It's easy to forget what you've read. A title comes up in conversation and you can't say whether you finished it, or when, and the book someone recommended last month is gone too. A simple list fixes that: what you want to read, what you're reading now, and what you've finished. This guide covers how to keep that list, then how to keep it on your iPhone with Reading Log Cat, our reading log and book tracker for iPhone and iPad.
Three lists are enough
Three lists cover it:
- Want to read. Every book someone recommends, or you see and mean to get to. Write it down when you hear it, not later.
- Reading. The book or books you're on now, and how far you've got.
- Finished. Each book you've read, with the date you finished it.
A title is all you need for each book. An author helps when two books share a title, and the number of pages lets you see how far through you are.
Add your books
- Open Reading Log Cat and tap Add a book, or the + button at the top right (it's always there).
- Type the Title. The Author and the number of Pages are optional.
- Under Shelf, pick Reading, Want to read or Finished.
- Tap Save.
There's no limit on how many books you add. The main screen shows each shelf that has books, with its count, like Want to read · 7. Books on Want to read stay in the order you added them. Reading puts the book with the latest reading day logged at the top (a book with nothing logged yet counts from the day you added it), and the most recently finished is at the top of Finished.
Keep a want-to-read list
When you hear about a book, add it with Want to read picked. If you typed the page count, the row shows it ("320 pages").
When you start one, either open it and pick Reading under Shelf, then Save, or just log your first reading session for it. Logging a Want to read book moves it to Reading by itself.
See how far you are
Log reading as you go: tap Log reading on the black Today panel, or swipe a book on Reading to the right and tap Log. Pick the book and the day, type the Pages you read this time (not the page you stopped on), the Minutes, or both, and tap Save.
If the book has a page count, its row on Reading gets a progress bar, like "120 of 310 pages". Without a page count, the row shows the pages and minutes logged so far.
You don't have to log anything to keep the list. A book can sit on Reading with no sessions, and you can move it to Finished when you're done.
Mark a book finished
There are two ways a book reaches Finished:
- By logging. When the pages you've logged reach the book's page count, it moves to Finished by itself, dated the day of that session.
- By hand. Open the book, pick Finished under Shelf, and tap Save. It's dated the day you save.
On the Finished shelf each row shows the date, like Finished Oct 12, 2026 (in your iPhone's date format).
Two things to know about the date. You can't type a finish date yourself, so a book you finished years ago, added now on Finished, is dated today. And moving a finished book back to another shelf drops its date; move it to Finished again and it's dated that day.
Fix or remove a book
Tap a book to change its title, author, page count or shelf, then tap Save. Its logged sessions are listed under Sessions, newest first; swipe one to the left to delete it.
To remove a book, swipe it to the left on the main screen and tap Delete, or open it, tap Delete book and confirm. Its sessions go with it.
What the app doesn't do
Reading Log Cat is a plain list and log. It has no star ratings, reviews or notes on a book, no cover pictures, no barcode scanning, no search, and no import from other book apps; you type each book in.
If you also need a reading log to hand in, the same books and sessions print as a weekly or monthly log: see how to keep a reading log.
What it costs
Everything above is free: as many books as you like on all three shelves, logging pages and minutes, and the progress bars. So are the streak of days in a row on the Today panel and the printable log. There are no ads and no account.
Reading Log Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase. It adds Stats (books finished this year, pages and minutes for the last 30 days and month by month, your longest run), Goals (books a year, counted from the books you move to Finished, and pages or minutes a day) and Export CSV, a spreadsheet with every session and every book on your shelves, even ones you haven't logged. Losing Pro deletes nothing. More on the Reading Log Cat page.
Your books are kept on your device and in your own backups, and leave only when you print, share or export them.
Quick answers
Can I add books I read before I had the app?
Yes. Add them with Finished picked. They're dated the day you add them, since there's no way to type an earlier finish date.
Do I have to log pages to use it as a book list?
No. Add books and move them between shelves by hand. Logging is what fills the progress bars, the streak and the printable log, and moves a book to Finished on its last page.
Can I rate or review books?
No. There are no ratings, reviews or notes.
Can I see how many books I finished this year?
The Finished shelf shows its count and each book's date. A count for this year alone is in Pro's Stats, and you can set a books-a-year target in Pro's Goals. Both go by the date on the Finished shelf, so books you add straight to Finished count for the year you add them.
Do I need an account?
No. There's no sign-in, and your books are kept on your device.
Try Reading Log Cat
Try Reading Log Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/reading-log-cat