Can I add a book that isn’t found online?

Yes. Book Tracker includes a full manual entry mode for books that don’t show up in online databases. Use it for:

  • Rare editions, out-of-print books, or vintage hardbacks without a modern ISBN.
  • Self-published books that haven’t been catalogued by Google Books or Open Library.
  • Pre-ISBN books (anything published before 1970 may not be in online databases).
  • Untraded or limited-edition prints.
  • Foreign-language books not in the main databases.
  • Personal documents, theses, manuscripts, family papers: anything you want to track as a “book”.

How to add a book manually

  1. Open Book Tracker.
  2. Tap + → Manually insert.
  3. Enter the book’s details:
    • Title (required).
    • Authors — type a name and pick or create.
    • Format — Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook, and 11 more specialized formats (Manga, Graphic Novel, Box Set, Reference Book, Leather Bound, …).
    • Publisher, Language, Release year — optional but useful.
    • Page count — important if you want to track progress by pages.
    • Description, ISBN-10 / ISBN-13, Categories, Series, Tags, Position, Notes — all optional.
  4. Save. The book is added to your library, indistinguishable from a book you added by scanning.

You can edit any field later from the book detail page.

Adding a cover for a manually entered book

Manual entries don’t get a cover automatically. You have three options:

  1. Search online for a cover — open the book → Edit Image → Search Online. Book Tracker queries online databases for cover art that matches the title and author, even if the book itself isn’t found.
  2. Take a photo — point your camera at the physical book and use the photo as the cover.
  3. Pick from Photos — choose an existing image (you can crop in-app).

The manually picked cover is stored in your library and synced to your other devices.

Setting the page count correctly

If you’re going to track reading progress, enter the page count when adding the book. It’s the single most useful piece of metadata for statistics, the Reading Challenge, and the Reading Timer. Look at the last numbered page of the book itself; don’t include unnumbered front matter or appendices unless you want to.

If you forget and add a Reading Status with 0 pages, you’ll hit a known issue. See Why are some books showing 0 pages after import? for the fix.