Book Nook vs LibraryThing

Updated 3 November 2026

Book Nook catalogues the books you own by barcode or search, draws them on a bookshelf you arrange, and records how you read them. The table compares Book Nook and LibraryThing on 16 features.

Book Nook and LibraryThing side by side

LibraryThing checked on 3 November 2026: App Store listing, blog.librarything.com, librarything.com/topic/376363, play.google.com/store/apps/details.

Book Nook is the only one of the nine apps we compared with all 16 features in the table, and no other app has more than 12. The full comparison is at the best bookshelf apps in 2026.

Bookshelf view, themes and decorations

Book Nook draws each bookshelf as a wooden bookcase with your covers standing on the boards. You drag a book to move it along a shelf or to another shelf, turn it spine-out, stack it, or tilt it against its neighbour. Between the books you can place any of 65 decorations, such as plants, candles, lamps and dragons, and Shelf lights turns on lights under the boards.

There are five themes: Simple, Dark Academia, Cottagecore, Coquette and Matcha Cafe. You can also build your own, choosing the wall, back, board and frame colours, the frame style, the board thickness and edge, the back pattern, an ornament and the title font. With Real book sizes on, each book is drawn at its edition's height class (mass market, paperback, large or oversize), so a hardcover stands taller than a pocket paperback. There are more ideas in an aesthetic bookshelf app.

You can keep as many bookshelves as you like and swipe between them. List and Mosaic views show the same books with pills for All, TBR, Done, Reading and DNF, search, and sorting; switching back leaves every book in place. The Bookshelf widget on iPhone and Android puts the bookcase on your home screen, covers and decorations included. There is more in a virtual bookshelf app and the bookshelf widget.

LibraryThing shows your catalogue as lists and covers, organised with collections and tags. It has no shelf themes or decorations.

Adding books by search, barcode or by hand

1. Search by title or author. Results come from Open Library, ISBNdb and Google Books, with author, cover, page count and description filled in.
2. Scan the barcode on the back of the book. The phone apps use the camera, and the web app reads barcodes through the browser's camera or lets you type the ISBN.
3. Add it by hand with a photo of your own cover. If a scanned ISBN finds no match, tap Add manually and the form opens with the ISBN already filled in.

Scanning a shelf at a time is covered in how to catalogue your home library by scanning barcodes. LibraryThing also scans barcodes.

Reading timer on the Lock Screen and Android notifications

Book Nook's reading timer records each session with the page you started on and the page you stopped at. On iPhone the running timer shows on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity. On Android it shows as a notification with Pause and Stop, and on Android 16 and later that notification is a Live Update, a chip in the status bar with the running clock.

You can start reading without opening the app: on iPhone with iOS 18 or later from Control Center, the Lock Screen or the Action button, and on Android from a Quick Settings tile or a widget. See the reading timer app. LibraryThing has no reading timer.

Reading statistics and goals

Book Nook's statistics show minutes and pages over time, a reading calendar, streaks, genres and a chart of your ratings. You set a daily minutes goal and a yearly books goal. A daily reminder on iPhone and Android names the book you are reading; it is on at 6:00 PM by default, and you can change the time or turn it off.

LibraryThing has charts and graphs of your catalogue. There is more on tracking in the reading tracker app.

Reading Wrapped for each month and year

Book Nook's Reading Wrapped sums up last month or this month so far, and in December and January the whole year, with pages for your reading time, your favourite books and a summary. The pages are 9:16; the phone apps share them to Instagram Stories and TikTok, and the web app shares and saves them. LibraryThing has a Year in Review. The pages are described in Reading Wrapped.

Friends, reviews, book clubs and challenges

Feed and reviews

The feed shows what the readers you follow are reading, finishing and reviewing, with likes and comments. Every book page has reviews, sorted by most recent or most liked, and a discussion thread. Part of a review or comment can be marked as a spoiler, which readers tap to show; anyone who has finished the book sees it in the clear.

Book clubs

A Book Nook club reads one book at a time and knows each member's page from their own shelf. A comment carries the writer's page and stays folded for members who have not reached it, and notifications do not quote it. See the book club app.

Challenges and nooks

Everyone gets the yearly reading challenge, and anyone can create a challenge with a goal and a deadline, with a progress ring and a leaderboard. Nooks are groups for talking about books, each with a thread of posts and an invite link. There are ideas in reading challenge ideas for 2027.

Points and stamps

You earn points for reviews, posts, comments, finished books and challenges, and stamps for milestones such as your first review and the first friend who joins through your invite link. Both show on your public profile.

LibraryThing has friends, groups and forums, and members run challenges inside groups. It has no book clubs that track each member's page. Of the nine apps we compared, Book Nook is the only one with both a reading timer and book clubs.

Platforms and sync

Book Nook runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, Android 8.0 or later, and the web at trybooknook.com. One account syncs your bookshelves, books and reading sessions across all three, and the apps are built and updated together. LibraryThing is a cataloguing site that started in 2005. It runs on the web with iPhone and Android apps, and its iPhone app was last updated in February 2024.

Price

Book Nook is free with no subscription, no paid tier, no ads and no limit on books. LibraryThing is also free. Book Nook adds the bookshelf view, the reading timer, goals, Wrapped and book clubs at no cost. You can join Book Nook free on the web or in the phone apps.

Who should pick Book Nook over LibraryThing

Owners of a physical bookshelf

Scan your books shelf by shelf, make a Book Nook bookshelf for each real bookcase, and drag the covers into the same order, so the shelf on screen matches the one at home.

Readers who want an aesthetic digital shelf

Each bookshelf keeps its own theme, so one can be Dark Academia and the next Matcha Cafe, and a shelf you have not themed follows the theme in your settings.

Readers who follow their goals on the home screen

The Yearly Goal widget on iPhone and Android shows the books you have finished this year against your goal, whether you are ahead or behind pace, and the last book you finished. The Today's Reading widget shows your minutes against the daily goal and your streak, with a button to start reading. On iPhone, Lock Screen widgets show the daily goal and the streak under the clock.

Readers who keep a book journal

Each book keeps its start and finish dates, its sessions with pages read, your quarter-star rating and your review with spoiler tags. A book you mark private stays off your public profile.

How to switch from LibraryThing to Book Nook

1. Create a free account at trybooknook.com/signup or in the iPhone or Android app.
2. If your books are also on Goodreads or StoryGraph, export your library there and import the file. For Fable, a Chrome extension such as ShelfBridge or Fable Exporter saves the file, and the app shows the steps. You review every book before it comes in and can undo the import for 7 days. The steps are in how to move from Goodreads.
3. Scan the rest of your books, make a bookshelf for each real bookcase and drag the covers into the same order. Find books without a barcode by search, or add them by hand.
4. Pick a theme, add decorations and the Bookshelf widget, then start the timer the next time you read.

You can export your Book Nook data as a JSON file at any time. For other options, see Book Nook vs Libib and Goodreads alternatives.