Frequently asked questions

No. Book Odyssey doesn't have a user account system at all. Your library, reading status and preferences are stored locally on your device using standard secure device storage.

Yes. Barcode scanning, your library, Read / To Read status, shareable reading lists, and two themes (Forest & Gold and Midnight Library) are all free, forever. Premium is a one-time purchase (pay once, keep it forever) and adds cloud sync, the Insights tab, and four more themes.

Point your camera at a book's barcode and Book Odyssey reads it and looks up the title, cover, author and other details automatically.

While scanning, you can also type or paste an ISBN directly, or search by title and author instead. Both options sit at the bottom of the scanner screen. Either way, you'll get a chance to review the details before the book is saved.

Book Odyssey looks books up on Open Library by default, no setup needed. If you add your own Google Books API key in Settings, that's used first for richer metadata (better covers, page counts and categories), with Open Library used as a fallback whenever a title isn't found.

A Google Books API key is entirely optional, the app works without one, but adding one gives richer book metadata. Here's how to get a free key:

1. Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
2. Create a new project (or pick an existing one) from the project selector.
3. Search for Books API in the API Library and enable it.
4. Open APIs & Services → Credentials and create a new API key.
5. Copy the key, then in Book Odyssey go to Settings → Google Books API and paste it in. It saves automatically as soon as you tap away from the field.

The key stays on your device unless you turn on cloud sync, in which case it's included so it can roam to your other devices along with the rest of your library.

Physical, E-Book and Audiobook. Set a book's format from its details screen, and filter your library by format at any time.

Tap the Read / To Read toggle on a book's card or on its details screen. There's no in-between status: a book is simply marked Read or To Read, and you can filter your library by either.

Yes. Tap into any book to edit its title, author, format, genres, page count and cover image at any time.

Pick books from your library and generate a reading list page with a single public link. Whoever you send it to can view it in a browser, no account or app install needed on their end. Every list you create is also saved locally under "My Lists" so you can revisit it later.

Yes. Each list comes with a one-time delete link created alongside it, which removes the shared page whenever you're ready.

pCloud. You connect the pCloud account you already have, Book Odyssey never sees your provider password, and your library data is stored in your own account on pCloud's storage.

If you don't already have a pCloud account, the sign-up link inside the app is an affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. Using your own existing pCloud account works exactly the same way and isn't required to go through that link. Sign up to pCloud today.

Your book library, Read / To Read status, saved Google Books API key, and reading list metadata. Your selected theme is treated as a per-device setting and isn't synced.

If Book Odyssey detects changes on both the device and in the cloud since the last sync, it merges them automatically instead of making you choose: books and Read / To Read changes from both sides are combined, so nothing from either device is silently lost or overwritten.

Forest & Gold (the default) and Midnight Library, a dark theme. Both are free forever, and you can switch between them any time from Settings.

Nordic Study, Amethyst Nights, Ivory & Crimson and Slate & Gold. You can preview all four in Settings; selecting one prompts an upgrade to Premium.

A reading-progress ring showing Read vs. To Read vs. Total, how many books you've finished this week, this month and this year, a reading-personality badge based on the shape of your library, a breakdown by format, and your top genres.

No. There are no advertising or third-party analytics SDKs in the app, and we don't sell your data. See the full Privacy Policy for details.

Some book screens include a link to Amazon so you can buy a copy you don't already own. As an Amazon Associate, Book Odyssey may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made via Amazon links at no extra cost to you.