Reference
Reading tools format matrix
Which reading tools work with which book formats?
Kindle's Story So Far and Ask this Book work only inside Kindle ebooks. Magic Bookmark works with print, ebook and audiobook copies you own, buy or borrow, but only for its supported titles and only on iPhone. Libby covers library ebooks and audiobooks; Speak Screen reads any text on an iPhone screen; trackers like The StoryGraph log every format but recap none.
Checked 2026-10-27
Formats
| Tool | Print book | Kindle ebook | Other ebook | Audiobook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Bookmark | Yes: photo or page number (supported titles) | Yes (supported titles) | Yes (supported titles) | Yes since 2026-10-27: last phrase heard |
| Kindle Story So Far | No | Yes (enabled titles, US) | No | No |
| Kindle Ask this Book | No | Yes (enabled titles, US, iOS app) | No | No |
| General AI chatbots | Only if you tell it your place | Only if you tell it your place | Only if you tell it your place | Only if you tell it your place |
| Libby | No (digital only) | Library ebooks (Kindle delivery depends on your library) | Library ebooks | Library audiobooks |
| Speak Screen | No | Reads text on screen | Reads text on screen | Not needed |
| The StoryGraph | Logs it | Logs it | Logs it | Logs it |
Devices and limits
| Tool | Devices | Main limit |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Bookmark | iPhone (iOS 16.4 or later); Android on the roadmap | Supported titles only; English only; pay per book after the first |
| Kindle Story So Far | Kindle devices, Kindle iOS app | US; thousands of popular fiction titles, not all |
| Kindle Ask this Book | Kindle iOS app (devices and Android announced later) | US; authors cannot opt out (Authors Guild objection) |
| Libby | iOS, Android, newer Fire tablets, browser at libbyapp.com | Your library picks the catalog; hold queues |
| Speak Screen | iPhone and iPad | Flat built-in voices; reads menus too |
| The StoryGraph | Web and apps | Tracking is not remembering |
Does it stop at your page?
This is the column that matters if you are coming back to a dropped book. Three tools on the shelf limit what they tell you to your place: Story So Far, Ask this Book (in its default setting), and Magic Bookmark. General chatbots do not know your page; you have to tell them, and you are trusting them not to mix in later events or invent details. Trackers log the page number but do not tell you what happened on it.
If none of these cover your book, a paper cast list does the job for free; see our printable cast list.
Pick by format in one line each
- Paperback or hardcover: Magic Bookmark if the title is supported and you have an iPhone; otherwise a paper cast list.
- Kindle ebook in the US: Story So Far first, it is free; Ask this Book for single questions.
- Library audiobook in Libby: Magic Bookmark for supported titles; the end-of-chapter sleep timer to lose less in the first place.
- Anything else: a chatbot with your exact place stated, treated as a guess.
Why format is the first question
Most comparisons of reading apps sort by feature: who has recaps, who has character chat, who has goals. For a reader coming back to a dropped book, the first question is simpler: what format is the book in? A Kindle-only tool cannot help with the paperback on your nightstand, and a print tool needs your title to be in its catalog. Start with the format column, then the device, then the price.
Mixed readers are common: a paperback at home, the audiobook in the car. Tools that follow your place across formats are rare. Magic Bookmark handles print and audio separately for supported titles; for everything else, a paper log with the page and the timestamp side by side is the fallback that always works.
Questions
- Q. Is there a Story So Far for paperbacks?
- A. Kindle's Story So Far works only in Kindle ebooks. For print books, Magic Bookmark offers a recap that stops at your page for its supported titles on iPhone.
- Q. Which recap tool works with audiobooks?
- A. Magic Bookmark, since version 1.1 on 2026-10-21, for its supported titles. You enter the last phrase you heard.
- Q. Do book trackers recap the plot?
- A. No. Trackers such as The StoryGraph log books and progress; none on our shelf publishes a page-locked plot recap.
Sources
- 1Amazon: Kindle Recaps, Story So Far, and Ask this Book (updated July 2026)
- 2Good e-Reader: Ask this Book arrives on the Kindle iOS app (14 Dec 2025)
- 3Authors Guild: statement on Kindle Ask this Book
- 4Magic Bookmark: Book Recaps on the App Store (checked 2026-10-27)
- 5magicbookmark.com (checked 2026-10-27)
- 6Libby Help: what is Libby? (updated April 2026)
- 7Apple Support: hear iPhone speak the screen, selected text, and typing feedback
- 8The StoryGraph Plus