5 Things Reading Apps Can't Do

When a Reading App Isn't Enough: 5 Limits You Might Be Hitting

At BLK & Company, our mission has always been to celebrate diverse voices and help readers discover books that resonate and speak to relatable experiences. We've curated collections, hosted conversations, and built community around the stories that shape our space.

But here's something I've noticed: we spend so much time trying to find the right books—and then we forget them.

I can't tell you how many times someone has asked me, "What was that book you recommended about Black feminism?" and I've gone completely blank because I've read twenty books since then. Or I've bought a book twice because I couldn't remember if I already owned it. Or I've started a series and completely lost track of which book I was on because the author took a while to release the next parts and I waited just as long to return.

I know we've all raved about a book and then weeks later, when trying to tell someone else about it, had to pull up the synopsis just to remember the FMC/MMC's name. What's even worse is when both you and the person you're talking to have read it, and neither of you can recall the story clearly enough to have an actual conversation about it. Just a bunch of...

At BLK & Company, we haven't talked much about intentional reading beyond making sure our stories are being celebrated. This year I'm trying to change that—both in my personal reading and with the bookstore (and now with ReadBLK.com). Part of it is realizing that curation doesn't stop at discovery. It extends to how we remember, reflect on, and return to the books we've already read. But intention without structure can still leave you feeling scattered.

Most readers use apps to track their reading. Goodreads, StoryGraph, Bookly—they're all excellent at what they do. Quick logging, social features, stats and insights. If you're happy with your reading app, this post isn't for you.

But some readers—the ones who journal, who build their own reading curricula, who connect reading to learning, who need their books integrated into their whole life system—eventually bump into the limits of what any app can do.

This post isn't about apps being bad, but instead recognizing that some reading practices need tools built for depth, not convenience. For systems, not apps.

So what does it look like when you've outgrown your reading app? Here are five things I've learned that reading apps (including great ones like StoryGraph) aren't built to do—and what it looks like when you need more.

1. Deep, Structured Reflection

Apps let you leave reviews. But if you're reading to learn, to grow, or to create content—you need structure.

Most apps give you a freeform text box. Write whatever you want. Which sounds all fine and dandy until you're staring at a blank page trying to remember what you wanted to say about a book you finished three weeks ago. Remember how hard it was in school to write papers on no specific topic? Yeah, that's how reviews are for me.

What would be beneficial is if we had a little more in-depth prompting to guide us in giving constructive reviews. Wouldn't 30+ reflection prompts across ten categories be helpful? Prompts on character analysis, theme exploration, writing style evaluation, what worked, what didn't, personal impact, recommendation criteria, even dream cast. Not that you have to fill out all of them, but because having the framework helps you think deeper about what you just read.

This is for book bloggers, students, academics, deep readers, content creators—anyone who's ever finished a book and thought, "I need to write about this," and then didn't because the blank page felt too big.

2. Thematic Reading Curricula

Apps track books. But what if you're not just reading books—you're studying a topic?

Most apps give you tags, shelves, lists. You can label things. You can group things. But you can't really build something.

What if you could create a reading curriculum? A "Civil Rights History Reading Path" with ten books in sequence. Track your progress through it and add notes on how each book builds on the last. See where you are in the journey, not just what you've checked off. Let’s take it back to syllabus week!

This is for self-directed learners, thematic readers, people using books as education—people who aren't just collecting reads, but constructing understanding.

3. Multiple Simultaneous Goals

Most apps give you one reading challenge: "Read X books this year."

One number. One goal. Which is fine if that's all you're tracking. But what if you're trying to read fifty-two books and hit twelve genres and finish three series and make sure half your reads are by BIPOC authors and read for thirty minutes daily? I know these readers exist.

Most apps make you pick. Or they let you set multiple goals but don't actually help you track them in a way that makes sense.

What if you could track thirty-three goal templates across six categories—all at once, all with visual progress? Not because you should track that many, but because if you're someone who thinks in layers, you need tools that can hold them.

This is for challenge enthusiasts, goal-oriented readers, people with multiple reading intentions who are tired of juggling apps or spreadsheets to see the full picture.

4. Integration with Your Life System

Apps are standalone. You log in. You log your book. You close the app. Your reading life lives in one place, and everything else lives somewhere else (usually in 50 other apps).

But what if you want your reading connected to everything else?

What if your reading tracker lived in a workspace alongside your work projects, personal goals, journal, fitness tracker, business dashboard? What if reading wasn't a separate thing you do, but integrated into how you organize your life? That's not something a reading app is built to do because why would it?

This is for power users, people with integrated life systems, readers who connect books to personal growth and don't want their reading siloed off from the rest of their world.

5. Truly Custom Data

Apps give you the fields they think you need. Author, title, rating, date finished. Maybe a few extras. But what if you need different fields?

What if you want to track "Books that made me boo-hoo cry"? Or "Books recommended by BookTok"? Or "Books I'd reread"? Or "Books that changed my career"? Or "Books I'd give to my younger self"?

Most apps don't let you do that. They're designed for the majority, which means they're limited by what most people need.

What if you could add any field you want? Create any view you want? Build a system that tracks exactly what matters to you, not what the app developer thought you'd care about?

This is for data nerds, people with unique tracking needs, people who want full control over how they see and understand their reading life.

Again—Goodreads is great for what it does. StoryGraph is even better in some ways. But if any of these five things resonated with you, you might be ready for something that goes deeper.

In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing what I've learned about building reading systems that actually stick—not out of discipline, but out of design. Systems that help may help you remember what you read. Systems that help you reflect, not just log. Systems that integrate reading into the life you already have going on.

This is the beginning of a new conversation at BLK & Company. One about not just what we read, but how we engage with our reading lives. Because the books we read deserve more than a star rating and a forgotten shelf.

I hope you'll stick around for it.

Until the next thought,

Happy reading.

Want to be the first to know when I share the next post in this series? Join our community at readblk.com