Comparison

Library Catalog vs Second Reading

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Library Catalog

Organize all your printed books digitally with this app. Easily add books, create custom lists, and attach them to virtual shelves for quick retrieval. Share collections, get expert recommendations, and access your library across all devices.

Highlights
  • Add books with a few clicks
  • Attach printed books to virtual shelves
  • Create book lists using a global database
  • Share book collections and links
  • Get expert recommendations
  • Make wish-lists and reading lists
  • Access lists on all devices
Features
Read full description

ALL YOUR BOOKS IN ONE APP: • Add books by a few clicks to the e-Catalog of books • Attach your printed books to your virtual shelves in the App to quickly find them in your home • Create easily any book lists using the App's global database • Share book collections, their content and links to books from the App by messengers or email • Preview the parts of the books you are interested in • Get recommendations from recognized experts • Make wish-lists and reading lists • Access your lists in all your devices • Edit books info, add book photos and links , Add tags to a book and search by a tag BEST SOLUTION FOR: • Lovers of books and reading • Sellers or Givers by lists of books • Personal and corporate libraries • Bloggers • Book clubs • Educational institutions • Professional communities

About

Second Reading

Features
Read full description

You read something great on your Kindle and highlighted it. Now what? Second Reading imports the highlights you saved on your Kindle and gives them somewhere to live: a customizable Home Screen widget, a searchable library, and a cozy daily page worth returning to. Every highlight arrives on a color of its own, so no two quite feel the same. No account is needed. No analytics collected. Your library stays on your device and on your other devices too, through your own iCloud, if you turn it on. HOME SCREEN WIDGET Small, medium, or large. Rotates hourly or daily, in your choice of four typefaces, and shifts color as it goes. Pin a single shade if you would rather it sat still beside your wallpaper, or pick a neutral and have no color there at all. Tap a highlight to open it in the app. Show only your favorites if you would rather see only a few quotes. TODAY One highlight, full page, nothing competing for attention — on a field of color that changes along with it. Pull another whenever you like, mark a favorite, or share it. YOUR LIBRARY Every book you have highlighted, sorted by title, author, or most recently read. Turn a book off to keep it out of the rotation without deleting anything — or turn off a single highlight and leave the rest of the book showing. SEARCH Full-text search across everything you have imported, including books you have switched off. RE-IMPORTING IS SAFE Import your clippings file as often as you like. Second Reading works out what is genuinely new, leaves the edits you have made alone, and asks which version to keep only in the rare case where it cannot tell. QUOTES OF YOUR OWN Type in a line from a paper book and keep it alongside the rest. BUILT FOR IPHONE AND IPAD One app, both devices, with a layout that uses the space it is given. CROSS-DEVICE SYNC Off until you switch it on. Turn it on and your highlights, notes and favorites stay in step across your iPhone and iPad, through your own iCloud account with no server of ours in the middle. PRIVACY Second Reading is privacy focused. There is no server, no account, no tracking, and no third-party SDK collecting anything. Nothing you import ever leaves your device unless you choose to sync with your iCloud account. Free. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no advertising. Second Reading is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Amazon. "Kindle" is used only to describe the highlights file the app reads.

Screenshots

Library Catalog4 screens
Second Reading4 screens

Verdict

The call

Library Catalog and Second Reading are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Library Catalog ships an update every 3 weeks, Second Reading every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Library Catalog versus Second Reading: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLibrary CatalogSecond Reading
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVladimir YakushevNicholas Kinloch

In-app purchases

None

Library Catalog

No in-app purchases

None

Second Reading

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Library Catalog free?
Library Catalog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Second Reading free?
Second Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Library Catalog or Second Reading have ads?
Neither Library Catalog nor Second Reading shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Library Catalog or Second Reading?
Library Catalog ships an update every 3 weeks, and Second Reading every 2 weeks. Most recently, Library Catalog was updated on September 25, 2026 and Second Reading on September 16, 2026.

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