Build a reading tracker

Build a list of books that fills itself from OpenLibrary, then follow your reading on a board and count what you finished.

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Alex keeps a list of the books she wants to read this year. She types a title, and Filarr fills in the author, the year, the number of pages and the genres. A board shows what she is reading, and a chart shows how far she got.

In this tutorial you build the same tracker, inside a note. At the end, you have a database of books filled from an online catalog, a board to move each book from To do to Done, and a chart of your year.

Before you start

  • Time: about 20 minutes.
  • An internet connection, to fill the rows from the OpenLibrary catalog. Only the titles you search leave your device.
  • A few book titles you want to read, or have read.

Step 1: Create the note

  1. Click Notes in the sidebar, then + (New Note).
  2. Choose Start with a blank note.
  3. Type the title, for example "Reading list", and one sentence under it to say what the list is for.

See Write your first note.

Step 2: Insert the database

  1. Click below your sentence and type /database.
  2. Choose Database and press Enter.
  3. Click Untitled database, type "Books 2026", and press Enter.

The database comes with a Name column and a Status column, whose options are To do, In progress and Done. See Databases inside your notes.

Step 3: Add the columns

For each column below, click + at the end of the header row, type the name, then pick the type in the grid.

NameType
AuthorText
YearText
PagesNumber
GenresMulti-select
RatingRating
LinkURL

Keep these names: Filarr reads them to know which column receives what (step 5). Year is a Text column on purpose: a Number column would show 2016 as 2,016.

Step 4: Type your books

Click the first cell of the Name column and type a title, for example "Deep Work". Use the arrow keys to go to the next row, and New row when you need more. Leave the other cells empty: Filarr fills them in the next step.

Step 5: Fill the rows from OpenLibrary

  1. In the header of the database, open Source and choose Books.
  2. Click the ⚡ button at the end of a row. Its tooltip reads Fill from Books.
  3. Under Choose a result, click the right book. Filarr shows up to five matches.

Author, Year, Pages, Genres and Link fill in, as far as the catalog knows them. Filarr only fills empty cells: it never overwrites what you typed. Rating stays empty, because OpenLibrary gives no rating: that part is yours.

In the web app, the first click on ⚡ explains what will be sent through Filarr's relay, and you choose Continue or Cancel. The desktop app asks the catalog directly. See Fill rows automatically.

Step 6: Rate and update

  • Click a star in the Rating column to give your mark, from 1 to 5.
  • Click a Status cell and choose In progress when you start a book, Done when you finish it.

Step 7: Follow your reading on a board

  1. Click + next to the view tabs (Add a view).
  2. Click the small arrow next to the new view's name.
  3. Type "Reading board" in View name, and choose Board under Layout.
  4. At the top left, check that Group by shows Status.

Drag a card to another column to change its status: the table follows, since both views show the same rows.

See Database views, filters and sorts.

Step 8: Count your year

  1. Add one more view, and choose Charts under Layout.
  2. Pick Donut, then Status in Slices, and Row count in Measure.

For your average mark, go back to Main view, click Calculate under the Rating column, and choose Average.

Step 9: Keep notes on a book

At the end of a row, click Create page. The book becomes a full note, with its values at the top under Row properties. Write your quotes and ideas below. Next time, the same button reads Open page.

Your tracker is ready: type a title, click ⚡, and the rest comes by itself.

What next?