The Best Book Apps: Book Recommendations, Trackers, Free Books and More Are Available Thanks to These Apps
From trackers and community spaces to free books from the library, it’s easy to enhance your reading experience
It’s safe to say that in 2024 we’d be lost without our devices, especially our phones. With email, maps and instant messaging right at our fingertips, there isn’t much our cell phones can’t do. The devices also make reading easier. You can read on the go (thanks to ebooks and audiobooks!) and use book apps to find new recommendations, connect with other book lovers and keep track of your reading habits. Keep scrolling to find out which book apps you should download and how your phone or tablet can become an essential part of your reading journey.
Best book apps for tracking your reading habits
When you want to participate in reading challenges, see how many books you’ve read, keep track of books you’d like to read and tally up the genres you’ve explored, Goodreads and The Storygraph are must-downloads. In addition to checking all your stats, both book-tracking apps allow you to connect with other readers, see what your friends are reading and compare ratings and reviews. (Available on iOS and Android devices)
Goodreads
Launched in January of 2007, Goodreads is one of the largest online spaces for readers. On the free app (and website) book lovers can keep track of books they’ve read, books they are currently reading and books they want to read.
Goodreads also has a yearly challenge that allows you to set the number of books you want to read in a year. You can see your progress and view challenges from other readers. If you’re looking for recommendations, Goodreads works hard to create personalized options based on the things you’ve already read or have shown interest in reading, and you can also find out if a book is right for you based on the community reviews section.
What readers are saying: “Goodreads is amazing. A favorite feature of mine is the Preview feature, which allows the reader to read a few chapters (depending on the chapter lengths and books itself).”
The Storygraph
Similar to Goodreads, The Storygraph allows you to keep track of your reading habits. However, The Storygraph goes deeper into your stats with personalized graphics and recommendations. It also has more details when it comes to reviews and ratings. You can select the mood of the book, whether it was slow, medium or fast-paced, character- or plot-driven, whether the characters were loveable and more, plus you can rate your books with half, quarter or full star rankings.
Additionally, you can set reading challenges for physical books as well as a page-count goal and an audiobook goal and you can complete challenges that match your interests.
What readers are saying: “I like TheStoryGraph because not only does it track what I read but it creates graphs for what format the books were, what genre and what authors you read most and the app is constantly being updated.”
Best library book apps
If you have a library card, you’ll want to add Libby or Hoopla to your phone or tablet. These apps are free, user-friendly and can save you a lot of money! (Available on iOS and Android devices)
Libby
Libby not only supports the library, but it gets you free books! It connects you to your local library — all you need to do is enter your library card number into the app. From there, you’ll have access to ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and comics.
Depending on your library’s settings, you can borrow a book for up to 21 days, place books on hold and choose for your books to be delivered to your device at a later date if you’re too bogged down with your current reads. In addition, you can customize the audiobook speed, change the font for ebooks and save a ton of money on books.
What readers are saying: “With Libby, it is very easy to find any titles I’m looking for. I have two library cards and am able to utilize both in the Libby app. I can see how much progress I’ve made, change the speed of the audiobooks and have access to new titles relatively quickly. Holds are easy to make and Libby sends reminders when a loan is expiring or is ready to borrow.”
Hoopla
Hoopla also allows you to browse your library without leaving your home. Similar to Libby, Hoopla offers ebooks, audiobooks and magazines, and they also give you access to movies and TV shows and music. You can stream anywhere and it’s as simple as using your library card to gain access.
What readers are saying: “I am OBSESSED. All items in their catalog are instantly available — no wait! How many check-outs a month is set by your library, but it’s a great compliment to other digital platforms! The app’s interface is easy to use and they are constantly improving it.”
Best book app for free books
Netgalley may not have been on your radar until now, but with the chance to download free ebooks and audiobooks, it should be.
Netgalley
Full of advanced reader copies (ARCs), or books that haven’t been published yet, Netgalley lets readers explore new genres, authors and titles. The app is free to download and use — all you have to do is request the titles you want in exchange for an honest review of the book.
What readers are saying: “Love this app! It didn’t take me long to figure out and I absolutely love that it saves your audiobook place without putting a bookmark. It also syncs up with your Kindle device, so it sends the ebooks right to your Kindle.”
Best book app for ebooks
It would be difficult to be an ebook reader without an app like Kindle. The selection of new books, older titles and freebies truly can’t be beat. And even if you don’t have a Kindle device, you can still download the app to your phone or tablet and read books there.
Amazon Kindle
Books on the free Kindle app cost significantly less than physical titles, or you can subscribe to Kindle Unlimited (KU). For a set price per month, you can easily have a myriad of free titles at your fingertips. The membership more than pays for itself even with one or two downloads per month. You can adjust the font, track your reading speed and get recommendations right away.
What readers are saying: “I’ve always enjoyed reading, but Kindle Unlimited has made it so much easier to read while being a stay-at-home mom to an almost 2-year-old. Kindle Unlimited also helped me discover so many new authors and amazing stories I probably would have never read because I’ve never heard of them before. Kindle Unlimited also suggests books to you based on books you’ve already read and I have yet to be disappointed.”
Best book apps for audiobooks
Audible and Libro.fm are go-to’s when it comes to audiobooks. Similar to KU, you pay a set price per month that gives you one credit toward an audiobook.
Amazon Audible
With a large selection of audiobooks, Amazon originals and podcasts, it’s no wonder Audible is a must-download for many listeners. You get one credit per month and get discounted prices and offers on other titles you may want to listen to until your credit renews. One of Audible’s cool features is that you can set a timer for when they want to stop listening and it will pause the book automatically.
What readers are saying: “I LOVE my audiobooks. Audible was one of my very top-used apps, as I have a hard time focusing on tasks around the house/work/etc without some sort of sensory input. I have it running almost all the time. “
Libro.fm
Once your credit hits for the month, you can select from various titles: both new releases and backlist titles. You can always buy additional books, but the monthly credit is the “free” one. What’s great about Libro.fm is that you can support your local bookstores. Money from your credit goes to an independent bookstore and you can switch the store at any time.
What readers are saying: “I love knowing that I’m supporting a local bookstore when I’m listening to my audiobook! I can easily adjust the listening speed and I like how the app tells you exactly how much listening time you have left. It’s easy to navigate and I love the selection of books.”
Best book app for recommendations
Struggling to find your next read? The Likewise app can easily solve this problem.
Likewise
Likewise is here to help you find your next book, movie or TV show, or podcast recommendations. It has a summary of the book, where you can buy it or read it and how it was rated among other users. From there it shares a list of similar books that you can pick from to curate your personalized TBR.
What readers are saying: “I literally am so obsessed with this app. It’s so nice to be able to find good book recs from real people and to be able to recommend books yourself. I find myself having not many people to talk to about books I’m obsessed with, and this app helps me so much with that. I love hearing everyone’s opinions and being in a community of people who have the same passion for books that I do.”
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