Eight Thoughts on the Hardcover App

Happy Tuesday, y’all! This week, Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl handed the reins to Leslie from Books Are the New Black. And what has Leslie picked? She has gone with a freebie- this time, an indie freebie. We can share our favorite indie bookstores, authors, publishers, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t tend to read many indie books or visit indie bookstores. So instead, I’ve pivoted and share my thoughts and experiences with a new book-tracking app. Have you heard of the Hardcover App? These are my eight thoughts on the Hardcover app.

Like many readers, I’ve wanted to separate from Goodreads, which is much easier said than done. I joined Goodreads in 2008 and have used it ever since. As a book blogger, it feels like Goodreads, or some book tracker, is needed.

In December 2025, I came across a YouTube video that compared and contrasted a range of digital reading trackers. I found the video, so you can see what Gina Lucia Reads says about the many book trackers available.

As you can see, she did a lot of the hard work! Of the alternatives she tested, I decided to try the Hardcover App. After using it for over eight months, I wanted to share my thoughts.

Number 1: Website and App Available

I don’t know about you, but I love having the flexibility to access my data in different ways. You can find the website here. The app itself is available for iOS and Android.

Number 2: Ability to Edit Books

On Goodreads, only select people can add and edit books. But on the Hardcover app, you can add various editions and even add missing data like page count and audiobook length. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone has access to edit all of the data. But it’s pretty cool that casual users can add editions!

Number 3: Stats

Sure, Goodreads tracks pages read and such. But Hardcover breaks it down into pages read, hours listened, number of authors read, and more. See my July stats!

Number 4: Series Tracker

Have you ever seen a reading tracker app or website that includes a series tracker? I certainly haven’t. The one on Hardcover tracks series you’ve read and tracks the books you may have missed. It also includes upcoming releases. Below are just a couple of examples from my series tracker.

Number 5: Easy Import

As someone with a huge number of books on Goodreads, I was terrified of transferring my data from one site to another. Thankfully, Hardcover had a beginner’s guide and step-by-step instructions for completing the transfer. With the volume of data I had, it took roughly 10 minutes. A couple of items didn’t transfer, but I received an email listing them and letting me add them manually.

Number 6: Emails

One thing about Goodreads that annoys me to no end is how many emails I receive from them. I’m sure there is a way to adjust that in my account, but who has time for that? With Hardcover, I get 1-2 emails a month. And those are typically from Adam, the founder. Those emails are updates on the site and the app. Adam also gives subscribers a look into his life.

Number 7: Passion Project

Speaking of Adam, he started Hardcover as a passion project. I don’t know about you, but I love supporting people and their passion projects. His life has changed a lot since starting Hardcover; this year, he was able to work full-time on the site and leave his “day job.”

Number 8: Goals

While you can set goals on Goodreads, it seems to be only the number of books read. Hardcover offers more variety if you want to diversify your reading. And I think that’s great!

Overall, I’ve enjoyed my experience with the Hardcover app. I will admit I struggle to keep the information up to date because I don’t have the app on my phone. I do have the app on my tablet, and I really should use it more.

Those are my thoughts on the Hardcover app. Have you ever heard of the Hardcover app? If so, have you tried it? What reading tracker do you use? What do you like about it?

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my other bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.