Reading notes
Automatic reading tracking: what syncs on its own in 2026 and what you still log by hand
The Kobo and StoryGraph link, Kindle imports, reading timers and photo-based place-keeping: where book tracking has become automatic and where it has not.
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · 24 August 2026 · 4 min read
The biggest change this year is Kobo's link with The StoryGraph, live since June 29, 2026: reading on a Kobo e-reader or app now updates your StoryGraph progress and marks finished books as read. Kindle readers can import lists into Fable and highlights into Basmo, but those are imports, not live syncs. Print books still need a manual update, a timer or a photo of the page.
Contents
What changed in 2026?
On May 19, 2026, Rakuten Kobo and StoryGraph announced an integration, and on June 29 Kobo said it was live for all users of Kobo e-readers and apps. Books you are reading on Kobo appear on your StoryGraph Currently Reading shelf, your percentage progress syncs across, and finishing a book on Kobo marks it as read in StoryGraph. It costs nothing extra, and you can still change entries by hand in StoryGraph.
Nadia Odunayo, StoryGraph's founder and CEO, described the aim in Kobo's announcement: "Removing the friction from tracking is one of the most direct ways we can improve reading lives."
Other apps made moving in easier rather than automatic. Literal's rebuilt iOS app, version 1.22.0 from August 7, 2026, lists Goodreads import among its features. Goodreads added a Did Not Finish shelf in March, which gives an import one more standard status to carry across. The dated items are on our News page.
How do you connect Kobo to StoryGraph?
- Create a free StoryGraph account at thestorygraph.com if you do not have one.
- Sign in to your Kobo account and open the integrations page in your account settings.
- Link StoryGraph to your Kobo account.
- Read a few pages of a book on your Kobo e-reader or app, then check StoryGraph's Currently Reading shelf.
The sync covers books in your Kobo account. A print book on your nightstand still needs its own update.
What about Kindle readers?
Among the apps we rank, none publishes a live Kindle link like Kobo's. Two publish Kindle imports instead. Fable's Google Play listing says you can import your book lists from Goodreads and Kindle. Basmo imports Kindle highlights and can sync them to Notion. An import is a copy made when you run it, so you repeat it to catch up.
Which parts of your reading still need a hand?
| What you want recorded | Automatic today? | How the apps handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Progress in a Kobo book | Yes, with StoryGraph | Kobo sends progress and finished books to The StoryGraph. |
| Your history from Goodreads | One-off import | StoryGraph, Literal, Hardcover, Fable, Bookly and BookBuddy publish Goodreads imports. Literal reads your public profile directly. |
| Kindle lists or highlights | Import | Fable imports Kindle lists. Basmo imports Kindle highlights. |
| Adding a new print book | Scan | Barcode scanning in StoryGraph, Goodreads, Literal, Bookly and BookBuddy. |
| Time spent reading a print book | Timer you start and stop | Bookly and Basmo run session timers. |
| Your page in a print book | Manual, or a photo | Update the page yourself, or photograph the page with Magic Bookmark to set your exact place. |
How do you track print books with less typing?
Print is where tracking is still manual. Three habits cut most of the typing. Scan the barcode when you start a book, so the edition is right from the first day. Log progress at the end of each session, not at the end of the book. And if you like to time your reading, let a timer do the counting: Bookly's timer logs pages and time for each session, and Basmo pairs its timer with a highlight scanner for print pages.
Keeping your place is a separate job from logging it. Magic Bookmark syncs to your exact place in a print book from a photo of the page and shows nothing past it. It does not log finished books or keep stats, so it sits next to a tracker rather than replacing one. See Magic Bookmark vs Goodreads.
Is automatic always better?
Not always. A sync is only as complete as the account it reads from: rereads, books read on another device and books you abandon halfway still need a look. After linking Kobo, check your StoryGraph shelves once a month, and keep exporting your library once a quarter whatever syncs. The guide on how to track your reading has a simple routine for mixed print and ebook reading, and News lists new integrations as they are announced.
Sources
- Rakuten Kobo, "Deeper reading insights unlocked: Rakuten Kobo and StoryGraph announce integration", May 19, 2026
- Rakuten Kobo, "Read on Kobo, track on StoryGraph: new integration now live", June 29, 2026
- Google Play listing, Fable
- App Store listing, Basmo
- Bookly, home page
- App Store listing, Magic Bookmark