Bring your Goodreads library to Literal

What gets imported

We pull straight from the RSS feed of your public Goodreads profile, so you skip the CSV export step entirely.

• All three core shelves

  Your "Read", "Currently Reading" and "Want to Read" books map cleanly to Literal's Finished, Reading and Want to Read states.

• Star ratings

  Goodreads ratings (1–5 stars) come over as Literal ratings on the same scale. No conversion math.

• Your reviews

  Written reviews are imported as Literal reviews, attached to the same book and visible on your profile.

• Read dates

  Date started and date finished are preserved where Goodreads has them, so your reading timeline stays intact.

• Custom shelves

  Your custom shelves (e.g. "favourites", "fantasy", "owned") are recreated as Literal shelves with the same names.

• No re-matching ISBNs

  We match books by ISBN and metadata, then surface anything that didn't match so you can add it manually.

How it works

Four steps. About two minutes if your library is under a thousand books.

1. 1

   Make sure your Goodreads profile is public

   Goodreads serves your reading data through a public RSS feed, so your profile needs to be set to public. Open your privacy settings and confirm "Who can view my profile" is set to anyone.
2. 2

   Copy your Goodreads profile URL

   Sign in at goodreads.com, click your avatar, and choose "Profile". The URL in your address bar will look like goodreads.com/user/show/12345678-yourname — copy the whole thing.
3. 3

   Paste it into Literal

   Sign up or sign in, then go to the import page and paste your profile URL. Hit "Start import" and Literal starts pulling your library in the background.
4. 4

   Keep using Literal — we finish in the background

   You can leave the page; the import runs server-side. When it's done, your shelves are populated and Literal shows you any books that couldn't be matched so you can add them manually.

What survives the move

Honest about what comes over and what doesn't.

Literal will show you a list of any books that couldn't be matched to our catalogue — usually under 1% of a typical library.

Why people move from Goodreads

• No ads

  Literal doesn't run banner or interstitial ads. Goodreads pages are saturated with them.

• Independent, not Amazon

  Goodreads has been an Amazon subsidiary since 2013. Literal is independent — and lets you buy books from Bookshop.org, indie stores, libraries, or wherever you prefer.

• Modern apps

  Native iOS and Android apps that ship updates monthly, not yearly. Dark mode, fast search, real-time sync.

• Reading moments

  Save quotes and highlights from books — with page numbers — alongside your reviews. A first-class feature, not an afterthought.

• Real book clubs

  Public and private clubs with discussion threads, reading schedules, and shared progress. Used daily by thousands of readers.

• Year in books, every year

  A Spotify-Wrapped-style annual review that's actually shareable, with stats, top books, and reading patterns.

Import FAQ

Do I need to export a CSV from Goodreads first?

No. Literal imports directly from your public Goodreads profile via RSS. The CSV export route is supported too if you prefer, but it isn't required.

How long does the import take?

For most libraries (under 1,000 books), the import finishes in under five minutes. Larger libraries can take 15–30 minutes. You can leave the page — the import runs in the background.

Will my Goodreads reviews be preserved word-for-word?

Yes. The full text of each review is imported as a Literal review on the same book.

What if a book isn't in Literal's catalogue?

Literal's catalogue is large but not 100% identical to Goodreads. Anything that couldn't be matched is shown to you at the end of the import as a list — you can search Literal for the book, request it, or add it manually.

Can I import twice if I add new books on Goodreads later?

You can re-run the import. New books on Goodreads will be added to the matching Literal shelf; books already in Literal won't be duplicated.

Will my Goodreads account be touched in any way?

No. Literal only reads your public profile. Nothing is written to Goodreads, nothing is deleted, your account stays exactly as it was.

My Goodreads profile is private — can I still import?

Not via the RSS importer, since it relies on the public feed. Set your profile to public, run the import, then make it private again afterwards if you prefer.

Is the import free?

Yes. Literal is free to use, and the importer is included.