Reading Tracker Recommendation

[Ban]

If anyone happens to be looking for a website to track your reading on, and to discover some commonalities in the books you've already read, I'd recommend the Storygraph. So far I'm quite pleased with it and because it's an independent platform I figure it would be good to share.

The way it works is that you make note of the books you have read (for example starting last year). You should include in what year you have read it. Through reviews, the community assigns labels to the books such as fast-paced, medium-paced, slow-paced, as well as genres and themes. Once you have added some books you have read, the service automatically creates overviews for you. These include diagrams that display the number of books in each genre, pace, theme, language, etcetera you read per year. I find it fun to sift through. The platform is also good for discovering new books, as you can base its searches on a handful of books you've enjoyed in order to find others with similar themes.

 

[pmmg]

Story graph is the rival to goodreads. They both kind of do the same thing. I dont really use story graph, I look at Goodreads a bit though. Goodreads does allow tracking books, but it kind of does a poor job at everything else its reaching for. I used to keep track of my books read on Facebook, but it seems to have all been deleted.

 

[Ban]

They are similar, but I think the overviews and graphs that Storygraph generates for its users sets it apart. I also prefer it for not being tied directly to a giant platform that sells books. A bit of separation in that regard is desirable in my opinion.

 

[pmmg]

Its a little surprising to me that Amazon owns Goodreads, and lets the platform sit with so little love. It still looks like something from the 1990's.

 

[skip.knox]

Can I upload the several hundred books I've been keeping in a spreadsheet?

 

[Ban]

Can I upload the several hundred books I've been keeping in a spreadsheet?

I believe you can export and import your goodreads data when you create a new account, though I didn't try that. Once the account is set up, I don't see an option for imports

 

[skip.knox]

My Goodreads data is out of date now. I got frustrated with that platform and downloaded all into a spreadsheet, then started adding from there.

I don't really need tracking; or, more precisely, my needs are very modest. I can sort on genres, but it's the genres that matter to me and only those. And I can invent new ones on the fly if I wish. The spreadsheet tells me on which shelf to find said book (or that I no longer have it); e-books are considered their own shelf. And I know that I read it, didn't finish, haven't started, or scanned (this latter for the books left over from my career as a historian).

And that's it. Between the spreadsheet's ability to sort and to find, I have all I desire.

BTW, I took a quick look and yes I could upload my spreadsheet, though probably not without a bit of prep work. Storygraph accepts csv files.

One disappointment I had with Storygraph is that it tells very little about itself at the website. Basically it's, give us your email and then we can talk. But a simple net search brings reviews that tell me much more.

 

[Ban]

That's handy to know regarding csv files. I created a spreadsheet for this purpose as well last year, but I find it more engaging to add the books I've read to a platform. It depends a bit on how much value you put on automated graphs and an easy platform to look for new books to read. If sorting and searching is sufficient, there's no need for an account. So far I haven't participated in the social media portion of it, though that could be a draw for some as well.