the scanner isn’t working, could be a pain.
Reviews
Reviews are very simple, just a star rating and room for a written review. That’s essentially it.
Social elements
The social elements of Anobii look…questionable. They have groups you can join with various topics. Although I could only see two, which have forums where people can post discussion points and reply to posts.
As you can see, I have blurred this screen. These groups are not moderated at all. They are filled with gambling ads, AI discussions, and stuff in languages I cannot read, so I’m too scared to show you.
Unique selling point
I’m not even going to talk about a unique selling point for this one because until they sort this issue, which, quite frankly, makes their platform dangerous, I’m putting it in just no.
Book Towers
Onboarding
BookTowers is a little different; while it allows you to track your reading, it’s less about organisation and more about habit tracking.
In terms of onboarding, BookTowers doesn’t really have any. You’re just kind of left to explore, which is a shame. It left me a little confused as to what I was looking at or doing most of the time.
Design
Having said this, the design is very cute. There are little characters that you can customize, and in general, it has a pretty fun look to it.
Library organisation
As far as I can tell, there is no library organisation in BookTowers except for the standard reading, done, stop, and wishlist they have in place. If you want more than that, you probably won’t find it with BookTowers.
Book database
Because there’s no import feature, again, it’s hard to test if BookTowers has a good database. One thing I did find interesting, though, was the quality of the book covers. Some were blurry, which is a real shame for an app that generally looks pretty good.
Reviews
Reviews are very basic, just a star rating with half stars and a quick review section. The app seems to want you to keep this short.
Social elements
There are no social elements in BookTowers, instead…
Unique selling point
The unique selling point of this app is partly the calendar, where you can visually see the books you’ve finished and when, as well as some reading statistics.
But mostly the character story element. Where you can gain levels, and with those levels, you can upgrade your character and accessories to create a cute visual graphic to share on social media.
It’s gamified, so when you read a book, you get coins that you can use to customize things. Although with a lot of these gamified apps, if you want to customize even more, you have to pay for it. In other words, there are microtransactions in this one and a pro tier too.
I’m not a fan of microtransactions in my book apps, nor am I really happy that you can’t import or organise this one, so I’m going to put it in mid.
That wraps up my experience with all of these book platforms.
As is probably obvious from the tier ranker, I have my favourites. But, these platforms for the most part are constantly updating and improving, so I might have to do another one of these next year.
Let me know in the comments what you thought of these.
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