Reading statistics are prevalent among the vast majority of e-readers. Amazon, Kobo, and many other brands have systems that track reading progress, goals, achievements, or daily stats. Some apps do the same thing but work on smartphones and tablets. Popular ones include Letterboxd, Serialized, Storygraph, and GoodReads. Do statistics matter when reading, or do they distract from the immersive experience?
The Amazon Kindle is the world’s most popular e-reader, and they have advanced reading statistics. You can visit the Amazon website to see your reading insights, which monitor days read per month, reading streak in a row, and an activity tracker to refer to. This information is also on the Kindle e-reader, but only for residents of the USA. The Kindle app for Android and iOS also has this feature. Amazon also grants awards based on the genres read and offers monthly incentives.
Rakuten Kobo has reading stats on its e-readers in all its operating countries. Discover fascinating facts and stats about your reading habits and track your progress. Get spontaneous awards just for reading. It keeps track of how long you’ve been reading, your average reading session, and the pages per minute, but that’s about it. The Kobo app for Android and iOS also has a reading stats feature.
Boox, Meebook, and other brands also have their reading stats. These are all Android e-readers, so more advanced apps via Google Play are also available.
Some users do not like monitoring their reading habits because they don’t want their data measured and analyzed. Others claim it is a weird obsession that gets in the way of life and see it as “gamifying” reading books. Still, others argue that they read for relaxation and enjoyment. Keeping a goal sucks the life right out of them.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
