Reading Hacks part 3
By Jay Flood
When I’m reading a good book, I like to tell everyone around me every thought I have while reading. Anything that makes me laugh, cry, gasp, or have any other strong emotion is something I need to tell either my mom or roommates. But my roommates don’t read and my mom doesn’t read the books I do, so they don’t get it. I can’t tell my friends who do read because I don’t want to give them spoilers and I don’t want them to say something that spoils it for me. Even if me and a friend read the same book, it’s impossible not to spoil because you don’t know which part they’re at.
In book clubs, you only talk about the book every couple of chapters and after you finish it, and at that point it’s about general things, not specific lines or moments. When you talk about the book after a couple of chapters or after you’ve finished reading, your reaction isn’t as fresh anymore since you’ve had time to process it. So how can you react immediately to people who get it without spoiling it for others? It seems impossible, and it probably was, until I downloaded Fable, an app designed to support online book clubs with members across the globe.
Fable allows you to join book clubs or create your own. There are plenty of book clubs to join with different themes. I am part of three book clubs: Fantasy & Frens Book Club, Bookish Swifties Club, and Thriller Lovers Book Club. There are book clubs based on romance books, science fiction, diversity, cozy and nostalgic books, the classics, and more. I’m not sure if every book club does this, but the book clubs I’m in create polls every month to choose which book to read.
When you join a book club, you will see how many members are part of the book club, what they are currently reading, and books they have read in the past. Then, there are two tabs you can flip between: discussion and schedule. The schedule just shows when to start reading the book, what milestones you should be hitting by a certain date, and when you should finish the book and write your review by. In the discussion section, there is the Club Lobby, Kickoff, a breakdown of chapters, and the Reflection. The Club Lobby is where the moderator sends any news or updates and creates polls to pick the book for next month. The Kickoff section is where people talk about the book before reading. For example, some people will say they ordered the book, their book came in the mail and they’re starting now, their library had the book with no wait and they’re surprised, they ordered a special or limited edition of the book, or simply that they’re excited to start.
Every book is different, so every chapter breakdown is different. The chapter breakdown is based on the schedule and the milestones to hit by a specific date. For example, if the schedule says to read to the end of Chapter 8 by the end of week 1, the first section will be “Chapter 1- Chapter 8” and there will be individual chats for each chapter. This is set up specifically so that you can comment on each chapter and not spoil anything for those who haven’t read that chapter yet. So if something happens in chapter 7 and I want to talk about it, I can talk about it in the chapter 7 chat, and someone who has only read chapter 1 won’t be spoiled. It’s a little confusing to explain with words, so I hope the pictures help.
The book clubs I’m in are with people I don’t know, so it’s not the same as it would be with people I do know. But that’s why Fable allows you to create a private book club and only invite your friends! Regardless of whether I know the people in my book club or not, it is so nice to be able to talk about the book I’m reading with people who are also reading it. It’s nice being able to react without worrying about spoilers. There are also so many books I wouldn’t have read if not for the book clubs I’m in. For example, The Bone-Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart and The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter are two books I would never have known about or read on my own if not for the book clubs I’m in.
Reading books with other people holds you accountable, too. If I know I have to finish the book by the end of the month in order to participate in the discussion, it makes me want to read it faster. Reading Thrillers on Fable is so fun because you get to read everyone’s different theories that evolve or change each chapter. One of my book clubs schedules zoom calls for the end of the month so everyone can discuss the book together. They’ve also previously had authors join so we can ask them questions, which is so cool.
Fable is one of the best apps for readers, in my opinion. Obviously Storygraph, Goodreads, and Libby are the best, too. But Fable creates an online community for people all across the world to read and discuss books and share their passion for reading. Being able to make connections and talk about what you just read with others who also read it makes reading so much better. Without that interaction, reading isn’t as exciting.
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