As a book lover, it is natural to have a never-ending list of books to be read. For me personally, I have hundreds of books written down on my TBR list, and even more that I keep track of in my head. Having an app on my phone to keep track of all the books is incredibly convenient, and for a very long time, Goodreads was the obvious go-to for those features.
However, after Amazon acquired the app in 2013, along with other users, I have been looking elsewhere to find places to track my reading progress to avoid giving any money or data to the large corporation. The app itself has seemingly stagnated in terms of updates, where competitors continue adding new features like statistic analysis, social media links, and dashboard customization.
One such competitor is called The StoryGraph. This app is completely free, with some further subscription options. After the app was created by Nadia Odunayo in 2019, it quickly skyrocketed to top spots across the world, with it consistently making the top 15 in book-tracking apps in the U.S., Canada, and U.K. According to CBC, The StoryGraph exploded in growth after the 2024 presidential election in the U.S., after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos congratulated Trump on his win. Users of Goodreads finally decided enough was enough and began searching for alternatives in earnest.
As someone who works in a library back home, I have been surrounded by people who have also given up Goodreads in favor of apps like Fable or Bookmory, but The StoryGraph has been the one to catch my eye the most.
The app itself makes it super easy for users switching over from Goodreads as it has a feature where it takes imports of data from your Goodreads page and puts it into your StoryGraph profile. It took me all of five minutes to do it.
The app also has extensive statistic analysis features. It measures how many books read per year, the average pace at which you read, the types of genres you reach for most, etc. You might be wondering why you would particularly want all those features, but aside from it being a cool insight into your reading habits, it could also serve as a way to showcase what new areas you may want to branch out to instead or push you to become a more habitual reader. You can also add multiple “challenges” to your reading goal besides the typical “I want to read X amount of books this year” challenge on Goodreads.
The set up of The StoryGraph is simpler than some other options, but I like that. It’s not busy and its main focus are the books and the communities surrounding them. One of the most exciting features of this app, and one of the reasons I want more of my friends to join, is that it has features called “Buddyreads” and “Readalongs” which are essentially private social media chats where you can read a book together with your friends and share your notes on it in real time on the app. It’s like a more organized book club with your buddies, which I thought was super cool.
The best way for me to describe The StoryGraph is that it is like a Letterboxed for books. You can have your “five favorites” displayed on your profile, read through silly reviews on the community tab, and set a multitude of different reading goals for the year. So, if you were like me, looking for an excuse to leave Goodreads but worried about losing all your reviews and curated TBR, The StoryGraph may be a good place to start.