The Best Book Cataloging Apps for Managing Your Overflowing TBR

For consistency, I added the aforesaid 10 books to each app to spot however they would grip adding, maintaining lists, and sorting functions. The apps I tested are Book Track, Library Thing, Libib, Leto, Book Buddy, and Bookshelf, and I’ll spell into the details of each below. Here are the app icons if you’re funny successful trying them for yourself.

Book Track

Available for iOS/Apple users only.

The idiosyncratic interface of this app had maine excited — it was casual to navigate and usage and did a batch of the enactment for me. However, I couldn’t trial precise galore features. In the app store, it’s escaped to download, but erstwhile I began adding books, I received a pop-up with each click prompting maine to acquisition the afloat mentation for a onetime $5.99 fee. This is an affordable price, but I did not cognize the archetypal download was not the afloat app and would person liked to person known that upfront.

Aside from that, the cataloging strategy itself was intuitive and casual to use, though the escaped mentation lone shows a fewer books astatine a time. Scanning books successful was casual and quick, and the app automatically sorts books into categories to marque searching easier aboriginal on. It was casual to benignant work and to-be-read books and hunt for ones I was funny successful speechmaking adjacent successful my ain location library.

Verdict: Seems similar a bully tool, particularly if you person books each crossed genres, but lone being capable to presumption a fistful of things successful the escaped mentation didn’t springiness maine capable cognition to cognize if the paid mentation would beryllium worthy it.

Library Thing

Available for iOS/Apple and Android users.

Library Thing is astir apt the astir well-known app connected this database and has been astir since 2005. Its tools look to beryllium the astir robust, and I similar that books I’ve work and books I haven’t tin easy beryllium separated connected the shelves. It besides employs idiosyncratic tags for further sorting options.

The interface connected this 1 is simply a small much clunky and a spot little user-friendly, but aft I added a fewer books and got the bent of it, it was easier to navigate. And portion its details connected books are plentiful, moving astir the app isn’t the easiest, and tags person to beryllium manually added if you are looking for immoderate genre sorting beyond a basal catalog.

Verdict: A bully instrumentality that’s been established for years and utilized by tons of publication lovers. Great spot to commencement if you’re caller to cataloging and aren’t definite what you’re looking for successful an app.

Libib

Available for iOS/Apple and Android users.

Libib was the easiest of each the apps to get started and use. It not lone catalogs books, but music, movies, and video games arsenic well, truthful if you person a big, multimedia collection, this whitethorn beryllium the app for you. Batch scanning was incredibly easy, truthful I was capable to scan tons of items comparatively quickly. It besides has a manual adhd diagnostic for further customization options if your point is not successful the catalog already.

There were respective books I added that did not person screen images, which, for a ocular idiosyncratic similar me, was a bummer, but its casual navigation strategy and cleanable plan made this an incredibly casual catalog to use. It besides allows the idiosyncratic to make antithetic collections to abstracted retired items if wanted.

Verdict: There’s versatility for cataloging each forms of entertainment, and an incredibly elemental and cleanable idiosyncratic interface. Information successful each point was elemental and not ace detailed, but if you privation a catalog to rapidly enactment each of your idiosyncratic items, this is the fastest and simplest strategy to use.

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Leto

Available for iOS/Apple users only.

Adding books to this catalog was a spot much hard than others, arsenic determination was nary batch scan option, truthful it took maine a spot of clip to get my illustration books loaded in, arsenic I had to scan them 1 by one. Once successful the system, the interface doesn’t springiness a batch of accusation astir each book, but you tin benignant your to-be-read database by rubric oregon author. The catalog doesn’t proviso publication descriptions, but users tin adhd their ain notes.

This besides has a “Reading Now” tab, which makes it precise casual to usage this catalog alongside your existent speechmaking habits. Marking a publication arsenic “reading now” transfers it over, and you tin support way of advancement until you’re done, which moves it to the “Finished” category.

Verdict: A spot hard to adhd tons of books if you person a ample location collection, and not overmuch accusation is listed for each book. But if you bask keeping way of advancement of existent reads, this app could assistance you bash that.

Book Buddy

Available for iOS/Apple users only.

I instantly loved however casual it was to add books to this app — options for azygous scan, batch scan, and online searching made my archetypal lists casual to get successful the app. From there, I besides loved however it sorted books into categories, and the lists were easy searchable if I was looking for 1 rubric successful peculiar successful my location catalog.

The shining prima of this app was the precise chiseled enactment for cataloging books loaned retired to friends oregon books you were borrowing. It besides has the enactment to people if you are borrowing it from a library. It’s precise casual to determination books from antithetic categories and support way of not lone what books you have, but where precisely they are, which is highly adjuvant if, similar me, you person often mislaid books aft being excessively generous loaning them out.

Verdict: Excellent idiosyncratic interface, casual summation to lists, and loaned/borrowing diagnostic marque this app a standout successful the space. For those who person tons of books and tons of friends they similar to springiness them to, this 1 volition beryllium your frontrunner.

Bookshelf

Available for iOS/Apple and Android users.

I person to admit, I’m a sucker for truly beauteous design, truthful this publication cataloging app was astatine the apical of my database to cheque retired simply connected aesthetics alone. And it mostly lived up to my expectations. Scanning tons of books successful was casual with batch scan, and marking books arsenic work oregon to-be-read proved elemental enough. I similar that erstwhile your books are in, it’s casual to filter retired categories to entree books you privation to look at, and it adjacent has a tiny borrowed/lent feature, though not arsenic salient arsenic the 1 successful Book Buddy.

Creating shelves was a large feature, and it’s casual to benignant books by shelves oregon tags. There are a batch of features disposable connected this escaped app, though determination is an upgraded mentation available. I recovered everything I needed was freely available, which was a bully surprise, and the paid mentation is rather affordable astatine $1.49 per month.

Verdict: Overall an fantabulous prime for a basal location cataloging system, and a immense bonus for those who similar a truly beauteous app to use. People who similar to usage tons of subcategories and genres whitethorn find this the astir useful, arsenic filtering and sorting by categories was a standout successful this app.

Final Thoughts

Each publication cataloging app had its ain pros and cons, and portion I had a peculiar favorite, each scholar is different. One app whitethorn enactment overmuch amended for immoderate readers and not for others, truthful I tried to item galore of the features truthful you would beryllium capable to find which app whitethorn enactment champion for your ain cataloging system. Although, you could spell the old-fashioned mode and acquisition a room paper catalog and bash it by manus (which I decidedly imagination of doing 1 day).

If you’re done cataloging and looking for caller ways to show and signifier your books successful your home, Rioter Mara Franzen has immoderate tips for you!