Readerware Alternative
Readerware was a well-loved book, music and video catalog for Windows. Sadly, the original developer has passed away, and the product is no longer maintained. Many long-time Readerware users are now moving their libraries to All My Books — a book catalog that is still actively developed, with modern ISBN lookup, cover art, loan tracking and regular updates.
The good news: Readerware can export your collection to Excel, and All My Books imports that export in a few clicks. You do not have to re-type thousands of titles.
Readerware vs All My Books at a glance
| Feature |
Readerware |
All My Books |
| Active development & support |
No longer maintained |
Regular updates & support |
| Import from Readerware |
Export to Excel |
Tools → Import from → MS Excel (or CSV) |
| Online book lookup (ISBN, title) |
Frozen — no updates |
Multiple online sources |
| Printed, ebook & audiobook catalog |
Books (+ music/video modules) |
Books, ebooks & audiobooks in one app |
| Loan / borrowed book tracking |
Yes |
Yes — track loans |
| Export to HTML / PDF / Excel |
Limited |
Multiple formats |
| Virtual bookshelf view |
No |
Yes |
| Discount for switchers |
— |
25% off for migrants |
How to import your Readerware collection into All My Books
- In Readerware, export your book collection to Microsoft Excel (use Readerware's export function to create a spreadsheet with your titles, authors, ISBNs and any custom columns you use).
- Install and start All My Books.
- Use menu Tools → Import from → Import from MS Excel... and select the exported file.
- Map columns if prompted — title, author and ISBN are the most important fields. All My Books can fill in missing details from online databases after import.
If Excel import hits a snag — for example odd column layout or encoding issues:
- Open the export in Excel or LibreOffice and save it as CSV (comma-separated text).
- In All My Books use Tools → Import from → Import from plain text (CSV)...
- Follow the wizard to assign columns. CSV import is often more forgiving with large or older exports.
Stuck on a tricky file? Write to support — we help Readerware migrants often and can advise on column mapping.
After import — refresh covers and metadata
Once your books are in All My Books, select titles and use online lookup to download current cover art and descriptions. For ISBN-based books this takes seconds per title. You can also add new books by ISBN or barcode — something that no longer works reliably in unmaintained software.
Readerware migrants special offer
Switching from Readerware? Request a discount on our special offer page for users moving from another book organizer.
All My Books — screenshot:
Download All My Books
Our customer say
Excellent"Hello! I wouldn't know where to begin. AllMyBooks has gotten so much better... But in random order what I like best about the program:The interface is excellent!
Updating book information through numerous sites (Goodreads/Google and so on) especially seeing as I have lots of old books without ISBN number
The fact you can add not only the cover of a book but also illustrations
The fact that you can add a Biography (with picture) of the author
The virtual shelf (my idea to have this added hope others enjoy it) And on and on. There is just too much to mention!!! Overall it helps me keep track of the books I have and the location they are in. I even uploaded all to my website so whenever I am in an antiquarian bookshop and want to buy a book from them, I can have a look to be sure I don't already have that particular book (I sometimes forget if I already have a book)!!!"
Martin Kapma from the Netherlands