How Books Can Help You Feel Less Lonely
Jul 12 2024
Fun fact: this month, we celebrated “Cheer Up the Lonely” day! I’d never heard of this until now, but I guess it’s not all that surprising since there’s a day for everything. If there’s one thing that’s great for cheering someone up, it’s books, so let’s chat about how feel-good books can lift your mood!
What are the signs of loneliness?
Harvard's Robert Putnam first identified our impending crisis of loneliness 25 years ago in his book "Bowling Alone," the fact remains that loneliness is an ongoing issue that is, unfortunately, growing.According to loneliness expert John Cacioppo who has studied the phenomenon for years, the lonely feeling can be contagious."It is actually stunningly simple as a mechanism. In one study we looked at people’s connections, every three to four years. This process happens over time. Let’s say that you and I are neighbours. I have become lonely for some reason and you are my friend. As a suddenly lonely person I am now more likely to deal with you cautiously, defensively, as a potential threat to me [because you might leave and add to my pain], and you recognise that so we are going to have more negative social reactions. And over three or four years we are more likely to stop being friends. So that is one less confidant for both of us."
I believe it is critical to find a place for people to come together virtually, thus providing a strong sense of community and belonging. Finding a healthy online community can reduce loneliness while being more accommodating for individuals who cannot attend social gatherings - regardless of the reason. Fable has become an outlet for me and so many other readers to share their love of books, talk about them, read with others, and find comfort in knowing that they are not alone in loving that one book. For all these reasons, I genuinely believe Fable to be a great place to start for anyone who deals with anxiety or lives in a smaller area to find their community, connect, and ward off loneliness.Books to cheer you up
“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman
I actually JUST bought myself a copy of this book last week, and I’m so excited to get into it! The book follows Eleanore, who struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.“BL Metamorphosis Vol. 1” by Kaori Tsurutani
Ichinoi, a 75-year-old woman living a peaceful life, unwittingly buys a Boy's Love manga one day... and is fascinated by what she finds inside. When she returns to the bookstore to buy the next volume, the high school girl working there — Urara, a seasoned BL fan —notices a budding fangirl when she sees one. When Urara offers to help Ichinoi explore this whole new world of fiction, the two dive into BL fandom together, and form an unlikely friendship along the way.“Fix Her Up” by Tessa Bailey
Travis Ford was Major League Baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his... bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is *not* a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her…“Outdrawn” by Deanne Grey
Sage and Noah have to work as a team — or, at least appear to work as a team. They thought the hardest part of the relaunch would be drawing together. But that's easy in comparison to falling in love.How can books help when I feel lonely?
Social reading creates a common room for the reader community. On Fable, members can follow other members and their reviews, thus initiating conversations and creating new relationships. And the best part? Members can read together in book clubs - and I mean this in every sense of the word, you can read the same ebook with your book club members.Members can create or join book clubs on Fable, which already initiates a crucial sense of community, support, and belonging, removing much social anxiety. To make things even better, club members can read and annotate their book club book together in the same ebook, meaning they can see other members' thoughts, reactions, and annotations should they decide to annotate in social mode. All of that said, Fable can be a crucial tool to battle social isolation for those of us who find ourselves most comfortable and happy in our own spaces. Don't get me wrong, having some social interactions in your lives is essential, and there will always be pros and cons to social media platforms, but Fable finds itself right in between. It's not the same as in-person book clubs but has all of the same community elements, if not more, and while it does have the social interaction of other social media platforms, it's so much more than that.Keep reading on Fable
The Fable app is built for social reading, with tools for sharing highlights, comments, insights, links, pictures, and videos as you read together.We also make it easy to launch your free book club. With our platform, you can host every aspect of an online discussion at a single destination to reach readers and build safe online communities regardless of location or time zone.Start your own book club today!
You can also discover your new favorite book by exploring thousands of book lists on Fable. It’s easy to make your own list as well!Make a great book list.
Just finished reading a book and have the urge to share your thoughts with the world? It’s time to write your review! You can also import your Goodreads reviews to your Fable account!Rate and review your favorite books!
