5 Best Apps for Tracking Reading

This week I have been challenged. It was not actually a new challenge, but one I was pushed to realize I had not followed through on at all. Not unlike determining our family would try one new recipe a week, or deciding that the chore charts would actually be put to use, or no longer drinking carbonated beverages. It is a recurring problem I have, the whole “follow through” thing.

Lately, I have a growing sense of foreboding in regards to the amount of time I waste on social media sites. I won’t even try to pretend that I don’t love social media, because I do. Social media sites are an introverts dream. I get to “interact” with the world from the comfort of my couch. I can keep in touch with people who are hundreds, even thousands of miles away. I can consume mass amounts of information, real and false, about the world, those dear to me, and the place I once called home. Except, I have felt my tenuous hold on the balance between real life and virtual life slipping ever so slightly.

Then came the challenge. In an article for the Washington Post titled “The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul,” Philip Yancey discusses how the internet has trained his mind against disciplined reading. This excellent treatise on the distracted mind.

Charles Chu calculates that at an average reading speed of 400 words per minute, it would take 417 hours in a year to read 200 books—less than the 608 hours the average American spends on social media, or the 1,642 hours watching TV. “Here’s the simple truth behind reading a lot of books,” says Quartz: “It’s not that hard. We have all the time we need. The scary part—the part we all ignore—is that we are too addicted, too weak, and too distracted to do what we all know is important.” Willpower alone is not enough, he says. We need to construct what he calls “a fortress of habits.”

 

If I were to spend even half the time I spend on the internet reading or writing instead, I would recover many hours. These recovered hours would do wonders for my soul. But because of my aforementioned struggle with follow through, I realized that I would need assistance building my “fortress of habits.”

To find that assistance, I started looking for apps that would allow me to track reading times and scan books read. Chances are you are probably already well aquainted with “the big 4:” Amazon Kindle, Overdrive, Audible, and Goodreads. While I use each of these apps almost daily and appreciate the different features they offer, I wondered what else was “out there.” I thought I had found an excellent app, only to find out it no longer exists. So I kept looking.

Here are my thoughts on what I found.

Best:

• Kobo – My favorite feature of this app is the “Reading Activity” section. It is just what I have been looking for. I have high hopes for this app.
• Bookopolis – For kids, this is by far the best reading app I have come across. I haven’t been able to find an Android version of the app yet. But what I have seen of it for iPhone/Pad users looks excellent. It also has timing, record keeping features, as well as many, many book lists. Even if you don’t use the app, their website is a must use site.

Best with Monthly Fees:

• Epic! – This app looks like the dream. There is a flat fee of $7.99 a month. With that you are able to set up four individual accounts, track each account’s reading progress, and access thousands of books. If I were going to pay a monthly fee for an app, this would be the one. Teachers, you are able to use this app without the monthly fee!
• BookMate – I really liked the features this app has. If you are looking for an audiobook reader, this is a very good one. There is a monthly fee of $9.99 though and that seems a bit high for what they offer.

Best Basics:

• Reading Log – There is nothing fancy about this app. In fact one of the biggest complaints about it is the interface and outdated appearance. But with that aside, if you are looking for an app to track your reading, Reading Log does that. It is easy to use and doesn’t waste time with the frills.

While falling down the rabbit hole that is any internet search, I discovered a great deal about book related apps. For example, did you know that if you are an Amazon Prime member you have access to free, yes free, streaming of books and podcasts on Audible? If you sign into Audible with your Amazon sign in and then go to Audible “Channels,” you have access to free streaming of any of the books and podcasts there!

Now to climb out of the rabbit hole and follow through!