Reading University
Book tracker glossary: reading app terms explained
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · Data refreshed 14 October 2026 · Editorial assessment
Our take
41 terms you will meet in book tracker apps and on this site, in alphabetical order. Each definition is one to three sentences and names the apps where the term applies. Where a term comes from a standard or from the App Store's own definitions, we link the source.
A
- API
- An application programming interface lets other software read or write your data in an app. Hardcover publishes a GraphQL API with OAuth, and Literal publishes API documentation for developers. Goodreads stopped issuing new API keys in December 2020.Source: Hardcover API docs
- App Tracking Transparency
- Apple's rule that an iPhone app must ask your permission before tracking you across other companies' apps and websites. The prompt has applied since iOS 14.5.Source: Wikipedia
B
- Barcode scanning
- Adding a book by pointing your phone camera at the barcode on its cover, which encodes the book's ISBN. StoryGraph, Goodreads, Literal, Bookly and BookBuddy publish barcode scanning.
- Book club
- A group reading the same book to a shared schedule, with a place to discuss it. Fable clubs can be public or private and cover books and TV shows, and Goodreads hosts online book clubs.
- Bookmark Credit
- Magic Bookmark's pay-per-book unit. One credit covers one book, credits never expire, and the App Store lists 1 credit for $4.99, 5 for $19.99, 10 for $34.99 and 50 for $69.99. See the Magic Bookmark review.
- Buddy read
- Two or more readers reading the same book at the same time and comparing notes. StoryGraph's buddy reads let you react to specific parts of the book without spoiling later parts for each other.
C
- Content warning
- A note on a book's page that flags themes a reader may want to know about before starting. The StoryGraph shows content warnings on book pages.
- CSV file
- A plain-text table with commas between the fields, documented in RFC 4180 (October 2005). It is the format most reading apps use to import and export a library.Source: RFC 4180
- Currently reading
- The status for books in progress. Progress updates attach to books on this shelf, and Kobo now fills it automatically in StoryGraph for books in your Kobo account.
- Custom shelf
- A shelf you name yourself, beyond the standard statuses, such as a club or holiday pile. When StoryGraph imports from Goodreads it turns custom shelves into tags, while Literal recreates them as shelves.
D
- Data linked to you
- An App Store privacy label heading for data that may be collected and linked to your identity, listed by purpose. See how nine apps compare in our privacy label article.Source: Apple App Store explainer
- Data not linked to you
- An App Store privacy label heading for data that may be collected but is not tied to your identity. Hardcover's label lists only usage data and diagnostics here.Source: Apple App Store explainer
- Data used to track you
- An App Store privacy label heading for data that may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. Bookly, Basmo and Magic Bookmark list identifiers here.Source: Apple App Store explainer
- Did not finish (DNF)
- A status for a book you started and stopped. Goodreads added a DNF shelf in March 2026; The StoryGraph and Hardcover already offered one. See how to use a DNF shelf.Source: Goodreads blog
E
- Editorial score
- The 0-10 score on this site, weighted from five criteria for one job: getting back into a book without spoilers. It measures fit for that job, not overall app quality. The method is on How we rank.
G
- Goodreads export
- The library file Goodreads produces on request, in CSV format. Most other trackers can import it, which makes it the usual starting point for a move.
H
- Highlight
- A passage you mark to keep. Literal captures highlights with your camera or by typing, Basmo has a highlight scanner for print pages and imports Kindle highlights, and Bookly saves quotes by typing, voice or photo.
I
- In-app purchase
- Anything you buy inside an app after downloading it, such as a subscription or a credit pack. The App Store lists an app's in-app purchases and their US prices on its listing, which is where most prices on this site come from.
- ISBN
- The International Standard Book Number, an identifier meant to be unique to each edition of a book. Since January 1, 2007 new ISBNs have 13 digits, matching the EAN-13 barcode printed on the cover.Source: Wikipedia
L
- Lifetime purchase
- A one-time payment for paid features, with no renewal. BookBuddy Pro is listed as a lifetime purchase at $9.99.
M
- Mood and pace
- Ways of describing a book by how it feels to read and how fast it moves. The StoryGraph charts your reading by mood and pace and uses them to filter recommendations.
O
- OAuth
- An open standard that lets one app access your account in another without you handing over your password; OAuth 2.0 is published as RFC 6749. Hardcover's API uses OAuth.Source: RFC 6749
- Owned
- A marker for books you have a copy of, separate from their reading status. StoryGraph offers an Owned marker, and BookBuddy records where each copy lives and who has borrowed it.
P
- Privacy label
- The App Privacy section on an App Store listing, filled in by the developer. Apple notes that labels may not describe all of a developer's practices.Source: Apple App Store explainer
- Profile import
- Bringing your history into a new app by reading your public profile elsewhere, with no file to download. Literal can import from a public Goodreads profile this way.Source: Literal import guide
Q
- Quarter-star rating
- A rating scale finer than whole stars. The StoryGraph accepts half and quarter stars, so a 3.75 is possible.
R
- Readathon
- A set period in which readers try to read as much as they can, often together. Bookly runs readathons as part of its community features.
- Reading challenge
- A yearly target for the number of books you read. Goodreads runs the annual Reading Challenge, and a DNF book counts toward it only if it has a read date.
- Reading goal
- Any target you set for your reading, by books, pages or time, over a day, week, month or year. Bookly supports daily, monthly and yearly goals, and Fable Plus adds weekly and monthly goals. See Reading goals.
- Reading journal
- Private notes about what you read and how it felt. The StoryGraph has a private reading journal, and Basmo is built around journaling alongside its session timer.
- Reading progress
- How far you are through a book, logged as a page number or a percentage. Pages suit print books, and percentages suit ebooks, where page counts change with text size.
- Reading session
- One sitting of reading, usually timed. Bookly and Basmo run session timers that log time and pages.
- Reading streak
- A run of consecutive days with reading logged. Fable lists streaks among its free features.
- Reading wrap
- A shareable round-up of what you read over a period. Fable creates monthly Reading Wraps, and Goodreads has published a Year in Books since 2014.
S
- Spoiler-aware discussion
- Discussion arranged so you see only what fits the point you have reached. StoryGraph ties buddy-read reactions to parts of the book, and Fable offers spoiler-free discussion spaces.
- Subscription
- A paid tier that renews monthly or yearly until you cancel. StoryGraph Plus, Hardcover Supporter, Fable Plus, Bookly Pro and Basmo Premium are subscriptions; compare their prices in the calculator.
T
- Tag
- A free-form label you can stack on a book, such as a mood or who recommended it. StoryGraph supports custom tags, and Hardcover supports lists and tags.
U
- Up Next queue
- A short, ordered list of the books you plan to read soonest, separate from a long want-to-read shelf. The StoryGraph offers an Up Next queue.
W
- Want to read
- The status for books you plan to read, also called to-read. It is one of the core shelves that StoryGraph and Literal import from Goodreads.
- Weighted total
- The overall score on this site: each 0-10 criterion score multiplied by its weight, added up and divided by 100. The weights are published on How we rank, and you can change them in the calculator.