# BookOwl: Reading Tracker — Scan, Import & Organize Books > Free reading tracker and personal library organizer with customizable profiles and import/export features. (iPhone/iPad app by Phil Getzen.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookowl-reading-tracker/id6749646194 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Phil Getzen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1830876966) - Category: Books, Lifestyle - Price: Free - Rating: 4.90/5 from 41 App Store ratings · 13 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.0 · 50 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-02-16 - Data updated: 2026-09-03 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookowl-reading-tracker/id6749646194/reviews.md ## What is BookOwl? Your reading life, delightfully organized. BookOwl is a free reading companion for people who love books. Build your personal library, track what you're reading, and make the app feel like yours, all without ads, clutter, or data harvesting. Available on iOS and at bookowlapp.com. NEW: THE SIT TAB The Sit tab gives reading sessions a home. Start a sit, set a timer, and read. BookOwl keeps you company. Capture a mood, a scene, or a pinned moment mid-read without losing your place (speak it instead of typing, if you like). When you close the book, a wrap-up card logs how far you got and how the sit felt. A COMPLETELY REDESIGNED LIBRARY: Your library now opens like a magazine. A masthead greets you with the books you're reading now, The Lead carousel keeps your current reads one swipe away, and your shelves sit beneath. Pinch to zoom from big covers down to a compact index. The new Contents view puts shelves, filters, and sorting in one place, with breadcrumb chips showing what's active. YOUR THOUGHTS, ORGANIZED BY BOOK: Everything you capture lands where you'll find it again: pinned passages on the book's page, your moods across the book's arc, even why you set a book down. Make the capture chips your own with custom moods and scenes. Your written thoughts stay private, always. TRACK PROGRESS WITHOUT THE FUSS: Update your page, your status, and your reading dates in one place with the new progress editor. Edit or delete any past read. Your history stays accurate and syncs everywhere. MAKE IT YOURS WITH 12 THEMES: Every theme hand-tuned, from the warm sepia of Quiet Warmth to the banker's-lamp green of Reading Room, all meeting accessibility contrast standards. YOUR PROFILE, YOUR WAY: Five tabbed sections: Overview, Collections, Reviews, Stats, and Personal. Choose which reading stats sit front and center. Pick your aurora colors. Arrange your sections. PRIVACY THAT MAKES SENSE: One toggle. Three options: Public, Friends Only, or Private. Visitors see a friendly banner explaining what's shared. IMPORT FROM ANYWHERE: Switching from another app? Import your full reading history from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible (via OCR), or Libby. Your ratings, shelves, and reading dates all come with you. Export to CSV or JSON anytime. Your data belongs to you. SCAN BOOKS IN SECONDS: Point your camera at any barcode. BookOwl identifies it instantly and adds it to your library. Stack of books at a used bookstore? Scan them all in one session. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY: Custom shelves and curated lists for any purpose: "Beach Reads," "Book Club," "Lent to Friends." FIND YOUR NEXT READ: Personalized recommendations, author pages, series with reading order, and a catalog of millions of books. USE IT ANYWHERE: Web app at bookowlapp.com with the same profile and achievements. Your data syncs across devices. BUILT FOR READERS, NOT ADVERTISERS: No ads. No engagement tricks. No data selling. Just a calm, thoughtful space for your reading life, built by a reader, for readers. • Sit tab: timed reading sessions with a wrap-up card • Capture moods, scenes, and pinned moments mid-read • Voice capture: speak your thoughts without stopping • Redesigned Library: The Lead carousel and pinch-to-zoom shelves • Barcode scanner: add books in seconds • Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible, or Libby • Export your library to CSV or JSON • Progress editor: pages, status, and dates in one place • Edit or delete past reads anytime • 12 hand-tuned themes and alternate app icons • Customizable profile with aurora colors and hero stats • Half-star and quarter-star ratings • Custom shelves, collections, and curated book lists • Yearly reading goals and streaks • Year in Review: shareable reading personality cards • Series tracking with reading order • Privacy controls: Public, Friends Only, or Private • Social features: follow friends, reviews, profiles Whether you read 5 books a year or 50, BookOwl helps you remember every one. Whooo's ready to get started? ## Key