Reading University
Reading University: book tracker terms and short lessons
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · Data refreshed 14 October 2026 · Editorial assessment
The plain-English corner of Best Book Tracker Apps.
Reading University explains the words and ideas behind book tracker apps. Start with the glossary of 41 terms, then work through nine short lessons in three tracks: Basics, Buying and Running it. Each lesson takes a few minutes and ends with a link to the next one.
Glossary
Book tracker glossary: reading app terms explained41 terms, from API to WorldCat, each in one to three sentences, with a source where a term comes from a standard or a store's own definitions.Basics
How a tracker organises your books, how progress works and how your data moves.
Lesson 1 of 9 · Basics
Reading statuses and shelves: how a book tracker organises your books
The four statuses, and the difference between shelves and tags.
2 min read
Lesson 2 of 9 · Basics
Tracking progress and keeping your place: pages, percentages and photos
Why the number in your tracker is not the same as knowing where you stopped.
2 min read
Lesson 3 of 9 · Basics
Moving your reading data: CSV files, profile imports and APIs
The three ways your reading history moves between apps, and what gets left behind.
2 min read
Buying
How to read a listing, a score and a price, and how to try an app before you commit.
Lesson 4 of 9 · Buying
How to read an App Store listing before you download a reading app
Six parts of a store listing that tell you more than the screenshots do.
4 min read
Lesson 5 of 9 · Buying
How to read an editorial score: criteria, weights and ties
What the numbers on this site measure, and how to make them fit your reading.
3 min read
Lesson 6 of 9 · Buying
Trying a reading app before you commit: a two-week trial plan
How to find out if a tracker suits you before you move your whole library or pay for a tier.
3 min read
Running it
Day-to-day tracking across formats, reading with other people and reviewing your year.
Lesson 7 of 9 · Running it
Tracking print books, ebooks and audiobooks in one library
One reading life, three formats: how to log each without making a mess of your stats.
3 min read
Lesson 8 of 9 · Running it
Book clubs, buddy reads and spoilers: how social reading works in tracker apps
Reading with other people is half the point for many readers. Here is how the apps handle it.
3 min read
Lesson 9 of 9 · Running it
Your year in reading: goals, wraps and a year-end review
What the apps give you at the end of the year, and a simple review you can run yourself.
3 min read