By: Saije Rusimovici, Staff Writer
The StoryGraph is a free book cataloguing app that caters to every book-lover’s needs. If you’re new to using book apps to track your reading habits, this is a user-friendly space to start. True to its name, the StoryGraph creates graphs and charts that illustrate a plethora of data-based variables, including linking books to your moods, likes and dislikes, and reading pace. It allows you to shelve and review books you’ve read, compile a digital to-read list, and browse books through a tailored algorithm. The visualizations of how your reading changes over time is useful for better understanding your reading habits and meeting reading goals.
Making the switch to the Storygraph also provides an Amazon-free alternative to Goodreads. It’s also as simple as importing your Goodreads data to the StoryGraph (yes, you can do this!) and setting your reading preferences. The app’s AI technology weeds out themes or tropes you dislike, while honing in on all the characteristics you love in a book to provide custom recommendations.
Founder and CEO Nadia Odunayo created the StoryGraph as a side project back in 2019. The software engineer said her favourite feature is the “Up Next Suggestions” feature, which provides “personalized recommendations for what to read next from [users’] to-read list based on a range of factors.” Recommendations are not just based on your previous books, but also your current mood.
There are numerous other features, including joining reading challenges, and even customizing your own. You also have the ability to scan barcodes of books you find while at the bookstore or library and automatically save them to your library. The built-in “did not finish” shelf is perfect for those books you just don’t know what to do with after getting only halfway through. Even more, the StoryGraph allows you to round to half and even quarter stars when rating your reads, which lets you rate more precisely. Had I switched to StoryGraph sooner, I would have been able to avoid so much triggering subject matter thanks to upfront content warnings ranked from minor and moderate to graphic.
Download the Storygraph from the Android or Apple app store.
