Leaving GoodReads for StoryGraph

Have I finally found a better alternative for GoodReads? — A StoryGraph Review

Sometimes I wonder if tracking my reading progress delivers me more fun than actual reading itself. No… that’s nonsense. However, I still think that it is important to track your reading goals, progress, reviews and newly discovered ideas/information. When I was younger I could easily remember everything that I had read but over the years my mental library is getting too big and I need some help remembering. Notes on favourite quotes or passages from a book help me recollect the emotions I had while I was reading that specific novel. Usually, I use a simple journal to write down my thoughts and highlighted quotes. But for practical reasons, I also enjoy using Notion and GoodReads.

Both websites (and applications) have served me well. I started seriously tracking my reading somewhere around 2019 and I’m glad that I did. Now I can look back at my reading preferences, book ratings and reviews. I also like to keep my TBR on GoodReads because it is easy to add or remove something and when I need a wishlist for Christmas, I just have to look there.

However, for two years now I have been looking for a GoodReads alternative. It would be nice to use something that is not owned by a large corporation and there are some flaws to Goodreads which I’ve discovered over the years.

The system lacked options for rating a book with a half-star (very important because there is definitely a difference between a 3.5 and a 4-star rating!) and to easily DNF a book without losing the reading progress. Finding and switching to the right edition of a specific book was also a pain in the ass.

So, after a long search journey and trying out different apps and websites, I think that I’ve finally found a worthy alternative: StoryGraph.

I will start with the most important news: yes it is possible to import your GoodReads library without trouble into StoryGraph (be aware of one thing: sometimes the ‘’started reading’’ date is not imported together with the rest of the information).

Furthermore, it is possible to give a half-star rating and to DNF a book. I really love this because it makes the reading experience complete for me. You can even add a reason for not wanting to finish the book together with the date. Switching editions is super simple and there are many editions available to choose from.

Lastly, the yearly reading wrap-up, challenges and reading statistics are far more detailed compared to GoodReads and more fun to look at. They even apply moods to books so you can see what kind of book moods you like to read.

If you are looking for a GoodReads alternative or just want to start tracking your reading, I would recommend StoryGraph.

In the end, I would always recommend to also use a physical journal or notebook to write down your reading journey. Technology may malfunction, so it is nice to have a backup.

• Youtube
• Instagram
• Tumblr
• Twitter
• Medium