Bookly | Delicious Library | Goodreads | Highlighted | Bookshelf | Literal | Book Tracker
Do you have a book-tracking app that you love? Share it with me in the comments below so that I can try it out!
Goodreads
Raise your hand if you haven’t used Goodreads. Are you serious?! You mean to tell me you’ve never searched for a book online and clicked on the result from Goodreads?
My guess is that this does not describe very many of you, so my review of the Goodreads app will be brief. Of course, if you want more, just let me know in the comments, and I’d be happy to dig in a little deeper for you.
Figure 1. The Home screen shows you what is trending in each of the categories in which you have added books to your lists. It also shows you books that your friends are reading.
Figure 2 & 3. The My Books screen is your personal hub. At the top, you’ll see books that you are currently reading, making it easy to access them to update your progress. Just below, you will find your Want to Read and Read shelves, as well as your custom shelves.
Figure 4. Goodreads allows the user to create a reading goal for the year. One of the places you can access your Reading Challenge page is at the bottom of the My Books screen. Tap on Reading Challenge to see your progress as well as a list of the books you have read this year. Interestingly, when I created this screenshot, it indicated that I had completed The Pirate Devlin, by Mark Keating, twice – which I hadn’t, so I had to correct that. Bummer. My progress was inflated by one book. I also see that I’m behind schedule. I still need to finish 11 books this year, and it’s Thanksgiving!
Figure 5. The Discover screen is going to present you with many other books you may enjoy reading. Spend a few minutes scrolling and you’ll fill up your entire TBR shelf for next year!
Figure 6. Is there a particular genre of book you are looking for? Let’s say you want something Science Fiction. But, more specifically, you really enjoy Alternate History books. Use the Search screen to narrow down your search results to exactly the type of books you are looking for.
Figure 7. Tap More to quickly access other features of Goodreads, such as your profile, your friends list, your reading groups, and more.
Overall, Goodreads really is a great option. Basically every book ever written has been added to their database, so you’ll be hardpressed not to find exactly what you’re looking for. It lets you track your reading, create shelves, and connect with friends. So, why not stop here and just use Goodreads? For me, it’s not just about features. I need the look and feel of an app to be attractive. Goodreads has lots of great features, but it needs to be updated to look and feel more modern. They are starting do to this on the web version, so I’d love to see some of these updates make it into the mobile app as well.
What’s it Cost?
Goodreads is totally FREE.
In the Next Post
Next time, I’m going to show you an app called Highlighted, which I discovered while searching for book-tracking apps. It is not a full-scale tracking app, but it has some interesting features that may make it worth your while. You’ll see what I mean…
Bookly | Delicious Library | Goodreads | Highlighted | Bookshelf | Literal | Book Tracker
Do you have a book-tracking app that you love? Share it with me in the comments below so that I can try it out!
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Can you believe it’s May already?!
You may have seen a notification from me elsewhere explaining that I’ll soon be focusing (nearly) exclusively on my Substack content. I am truly grateful to everyone who has been following my journey here on WordPress over the past couple of years. I would be honored if you would head over to davidsheley.substack.com and subscribe to my newsletter. Initially, it will be the same content as you see here, but as I make the transition, I will allow my WordPress site to fade into the background as my Substack publications come online. If you’d like to know more about what this Substack stuff is all about, drop me a comment, and I’d be happy to tell you more.
The Nutcracker Trilogy
I will continue to shamelessly promote these books because I’m so excited about being a small part of Drosselmeyer’s journey. If you’re new here, let me encourage you to check out The Nutcracker Trilogy by Paul Thompson. All three books are available in print and as e-books. Books one and two are available as audiobooks, narrated by yours truly. Click the links below to explore.
Oh, and it doesn’t have to be Christmas for you to enjoy these stories (just like it doesn’t have to be Christmas to enjoy Harry Potter).
Apple Books / Apple Audiobooks / Amazon / Audible
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David Sheley 
Nice post! I’m not sure about apps since I don’t tend to use them, but I love the LibraryThing website. StoryGraph is another great option to try if you’re looking to explore the different options out there. Personally, I like how easy it is to have a Goodreads widget on my blog and how many other people use the site and leave reviews, so I find it worthwhile to keep up a profile there, even though LibraryThing is my personal favorite!
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Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve heard of StoryGraph, but I haven’t used either one of these platforms yet. I better add these to my list!
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