The StoryGraph Platform Helps Book Lovers Bond Over a Great Read

The Short Version: Finding a new book is just as good as finding a new best friend. The adventures books can take you on are priceless and endless. Now with the help from The StoryGraph, book lovers never have to worry about where their next great read will come from. The team uses simple tracking and insightful stats to help avid readers maintain a growing library and connect with like-minded people who share similar hobbies and interests. The StoryGraph helps pave the way for making the reading experience more engaging, more intentional, and more community-driven.

I have always loved reading a good book. It’s the perfect way to escape my reality when times aren’t great. Reading has helped me expand my vocabulary and gives me useful tools to be more expressive. But even though I love books, I always run into the same problem at the end of every read: I don’t know what my next good book will be.

Searching for a good book at the library can be tiresome and time-consuming. So sometimes I would give up or read the same book until I got tired of it. Thanks to The StoryGraph, anxious bookworms like myself don’t have to stress about that anymore. From reading challenges to book clubs, The StoryGraph is the all-in-one platform for bookish explorations.

After months of doing customer research with readers, Nadia Odunayo created The StoryGraph to help readers track and share reading lists with one another. The StoryGraph started off as a small side project for Nadia and grew into the broader book recommendations app that it is today. 

According to the team, The StoryGraph is now a fully-featured Amazon-free alternative to Goodreads. The app stands out for its unique spin on recommending books and recording reading progress. According to Nadia, the users are what keep the team moving forward. 

The StoryGraph currently has over 23,000 followers on Twitter and 47,000 followers on Instagram, and its online social footprint is growing larger all the time.

“We hear great feedback from users every single day! It’s part of what keeps us wanting to operate at the highest level,” Nadia told us. 

Reading alone is never a bad thing to do. In fact, some would say it’s the best way to treat yourself to some quality “me” time. But that doesn’t dismiss the fact that reading a book with a partner is just as fun — or sometimes even better! 

The StoryGraph is all about connecting people with other bookworms. The app is designed to help you along your book journey. A lot of users have praised The StoryGraph for being a great resource to get recommendations for new books from the team as well as other users. 

“I love The StoryGraph! It’s the best way to track what I’m reading, find reviews from other people, discover new books I’m interested in, see what my friends are reading, and get statistics on my reading habits. I love the challenges, tags, graphs, everything about it,” Skyler, a StoryGraph user said in a review.

The Buddy Reads feature allows readers to read a book of their choosing with a small group of people. Buddy Reads has helped people gain new book reads as well as new friends. No matter the distance, reading buddies grow from all across the world. Nadia told us that participants can add live reactions throughout the book. That helps readers interact with one another without giving away any spoilers. 

“When you discuss books with other people, you’ll learn about different ways that people interpret certain things, which I think is always great for just reminding us in general that everyone is operating from a perspective that’s unique to them,” Nadia said. 

Bookworms who want a reading buddy don’t have to stress to find one. The StoryGraph has machine learning-powered suggestions for finding compatible reading buddies so no one has to read alone. 

The StoryGraph can open up new conversations between all types of readers, and that can be a wonderful way to connect with someone whose reading list complements yours. As Nadia said. “You might get clarity on something you were confused by, or you might just have a lot of fun doting over (or hating on!) a particular character.”

Books are multidimensional, and they vary widely in terms of genre and subject matter. That’s what makes reading so much fun. You have an endless list of books to choose from, which can be a little overwhelming. Luckily, The StoryGraph has a virtual library where it filters books for you based on your current mood. 

Regardless of your mood, The StoryGraph will have a top-rated book ready for you to read next. Users found this feature helpful because figuring out what to read next is challenging. You may not even know what you’re in the mood for, but The StoryGraph’s comprehensive set of filters helps you find the perfect match. 

StoryGraph users expressed appreciation for the app’s features and the way the virtual library’s filters help them find good reads easier.

“Love it! Not supporting the e-commerce giant never felt so good. It is being updated with suggestions from users and already has amazing features. Also, best book recommendations I’ve ever been given by an algorithm. Chef’s kiss! Thank you to all behind this project,” a StoryGraph user shared in a review.

Nadia shared with us that the team does a lot of customer research when designing and updating features for the app. The StoryGraph team wants to ensure that every reader is given the proper resources they need to find their next great read. All types of readers can use The StoryGraph for free forever, but an upgrade can offer even more exclusive charts on the user dashboard.

Users searching for extra features can upgrade their membership to the Plus subscription for just $4.99 a month. Premium users get access to the feature Up Next Suggestions that allow users to see a list of books to consider adding to their To-Read Pile with an explanation as to why that book was suggested. Nadia told us that Plus members even get access to group book suggestions to help with group readings, so they have less stress when choosing the perfect read. 

“We’ve had emotional emails from people who’ve read a book that feels so personal to them that they can’t believe the result came from an app,” Nadia told us.

It’s so easy to find yourself lost in a book. There’s nothing else more important, at the moment, when you’re reading a good book. Once finished, you wish you could relive the moment all over again. But what if I told you that you could? With The StoryGraph’s simple tracking system and insightful stats, users can get excited knowing that that feeling never has to end.

StoryGraph has a lot of perks, but the perk many users talk about the most is the simple tracking and insightful stats gathered after every read. The purpose of tracking and stats is to help readers easily record and learn about their reading habits with the help of charts and graphs. Users can identify how their reading develops over time and use the information to help them select better or similar books of interest. 

Going by its motto, “Because life’s too short for a book you’re not in the mood for,” The StoryGraph believes that the tracking and stats tool will help readers discover books that are similar to those they’ve loved in the past. The StoryGraph generates recommendations based on the user’s tracking and stats. Nadia told us that the goal is for readers to feel as though the book recommendations came from a trusted friend. 

We can expect more growth and useful features from The StoryGraph over time. Nadia mentioned that the team is hoping to launch book clubs this year. The team realizes that book clubs have the potential to help readers find common ground and meet new friends or even new romantic interests. Book clubs can augment the app’s Buddy Read features and be a great way for people to feel even more connected with each other while reading. 

“I think this is what is so great about reading as a hobby — it can be at both ends of the solitary-social scale!” Nadia said. “Whichever way the discussion goes, making reading a shared activity often helps to enhance your experience of a book, whether you loved or hated it!”