The Benefits of Social Reading
Feb 6 2023
What is social reading?
Reading together with friends, family, and co-workers is a great way to enjoy the full mental and physical benefits of reading. We call this “social reading.” The Fable app is built for social reading could include everything for sharing highlights, comments, insights, links, pictures and videos as you read together.Professor Josie Billington has spent her whole career studying the connection between reading and mental health. Professor Billington helped pioneer “shared reading,” a social reading technique where groups gather to read a story together. This kind of social reading has been proven to “significantly lower” both depressive and anxious symptoms in readers. “It's a wonderful, inclusive model,” Professor Billington said, speaking at Fable’s Mental Health Awareness event. “People can come together and experience a book in real time.” Inspired by Billington’s work, we designed the Fable app for social reading. This is especially important in our Fable for Universities program. Fable offers a unique digital social platform for learning. Communities of students and faculty can read together in a safe, private environment on Fable. We foster peeer-to-peer learning, a proven way for students to learn from each other. Students who engage in peer learning develop skills like working collaboratively with others and giving and receiving feedback—skills that hold considerable value in the job market. The development of learning relationships outside of the hierarchical instructor-student example has value in an emotional capacity as well.Why is social reading important?
For centuries, we have been sharing stories around the campfire. It’s one of the simplest forms of entertainment ever invented. Even before smartphones and social media, the benefits of reading together were clear to researchers. Organizations like The Reader, a U.K.-based charity that runs hundreds of reading groups around Europe, have championed social reading as a therapeutic practice. As different models of shared reading evolved, the body of research around mental wellness and social reading has also deepened.Here are a few benefits of social reading uncovered by recent research:Five ways social reading can change your life
- Enhance your language skills
- Supercharge your critical thinking abilities
- Boost your values of tolerance, inclusion, and respect
- Magnify your intelligence and empathy
- Increase your feelings of fun and engagement
Reading for Digital Nutrition
Those benefits of social reading are just the beginning! There are plenty of wellness benefits associated with personal reading as well. In a world struggling with cognitive dissonance and toxic behaviors on social media, reading together can deliver digital nutrition.Fable once hosted a meet-up on “The Future of Social Reading” with some of the most influential readers on TikTok.These celebrity #BookTok creators connected with Fable book club communities for the very first time and shared advice for aspiring book club moderators. You can watch highlights from that amazing event here!Start with these great book clubs by TikTok creators on Fable...Chamber of Secret Books with Cameron Capello
Reading romance with brooding bad boys.Kimmy’s Infinite TBR Book Club with Kimmy (@kimmybookss)
Escape into an immersive world of diverse romance reads: Young Adult to New Adult!BookTalk Book Club with Lauren & Holly
Get ready to find your new favorites with BookTalk’s Book Club.OwnVoices Book Club with Nicole Onyia
Read #OwnVoices books with a TikTok creator.Queer YA Book Club with Faye (@LiteraryLesbian)
Unapologetically queer YA books.Sapphic Lit Book Club with Avery (@readbyfin)
Discover and read sapphic books spanning all genres.Bookington Book Club with Cait Jacobs (@Caitsbooks)
We meet once a month, through livestreams on TikTok and Youtube, to discuss!Spicy Romance Book Club with Ayman (@aymansbooks)
Read books that are guaranteed to make you swoon.YA Book Club with Selene (@moongirlreads)
Discover great books with a TikTok creator.Keep reading on Fable!
Fable community members enjoy the many benefits of reading while making deeper human connections with other readers. Visit our free book club directory and meet your fellow readers.Find a book club to join for free!We also make it easy to launch your own 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 sample our ever-growing collection of Folios, exceptional book recommendations from some of the world’s great tastemakers. Each Folio covers an important theme, and some of our Folio curators include LeVar Burton, Paulo Coelho, Wolfgang Puck, and Jasmine Guillory. Discover great book recommendations!