At the moment the only bulk imports we can process are those from Goodreads. However, it is possible to modify a spreadsheet from another platform, or a personal spreadsheet, to match the format of a Goodreads import. You can then import your reading history that way.


We recommend always modifying a copy of your original spreadsheet, as opposed to the original. 


If you follow the steps below exactly, it will work.


A sample Goodreads spreadsheet can be found at the bottom of this support article.


Here are the guidelines for filling it out:


Please copy and paste the headings. It's important that the headings match this file exactly.


Then, the only columns that must have something in them are: 


  • Title
  • Author (e.g. Jane Smith)
  • My Rating - 0 must be in there if you’ve not read the book or you don’t want to give it a rating (don’t worry, we don’t add 0 star ratings to the books)
  • Date Added (universal format: yyyy/mm/dd)
  • Exclusive Shelf (must be ‘read’, ‘currently-reading’, ’to-read’, ‘did-not-finish’, or a custom exclusive shelf*)
  • Read Count - 0 must be there if you’ve not read it yet or DNFd it


* For example, if you have a custom exclusive shelf for 'Reference', you can put 'Reference' in both the Exclusive Shelf and the Bookshelves column. When you come to map your tags on StoryGraph, leave the exclusive shelf option blank for 'Reference'. Your books tagged 'reference' will become a tag, and won't be assigned to-read, currently-reading, read or did-not-finish. 


Other fields you can feel free to fill out:

  • Date read (universal format: yyyy/mm/dd)
  • My Review 
  • Owned Copies (put a '1' in the rows where you own a copy of the book)
  • ISBN13 (important if you want to import a specific edition)
  • Bookshelves - this will create custom tags on StoryGraph for you to sort your books. Please hyphenate them if they are more than one word, and comma-separate them if you have more than one per book. For example: read-around-the-world, library


Sometimes Excel can pose issues with the ISBN column. If you notice your ISBNs being truncated like so:



You may want to try using Libre Office, a free spreadsheet programme, instead. 


Once you’ve done that, you can then upload it as a CSV on the Import Goodreads page here: app.thestorygraph.com/import-goodreads.


If you receive an error message, before emailing into support please check:


  • That every cell in the mandatory columns listed above has something in them
  • That the header rows are pasted exactly 
  • That your file is definitely saved as a CSV file


If everything looks as it should and you still can't upload it, please email into support@thestorygraph.com, attach your import to your email, and let us know what the error message says.