Key Takeaways
- Share posts and interact with others on Fable for a book-focused social media platform.
- Purchase eBooks on Fable to read in-app, including free classic literature options.
- Start or join virtual book clubs on Fable, annotate books, and maintain a reading streak.
Goodreads was a great book-tracking app in the mid-2010s, but other competitors have branched out and added new features that build upon Goodreads’ initial success. After finding Fable, a book tracking app that also serves as a form of book-focused social media, e-reader, and book club platform all in one, I can’t live without these features!
1 Share Discussion Posts and Pictures
Fable allows users to create text and photo-based posts, similar to X (formerly Twitter), and comment on other users’ posts. The home page on the app curates others’ reviews of books you’ve read and posts the app thinks you may like.
I love scrolling through the home page to see what people rated some of my favorite books and find new book recommendations from readers with similar tastes. It’s also great to ask questions for specific book recommendations if you’re a mood reader like me. Plenty of other book recommendation apps can help you figure out what to read next, too!
2 Purchase eBooks to Read on the App
I like to occasionally buy eBooks on Fable to read directly through the app. This is a great feature if I’m really in the mood to read a specific book but can’t get to the library or a bookstore. The one downside is that you can’t send the books to other platforms or devices, like a Kindle, if you’re trying to avoid reading on a phone screen. Even so, it’s a great option when I’m in a pinch and want to start a book.
Purchasing books on Fable is a bit of a convoluted process. You can click the eBook’s price on the app, but you cannot actually buy the book through the app. Instead, after clicking on the price, Fable will email you to purchase the book on their website. From that email, follow the prompts to add the book to your cart and purchase it on the website. After purchase, the book will sync with your library in the Fable app.
3 Read Classic Literature for Free
In addition to offering paid eBooks, Fable offers all classic books for free in the app. Yes, you heard me right! Whether you’re looking to sink your teeth into Victorian monsters with Dracula or read some romance by Jane Austen, you can do all this for free right on the app.
To read a classic for free, navigate to the classic you want to read by using the search bar on the Explore page and click Download free eBook. Now, you can start reading for free!
4 Join (or Start) a Virtual Book Club
The initial draw of Fable was the ability to start and join virtual book clubs. I started a private book club with friends on the app, but you can also join public book clubs hosted by your favorite content creators or other book lovers! The app allows book club hosts to set milestones for when people should finish the book, even breaking down timelines by chapters. Participants can also chat in the Club Lobby, share comments on a specific chapter, and post a final reflection and rating of the book.
Personally, I use the comment-by-chapter feature because I tend to finish the required reading early. When I’m chatting with my book club, it’s great to refer to my notes to refresh my memory.
5 Share Annotations Among Your Book Club
If you decide to purchase or download a free eBook to read on the app with a book club, you can annotate the books with reactions, comments, and highlights. Perhaps the coolest part is that all book club participants’ annotations are available for everyone to see while reading the book! This is a great way to further engage with your book club, spark conversations, and create discussion points for meetings.
To annotate a book in Fable, press and hold to highlight text on the eBook. Now, you can select whether you’d like to React, create a Tab, Highlight the text, Discuss that part of the book, or click the arrow and add a reaction face.
6 Maintain a Reading Streak
On the Fable home page, there is an option to create a reading streak. To start a streak, just click the I read today button to begin your streak. You can log into the app every day to log your reading and see how many days in a row you’ve read. I like this feature because it’s a great way to hold myself accountable, so I read a bit each day.
7 Track Books You’re Reading and Want to Read
Most similar to Goodreads, Fable allows users to track books by categories, including Want to Read, Currently Reading, and Finished. Notably, Fable expands these lists by including a list of books you started reading but ultimately did not finish. I love the Did Not Finish list option because I wasn’t able to properly catalog books I didn’t finish on Goodreads.
To add books to your reading status lists, go to Library, click the list you’d like to add to, and select the plus sign in the bottom right corner.
8 Create Custom Book Lists
While Fable has pre-made lists, you can also create your own lists. For instance, I like to sort books I want to read by genre. I’m a mood reader, so if I’m looking for a mystery book, I can just click on my mystery to be read (TBR) list and choose from there. To create a custom list, scroll down and select Create new list, fill in a name and short description, and start adding books!
9 Track TV Shows
In a recent expansion, Fable now allows readers to track what they’re watching, as well. I love to track what I’m playing, reading, and watching, so it’s great to have my book and TV tracking all housed on one platform. To track TV shows, go to Library, then click on Watch Lists. From this screen, you can track shows you Want to Watch, shows you’re Currently Watching, shows you’ve Watched, and even shows you Did Not Finish. There is also the option to create custom lists for TV shows, just like the custom book list feature mentioned above.
If you’re looking for ways to track other aspects of your life, here are some of the best video game-tracking apps we’ve found.
Fable is a great option to keep in touch with long-distance friends by starting a virtual book club, make new friends through interacting with others’ posts, or keep track of your reading streak for a bit of accountability. I’ve used Fable to create book clubs with my friends and share our thoughts on some historical fiction chapter by chapter and recently started tracking what I’ve been watching. I love what Fable offers and am so glad to have found a new platform for books with extra features.
