Book Tracker includes a Yearly Reading Challenge that lets you set a goal for how many books you want to finish in the current year.
The challenge updates automatically as soon as you complete books with a finish date in the current year, helping you stay motivated and track your achievements.
How to create a Reading Challenge
- Open the app.
- Go to the Statistics section from the home screen (iPhone) or sidebar (iPad and Mac).
- Tap Add Reading Challenge.
- Enter the number of books you want to read this year.
- Save the challenge.
Your challenge will now appear in the statistics view with a progress bar.
How books are counted in the challenge
A book is included in your yearly challenge when it has a Reading Status marked as finished with a completion date in the current year.
This can happen in two ways:
- You use Mark as Read Today, which immediately closes the book with today’s date.
- You start a Reading Status and track your progress over time (pages, time, percentage). When you mark it as finished, the app records the end date and counts it toward the challenge.
⚠️ If a book is marked as Read without a date, it will not appear in your statistics or Reading Challenge.
Where to track your progress
- In the Statistics section, you can see how many books you’ve completed compared to your yearly goal.
- If you tap the Reading Challenge, you can view the list of all books that contributed to your progress.
- In the bar charts by month, tapping on a bar reveals which books were finished in that specific month.
- On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you can also use widgets on the Home Screen, Lock Screen, or desktop to keep your challenge visible at a glance.
Best practices
- Always make sure a completion date is recorded for finished books.
- Use the challenge not only to set a goal but also to review your reading patterns month by month.
- Keep the widget active to stay motivated throughout the year.
- Adjust your pace during the year by checking both the progress bar and the monthly breakdown.
✅ With the Yearly Reading Challenge, Book Tracker helps you set meaningful goals, monitor your progress, and explore your completed books in detail — both yearly and monthly.