How to make a virtual bookshelf (free)

What is a virtual bookshelf?

It’s a digital version of the bookcase at home. Instead of a spreadsheet or a plain list, your books stand on real-looking shelves with their covers and spines, so you can see your reading at a glance. A good virtual bookshelf also remembers what you thought of each book, which a real shelf can’t.

How to make your bookshelf on SelfShelf

1. Create your free shelf. Sign up with your email, or try it first as a guest (a guest shelf is saved in that browser only).
2. Add your books. Tap Add a book and type a title, an author’s name or an ISBN. Pick the right edition and its cover and details fill in for you. If a book isn’t listed, add it by hand and choose a cover colour or upload a photo of your copy.
3. Mark where each book is in your reading: Want to read, Reading, Finished or Did not finish, plus a heart for favourites.
4. Arrange your shelves. Name your shelves, drag books into the order you like, or sort a shelf by title, author, rating or when you finished it. Books can stand spine-out, face-out, lean or lie in a stack.
5. Make the room yours. Choose a room style (cottagecore, dark academia, Japandi and more), then the wallpaper, floor, lamp and the view from the window. Add plants, candles or a sleeping cat between your books.
6. Share it if you like. Your shelf is private by default. Turn on Public shelf in Edit profile to get a link like selfshelf.in/s/@yourname, or share a picture of your shelf for Instagram stories.

Ideas for organising a virtual bookshelf

• One shelf for what you’re reading now, one for your to-read pile, and the rest for finished books.
• Shelves by mood: comfort reads, books that broke you, books to reread.
• Shelves by genre, by author, or by the year you read them.
• A whole room for one kind of reading, such as a “Winter nook” for classics.

Already have a list somewhere else?

If your books are on Goodreads, you don’t need to add them one by one. See how to move your Goodreads library to SelfShelf.