features - Barcode scanner for instant book addition - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible, Libby - Customizable profile with aurora colors - Half and quarter-star rating system - Custom shelves and curated book lists - Reading progress tracking - Yearly reading goals and streaks ## Recent user reviews (10 of 13) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookowl-reading-tracker/id6749646194/reviews.md ### 3/5 — Hopeful *2026-07-04* I am hoping the bugs get worked out on this app. I enjoy it when it will open for me and not kick me off and close down constantly. Not sure why that is happening but it is. **Developer response:** Hey there! Thanks for the honest feedback. I’m working to address as much as I can. If you want to check out the latest version, I fixed some crashes. Otherwise, head to settings and there is a send feedback form that gives me some more details about what might be happening. Best, Phil ### 5/5 — Great app! *2026-04-13* This app is well polished and the interface is very nice to see and use! Highly recommend! Love it better then StoryGraph and good reads! Highly recommend and I don’t leave reviews like ever but I had to with this app! Now stop reading this and download the app already! ### 5/5 — This App’s a Hoot *2026-03-28* Loving BookOwl so far. Very user friendly. Expansive library, has all the books I’ve searched for. A fresh take on other book apps. ### 5/5 — Getting back into reading *2026-02-24* I’m getting back into reading more after grad school and I loved the ability to move my Goodreads books over to keep that history while also being able to better rate books with more distinction between them!!! So excited about the reader journey and the way reading will be more gamified to help me hit my reading goals this year! ### 5/5 — Excellent tool! *2026-02-24* This app checks a lot of boxes for me. The ui/ux is clean and simple and it just works. Fills a great use case and plan on continuing to use the app!! ### 5/5 — Finally, a high quality book app *2026-02-23* I just appreciate the design of this, the thoughtfulness and, the app experience. The easiness to be able to scan, track, and also discover, which is so cool. This is in comparison to using traditional apps like Goodreads etc. I finally feel like this is the app that books deserve, that encourages you to read (especially for those who struggle with it) and gets you excited! Love the app experience. Feels modern! Plus I found a book I definitely would not have read! ### 5/5 — Beautiful reading tracker *2026-02-18* I’ve tried a lot of apps for tracking my library, and I’ve always ended up back on Goodreads which I can’t stand. This finally seems like one that might stick! The app is really well designed and I love the reading stats and reader journey. Nice touch. ### 5/5 — Great app *2026-02-17* Great app that’s thoughtfully done. Really attention to detail that Goodreads totally misses the mark on. ### 5/5 — Beautiful and Intuitive! *2026-02-17* I’ve been looking for an alternative to GoodReads, and this is it! I love how it tracks and the UI is so nice!! ### 5/5 — Favorite reading tracking app! *2026-02-17* I love BookOwl. It makes it so much easier to track the books I read! ## Frequently asked questions about BookOwl ### How do I import my reading data into BookOwl? BookOwl allows you to import your full reading history from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible (via OCR), or Libby (timeline import). This includes your ratings, shelves, and reading dates, ensuring a seamless transition. ### Can I customize my profile in BookOwl? Yes, BookOwl 2.0 features a redesigned profile with five tabbed sections: Overview, Collections, Reviews, Stats, and Personal. You can choose which reading stats are displayed prominently and customize the aurora colors and section arrangement. ### What privacy options does BookOwl offer? BookOwl provides three privacy options: Public, Friends Only, or Private. Visitors will see a clear banner explaining what information is shared, giving you complete control over your profile's visibility. ### How does BookOwl handle book ratings? BookOwl supports half-star and quarter-star ratings, allowing for more precise evaluation of books compared to standard whole-star systems. ### Can I organize my books in BookOwl? Absolutely. You can create custom shelves and curated book lists for any purpose, such as 'Beach Reads' or 'Book Club.' The app also offers filtering and searching capabilities to quickly find any book. ### Does BookOwl offer personalized book recommendations? Yes, BookOwl provides personalized recommendations based on your reading history. It also features author pages and a catalog of millions of books to explore. ### Is BookOwl available on multiple devices? BookOwl is available as an iOS app for on-the-go use and also has a web app at bookowlapp.com. Your data syncs seamlessly across all your devices. ### How often is BookOwl updated? The latest version of BookOwl is 2.0.2, and it was last updated on April 10, 2026. This indicates a commitment to regular updates and improvements. