YOUR LIBRARY
How to choose a reading tracker app
You are trying to remember a novel you read last summer. You can picture the cover, the house where you took it, perhaps a character’s name. The title will not come back. Small moments like this are often where a reading tracker earns its place.
Before comparing features, think about what you want to find again. A list of finished books? Your place in an essay you return to occasionally? Recommendations from friends? These fairly simple needs already tell you a lot about the tool that might suit you.
Try adding a few books you know well, including an older or less common edition. See whether search finds the right title and whether you can enter it yourself when it does not. Even a large catalog needs a way to fill the gaps.
Try it at the end of a reading session
The useful test comes when you have finished a chapter and want to record your page. If that means working through several screens, you may put it off until tomorrow. Try this before spending an hour organizing your entire library.
Charts might make you want to return, or they might leave you cold. There is little reason to choose an app for its statistics if what you really want is a place for quotes. Daily goals should also leave room for weeks when reading has to wait.
What about the books you have already logged?
If your library lives elsewhere, check import options and supported formats. Look at exports too. Leaving an app is rarely on your mind when you install it, but knowing how to retrieve your data can prevent an unpleasant surprise later.
Read Today offers book search, barcode scanning, manual entry and imports from several services. CSV and PDF exports are part of Plus. It tracks your books rather than replacing your ebook reader, so you can keep reading on paper or a screen as before.
An app can also complement a reading journal if you prefer writing your reactions by hand while keeping your book list on your phone.
To see these ideas in the app, explore our reading tracker for iPhone.
A book, a few pages, a little time for you.
Read Today helps you organize your books and track your reading at your pace. Meet the app or add your first book.
Free to download · In-app purchases