BookOwl vs Understory

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?

Understory is a reading tracker, book tracker, and social reading app designed to help you track books, log reading progress, set reading goals, and stay consistent. Whether you’re organizing your bookshelf, building a reading habit, or joining a book group, Understory brings together everything you need in one place with a fun plant aesthetic. Join the Understory bookish community to build a better reading habit and build a better world! GROW REAL-LIFE TREES: Watch your garden bloom in Understory and meet monthly objectives to grow real-world trees! Visit friends’ gardens daily to help their trees grow! INTERACT WITH FRIENDS: Join book groups where you and your friends can read different books! Like and comment on reviews in the social feed! TRACK YOUR READING: Review your books with half stars, audiobook tags and private reads! Manage your library with custom reading lists including a Did Not Finish (DNF) list! LEVEL UP YOUR READING: Improve your reading habit with leaderboards for books read, reading streaks, and XP level! Earn XP by logging reading and interacting with other users! SHARE BOOK RECS: See your friends’ favorite and highly rated books and share book recommendations directly with your friends! SEE YOUR STATS: Get insights on your reading history and social interactions through shareable stats and graphs and our signature Library Card graphic! Understory is perfect for readers who want to: - Track books and reading progress in one place - Build a daily reading habit and reading streak by growing a fun garden that doesn’t feel like a chore - Log books, reviews, and ratings (with half stars!) - Organize a TBR (to be read) list - Track audiobooks and ebooks - Join a social book community - Discover new book recommendations Terms of Use: https://www.understory-app.com/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.understory-app.com/privacy-policy Content and Copyright Policy: https://www.understory-app.com/content-copyright-policy