Book Notes
Bookshelf collects book notes from the folder specified in the Books folder setting.
Book Title
Bookshelf takes the book title from the first level-one heading (#
) in the note. If the first heading is a different
level (like ##
or ###
) or there's no heading at all, it will fall back to using the note's filename as the title.
Properties
You can add more information to your book notes by using properties.
If you're not familiar with the concept of properties in Obsidian, check out Obsidian's documentation.
Property Names
Rather than forcing you to use specific property names, Bookshelf allows you to configure them to your liking. You don't have to use every or even any property if you don't need them. However, Bookshelf's views may look a little bland without any additional information beyond the title.
Property Types
Obsidian supports various property types, and each property in Bookshelf works best with a specific one. Bookshelf tries to interpret your data even if you use a different type, but it's no wizard. Sticking to the suggested types ensures the best results.
Supported Properties
Cover
Property type: Text
Default name: cover
The book's cover. This can be a URL (e.g. https://book.test/book-cover.jpg
) or
a Link to a file inside your vault (e.g. [[book-cover.jpg]]
)
Authors
Property type: List
Default name: author
Name or names of the author. You can use a text field if only want to keep track of a single author, or a list of multiple authors. If you maintain author notes inside your vault, you can use WikiLinks.
Publishing Date
Property type: Date
Default name: published
The date the book was published.
Total number of pages
Property type: Number
Default name: pages
The total number of pages in the book. If you track your reading progress using percentages, this value is used to calculate how many pages you've read.
Tags
Property type: Tags
Default name: tags
Tags you've assigned to the book.
Rating
Property type: Number
Default name: rating
Your rating of the book.
Displayed as stars in Bookshelf's views.
You can use any positive number, including decimals (e.g. 3.5
, 4.1
).
Negative numbers are not supported.
Lists
Property type: List
Default name: lists
Lists are another dimension in Bookshelf to organize your books. You can assign a book to one or more lists (e.g. "Favorites", "Sci-Fi Classics"). To group books by lists in the Library, select List from the grouping dropdown.
Comment
Property type: Text
Default name: comment
A personal comment on that book. This is shown in the Book Details Modal and can be your opinion, a summary, or any other note that helps you recall key information at a glance.
Links
Property type: List
Default name: links
A list of links to external websites (e.g., https://books.test/dracula
) or related notes within your vault
([[Dracula (Reading Notes)]]
). These links will appear in the Book Details Modal.
Series
Property type: Text
Default name: series
The name of the book series this title belongs to. You can use a plain string or a WikiLink if you have a dedicated note for the series.
Series Position
Property type: Number
Default name: position-in-series
The book's position within its series. For example, enter 1 for the first book, 2 for the second, and so on.