Keep Your Reading on Track!

 

Do you read so much that you find it hard to keep track of it all? Maybe you’ve picked up a book only to realize you’ve already read it, TWICE? Or maybe you just want to get personalized suggestions for books based on what you enjoy? These are all problems that can be solved with an online reading tracker! And with the Summer Reading Challenge just around the corner (sign up here to be notified when registration goes live June 1st!) now is the perfect time to start! In this post, we will be taking a look at three of the leading online trackers, comparing the pros and cons of each, and providing quotes from real users!

The trackers we will be looking at today are StoryGraph, LibraryThing, and Goodreads.

Let’s start with some similarities between these three. At their core, each of these trackers are designed for users to keep track of what they have read, what they are reading currently, and what they want to read. They also allow users to rate and review books they’ve read, set up and participate in reading challenges (for example, setting a goal to read 20 books in 2024), and browse through personalized book recommendations.

While similar in many ways, each tracker has its own unique style of providing its service. Let’s look at StoryGraph first. StoryGraph has a modern, clean, and user-friendly design, emphasizing a visually appealing and straightforward user experience. Where it really shines is with its data analytics of what users have read. In the screenshot below, you can see how StoryGraph analyzes the mood of the books they’ve read, which is one of the criteria it uses to make recommendations.

There is also a social element to StoryGraph, allowing users who are friends to do readalongs, or start book clubs. 

Here is what a user of StoryGraph has to say about the service:

“The top 3 reasons I love Storygraph:

1. The stats! While the year-end wrap-up is fun, I can see and compare my stats at any time based on genre & mood, time spent, rating, author, and more, all in beautiful graphs!

2. The buddy read feature! I read lots of books informally with other people, and the buddy read feature lets me invite friends to read the same book at the same time. It lets us add our notes & reactions, but also hides them from other people until they've reached that point in the book. So there are no spoilers!

3. I love how Storygraph focuses on reading appeals, like mood, tone, pace, etc. I am a big mood reader, and Storygraph helps me filter the books on my TBR list based on the mood I want to read.”

LibraryThing is very utilitarian in its presentation. Looking at the main page might be overwhelming, but once you get used to it, you will find that it is a very comprehensive reading tracker. Many of its users use it to build a collection of books, categorized by various categories of metadata, and allows users to add their own tags, which can then be browsed by other users. Below is a screenshot of books tagged by users as “coming of age.”

Here’s a quote from a LibraryThing user!

“LibraryThing is a fantastic platform for avid readers and serious book collectors. I appreciate its comprehensive cataloging features that allow me to organize my library with custom tags. The community is full of passionate readers who share insightful reviews and recommendations. I also love the ability to participate in niche discussions and connect with others who have similar literary interests."

Then, of course, there is Goodreads. It is definitely the most popular reading tracker out there, and for good reason. It is probably the simplest of the three trackers, with users being able to categorize a book into “shelves,” which can be shared with other users. The best feature of Goodreads is its popularity; if you want to connect with other readers, or add a friend on one of these trackers, this is definitely the way to go.

Here’s a quote from a Goodreads user!

“I use Goodreads to keep track of what I'm reading and what I'd like to read. While the website is a bit outdated, I find it to be very user friendly and easy to navigate on both mobile and computer. It definitely has a lot of potential for a wide range of users.

One of my favorite features are the yearly Challenges, where I can set a certain amount of books that I'd like to read before the end of the year and it's easy to see what I've already completed; I'm also able to see how my friends are doing with their own challenges. At the end of the year, it compiles all of the books I've read into a fun little graphic that shows the amount of pages/books read, longest/shortest books, and much more. It's so fulfilling to see the time I put into reading, and it keeps me excited to read more.”

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