The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future

Q: Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

No, you don’t have to buy the ebook to participate, but we do recommend it to get the most out of your club. There are several premium social reading features that are only available when you buy the ebook, like annotations, reactions, comment threads, resources, discussion prompts, and more, all embedded right in the text. It’s a unique and immersive way to read.

Q: Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

It’s annoying, we know. App store rules prevent us from selling directly in the app, so for now you can only purchase ebooks on our website. Don’t worry: when you purchase an ebook on the web, it’s automatically added to your bookshelf in the app.

Q: How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Kindle is a straightforward e-reader; Fable is an interactive e-reader that includes social features inside the ebooks. When you read an ebook on Fable, you can see and react to the text with others in real time. Start a discussion, share highlights and quotes, add emoji reactions—all of it lives right inside the book. It’s hard to explain and easy to see, so we recommend reading the free sample in one of our most active clubs to get a feel for it.

Q: Do you sell physical books too?

We do not sell physical books at this time. Wish we did? Let us know why here!

Q: Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

Most of our clubs are completely free to join. The only exceptions are clubs marked as “Premium” or “Career Development,” which do require a fee. You can find out more on each club’s detail page.

Q: How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

The first step is to download the Fable app. From there, you’ll be able to create your own private or public book club and invite others to read with you. Once your club is created, click on the plus sign under “Currently reading” and search for this book to add it to your club.

By Christi Nogle

Publisher Description

The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future is whimsical and dreadful, verdant and sinister. Readers of “quiet horror” or “slow-burn horror” will enjoy this collection.

"Without a doubt, Christi Nogle is one of my favorite new voices in horror. Her fiction is by turns devastating, horrifying, and beyond beautiful. With her collection, The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future, she's created something truly remarkable, the kind of horror that's filled with grit and heart. Don't miss this book; it's sure to be one of the very best collections of 2023."- Gwendolyn Kiste, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals

The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future collects Christi Nogle’s finest psychological and supernatural horror stories. Their rural and small-town characters confront difficult pasts and look toward promising but often terrifying futures. The pieces range in genre from psychological horror through science fiction and ghost stories, but they all share fundamental qualities: feminist themes, an emphasis on voice, a focus on characters’ psychologies and a sense of the gothic in contemporary life. Stories here may recall Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Shirley Jackson’s “The Renegade,” or Kelly Link’s “Stone Animals.”

Download the free Fable app

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

4 Reviews

4.0

Mugdha

Created over 1 year ago

“A captivating collection of psychological and supernatural horror stories that delves into the dark and haunting lives of rural and small-town characters. The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future is filled with strange and eerie imagination, offering a perfect blend of horror and mystery. While some stories may require a second read to fully grasp, I found myself drawn to the unsettling and disturbing nature of the tales. This book exceeded my expectations and left me wanting more.”

Sucharita Biswas

Created over 1 year ago

“A wonderful collection of short stories which are creepy enough to make your skin crawl. All the stories have a different kind scary vibe. I have never read something like this. Christi Nogle, is indeed, an amazing horror writer. But, her stories are not for beginners, as, they are little bit difficult to understand. The plots totally have a spooky tone which makes it even more unputdownable. Definitely, 4 stars for the book. Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for providing me with an opportunity to be a part of the blog tour. Read more on https://bibliophileverse.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-best-of-our-past-worst-of-our.html”

Horror DNA

Created over 1 year ago

“https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17144143.Christi_Nogle ’s first collection demonstrates why she is helping to define modern horror. A veteran of such prestigious publications as Vastarien: A Literary Journal and Pseudopod, Nogle excels in dread and slow build while having so much to say about the world we live in and the human condition. The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future collects some of her finest stories. You can read https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13648560.Zachary_Rosenberg 's full review at Horror DNA by https://www.horrordna.com/books/the-best-of-our-past-the-worst-of-our-future-christi-nogle-book-review .”

Sarah - SarahEvermotionsBooks

Created over 1 year ago

“The Best of our Past, the Worst of our Future is a creepy, quiet collection of short stories from Christi Nogle that genuinely define the words ‘quiet horror’ for me. In fact on starting this arc I had honestly forgotten what I was going in for. I knew it was short stories and I remembered being excited about the premise so I picked it up wanting something I could read a story here and there. Jokes on me. I read the whole thing in two days. Each story starts somewhat mundane, taking the first as an example - a mother look for a place to have her children. From there it slowly unveils it’s ‘horror’ aspect, and for the most part in ways I didn’t expect. Mushroom horror has been very big lately, and while there is one in the book it’s done differently and far more creepy than I’d seen yet. It’s a surprising and impressive collection of ideas. Additionally each story features a House in some way, and I cannot stress how none of these were your typical ‘haunted house’ they each took a different role and aspect. There are a few that didn’t come across for me, as is the norm with collections like this. Some of the stories lean a bit far into experimental horror such as the one of the young girl and the yellow book of stories. But a few of the more experimental ones did work, like the story with the café! Experimental horror almost never works for me so the grade and variation in stories impressed me here as well. Overall this was a great collection and one I’d recommend for lovers of the genre. Quiet, unsettling horror that I wouldn’t recommend before bed, but I definitely recommend if you want that slow unsettled, goosebumps on your skin feeling.”

About Christi Nogle

Christi Nogle is the author of the Bram Stoker Award winning and Shirley Jackson Award nominated novel Beulah and the collections The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future and Promise. Her short fiction has appeared in many publications. Follow her at christinogle.com and on social media under the username christinogle.