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.5.7 — 2026-09-01 **Fixed** - Fix signing back in leaving your profile, theme, or library only partly restored - Fix a crash that could happen when adding a book to your library - Fix interrupted Goodreads and StoryGraph imports skipping books when you resume - Fix your reading autobiography claiming you had read nothing - Fix your 50th book milestone getting displaced by the longest book note **Improved** - For You now loads instantly instead of taking several seconds on a cold start - Covers no longer stall scrolling, and the scanner offers an Open Settings shortcut when camera access is off ### 2.5.6 — 2026-08-19 Bug fixes & improvements with sign out and sign in. ### 2.5.5 — 2026-07-21 Continuous bug fixes & improvements If BookOwl has been good to you, a quick rating helps other readers find it. — v2.5 introduces the Sit tab, your new home for reading sessions: • Sit tab: start a timed reading session, with or without a book attached • Capture moods, scenes, and pinned moments mid-read (voice input included) • Wrap-up card logs your progress and how the sit felt • Completely redesigned Library: The Lead carousel, pinch-to-zoom shelves, and a Contents view for shelves, filters, and sorting • New progress editor: pages, status, and dates in one place • Edit or delete past reads from your reading history • 12 hand-tuned themes, all meeting accessibility contrast standards • Faster, more reliable cover loading in large libraries We'd love to hear from you. Tap the feedback button in Settings. ### 2.5.4 — 2026-07-09 Continuous bug fixes & improvements If BookOwl has been good to you, a quick rating helps other readers find it. — v2.5 introduces the Sit tab, your new home for reading sessions: • Sit tab: start a timed reading session, with or without a book attached • Capture moods, scenes, and pinned moments mid-read (voice input included) • Wrap-up card logs your progress and how the sit felt • Completely redesigned Library: The Lead carousel, pinch-to-zoom shelves, and a Contents view for shelves, filters, and sorting • New progress editor: pages, status, and dates in one place • Edit or delete past reads from your reading history • 12 hand-tuned themes, all meeting accessibility contrast standards • Faster, more reliable cover loading in large libraries We'd love to hear from you. Tap the feedback button in Settings. ### 2.5.3 — 2026-07-04 A small update focused on sign-in reliability. Fixed: signing back in could leave returning readers stuck on the Create Username screen instead of their library, especially on a weak connection or after reinstalling. Sign-in now takes you straight to your books. If BookOwl has been good to you, a quick rating helps other readers find it. — v2.5 introduces the Sit tab, your new home for reading sessions: • Sit tab: start a timed reading session, with or without a book attached • Capture moods, scenes, and pinned moments mid-read (voice input included) • Wrap-up card logs your progress and how the sit felt • Completely redesigned Library: The Lead carousel, pinch-to-zoom shelves, and a Contents view for shelves, filters, and sorting • New progress editor: pages, status, and dates in one place • Edit or delete past reads from your reading history • 12 hand-tuned themes, all meeting accessibility contrast standards • Faster, more reliable cover loading in large libraries We'd love to hear from you. Tap the feedback button in Settings. ## Apps similar to BookOwl | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Reading Journey: Book Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-journey-book-tracker/id6749302195) | 4.7 (232) | Free | Books | | [Bookshelf: Reading Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-reading-tracker/id6654913138) | 4.9 (22) | Free | Books | | [BookScape](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookscape/id6756797107) | 4.9 (22) | Free | Books | | [Reading Journal - Book Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-journal-book-tracker/id6757375623) | 4.8 (33) | Free | Books | | [BookPine: Book Tracker & Stats](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookpine-book-tracker-and-stats/id6739737366) | 4.7 (37) | Free | Books | | [Reading Log: Book Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-log-book-tracker/id6661020459) | 4.9 (10) | Free | Books | ## Related topics [phil getzen](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/phil-getzen) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-03.*