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How To Make Book Lists on Fable

The Novel Cure

The power of a great book list

Share the joy of reading with Fable’s book lists feature! Just like your print bookshelves at home, a Fable reading list proudly displays the books that mean the most to you. With our free feature, you can show off your favorite books and help others find books that will help them on their own journey. Every Fable user has the ability to create and share book lists. We’ve built a beautiful and easy interface so anyone can make reading lists and share them across social media and email. Best of all, Fable doesn't sell your data or feed you ads while you use our platform. 

How to make a book list on Fable

When you are ready, you can start your own book list on Fable with these simple steps. 

1. Find great books to share in a reading list

Shop books online in the Fable Bookstore, which has a catalog of millions of books, including many free classics. You can use the magnifying glass icon at the top right corner of the screen to find the book you want to read. On Fable, you'll also find book recommendations handpicked by well-read experts and tastemakers.

2. Save your favorite books to a book list

Once you've found a book, you can save it to a list!
  • Tap the book cover
  • Click on the "Want to Read" button
  • Choose from the automatically generated lists: “Want to Read,” “Finished,” and “Did not finish.” 
New Precreated List

3. Create a new book list

It’s really easy to make a custom list as well.
  • Tap the book cover
  • Click on the "Want to Read" button
  • You’ll be prompted to create a “List Name” and a “Short Description” of your new list
  • Choose “Make Private,” if you don’t want the list to be visible for other Fable readers
New list

4. Share your book list with friends

Once you’ve created a few book lists, it’s time to share them with the world!
  • Navigate to the “Library” section of the Fable app
  • Choose “Reading Lists” to see all the reading lists you’ve already created
  • Tap the list you want to share
  • Select the “...” icon in the top right of the screen
  • Choose “Share” and you can pass along your book list through email, text messages, Slack, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media tools 

The mental wellness benefits of book lists

Every time you make a book list, you are sharing a bundle of experiences and wisdom. From the bestseller that can change your daily habits to the unknown classic that makes you feel happier, reading lists can provide endless mental wellness benefits. In fact, there is an entire therapeutic approach that uses book recommendations like medicine. It’s called bibliotherapyNobody knows this better than bibliotherapists Susan Elderkin and Ella Berthoud, founders of The School of Life, a therapy service that prescribes books to treat any kind of ailment, from agoraphobia to boredom to a midlife crisis. “Our belief in the effectiveness of fiction as the purest and best form of bibliotherapy is based on our own experience with patients and bolstered by an avalanche of anecdotal evidence,” they wrote in The Novel Cure, a handbook recommending books for both physical and emotional problems. 

“Sometimes it’s the story that charms; other times it’s the rhythm of the prose that works on the psyche, stilling or stimulating. Sometimes it’s an idea or an attitude suggested by a character in a similar quandary or jam. Either way, novels have the power to transport you to another existence and see the world from a different point of view.”

Some of the treatments in their book will lead to a complete cure. Others will offer solace, showing the reader that they are not the first person to experience these emotions. Want to give bibliotherapy a try? We’ve created a few Fable book lists inspired by this great book!

Start a book club to read a book list

Now that you’ve created a custom list, you can start your own book club with friends and host lively discussions inside the book.
  • Click the “Book Clubs” icon at the bottom of the Homescreen
  • Press “Create New Club”
  • Choose a name and description for your Book Club
  • Invite the first readers to join your club 
Read our “how to start a book club” for more guidance and resources for making your first book club a success!

Set some reading goals with book lists!

Congratulations! By starting a book list, you’ve shared your own special book recommendations with the growing Fable community. Reading lists are great visual reminders of your reading goals. We know that just 30 minutes of reading every day can improve your mental wellbeing. Research has proved that regular reading can alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress. It can even extend your life by two years! So learn how to set a reading goal or start a best books of the year list. Whenever you finish reading a book on Fable, you'll have the amazingly satisfying feeling of moving a great book from your “Want to Read” list to your “Finished” list.These book lists are your personal bookshelves in the Fable community. With a little bit of work, you'll never forget another book again and you'll never run out of reading material. Share your favorite book lists on social media and we will feature your recommendations in regular Fable features!

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