Reading Tracking & Stats

If you want to track what you read, the FOSS path runs through BookWyrm (federated), Shelfmark (self-host), and KOReader's stats plugin (e-reader native). The paid hosted options — StoryGraph, Hardcover — give you deep stats in exchange for SaaS lock-in. For a session-timer pomodoro-flavoured tool Bookly dominates. Cross-link with Book Discovery and Book Clubs.

Self-host & FOSS first

• ★ ★ BookWyrm — free OSS; federated; the default for "I want a Goodreads alternative I control."
• ★ Shelfmark — newer OSS / self-host shelf tracker; cleaner UI than BookWyrm.
• ★ Booklore — newer self-host library + tracker combo.
• ★ ★ KOReader stats plugin — free OSS; the deepest e-reader stats; CSV-exportable; runs on your Kindle / Kobo / Boox.
• ★ Calibre custom columns — free; "started", "finished", "rating", "review" columns.
• ★ Obsidian / Logseq book log — free; daily-note pattern; Dataview queries; portable Markdown forever.

Hosted stats / tracking (paid + free, SaaS)

• ★ StoryGraph — paid + free; the best reading-stats experience in 2026; mood / pace / page distribution / DNF tracking / readathons. Closed source but exports cleanly.
• Hardcover — paid + free; modern UI; growing 2024-26; goal + activity feed.
• Literal.club — paid + free; clubs + tracking.
• LibraryThing — paid + free; deep cataloguing rather than session-shape stats.
• Goodreads — free; Amazon-owned; basic Reading Challenge widget; export your data.

Session timer / "fitbit for reading"

• ★ Bookly — paid + free tier; iOS / Android; reading timer; pages/min; quotes; finished-book stats; the most-loved "deliberate practice" reading app.
• Reading List (iOS) — free; minimal.
• Bookmory — paid + free; similar to Bookly; Korean-developed.
• Reading Time / Read More — free; iOS Live Activity for current book.

E-reader native

• ★ Apple Books reading goals — free; iOS / Mac; daily-streak shape; surprisingly motivating.
• Kindle Reading Insights — free; first-party stats; opt-in via My Reads.
• Kobo stats — free; built into the Kobo OS; minutes / pages / books.
• KOReader stats plugin — free OSS; the deepest e-reader stats; CSV-exportable.

Self-host / FOSS — deeper

• ★ ★ BookWyrm — federated; full reviews + lists + clubs.
• ★ Shelfmark / Booklore / Aurelius / Bookmatic — emerging self-host shelf trackers.
• ★ Calibre custom columns — free; portable.
• ★ Obsidian / Logseq + Dataview — Markdown-first reading log.
• Trakt-shape book trackers — community projects exist but small.

Annual reading challenges

• Goodreads Reading Challenge — free; the original.
• StoryGraph Reading Challenges — paid + free; user-created; readathons.
• #52books on Reddit / Twitter — free; the simplest version.
• PopSugar Reading Challenge — free; theme-prompt-shape (read a book set in Antarctica…).

Patterns

• ★ Track minutes, not just books. Bookly's "1 hour today" is more habit-forming than Goodreads' "12/30 books".
• Daily streak + small goal. 10 pages a day = 4-5 books a year more than nothing.
• Don't optimise for finishing. DNF tracking (a StoryGraph specialty) is healthy.
• Annual review. Export your StoryGraph / KOReader stats once a year and look at them.

Pick this if…

• FOSS / federated default: BookWyrm.
• Self-host modern UI: Shelfmark / Booklore.
• Power user with a homelab: KOReader stats + Calibre custom columns + Obsidian Dataview.
• Best paid stats, hosted: StoryGraph.
• Modern hosted UI: Hardcover.
• Session timer: Bookly.
• Apple ecosystem only: Apple Books reading goals.