When it comes to reading and writing convenient book reviews, and creating the perfect TBR list, it is most convenient when it is on your phone. The book industry’s top applications for community communication and organizing your next reads are GoodReads and Fable. Since both apps are so similar in theory, data entry can seem excessive and repetitive if using both simultaneously. Here are a few tips to help you decide which app best fits your bookish needs.

First things first, What are the Main Functions of a Book Review App?

• Keep track of reading goals
• Ability to write book reviews and read others made by your friends
• Leave a star rating — out of 5 for each book finished
• Ease of categorizing books into lists: “Currently Reading,” “To-Be-Read,” “Finished,” and “Did Not Finish”
• A healthy type social media platform that is focused on literature and community

Why Are These Apps so Important to Readers?

1) Helps Readers Track Reading Progress and Goals

Let’s use an example, recently I have been using Fable to tracking my reading progress. (I had used GoodReads for YEARS, but recently made the switch…you’ll see why) My most recent read was “I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” by Baek Se-hee. 5/5 by the way–Throughout my entire journey of reading this book, I was able to log my reading progress in the app everyday, by inputting a page number (or percentage if e-book and audio). I enjoyed opening the app everyday because a reading streak appears on the dashboard, and once you click the the widget marking that you read for the day, confetti sparkles on your screen! This small feature made me want to continuously read. Moreover, associating my progress with a visual number, gave me motivation to finish the book. My mind went from, “Wow 21% to 75% to omg, I finished the book!”

Once I marked the book as “finished,” the app transferred the book from my “Current Reads” list to my “Finished” list. In doing this, the app also tracks how many books I read per month and yearly. By being able to recall the books I finished and see how many I’ve read so far, I am able to stay on track with my reading goal. I am hoping to get to 30 finished books this year! Furthermore, Fable does a really good job visually helping you view your progress and reading goals by providing a dashboard with statistics and graphs. This portion of the app is called “Reading Insights.” Based on books that were marked “finished,” the app will produce a chart that tells you your most-read genres, the average star ratings given, and your most-read authors. This can visually tell readers what their preferences are and match this information with similar reader profiles and book recommendations. The mentioned features are free when downloading the app, but readers who are looking for more statistical and detailed information can purchase Fable Plus for $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year. Personally, I don’t feel that I need Fable Plus; the included features are enough for me, considering on average I read up to 4–5 books a month.

On the other hand, we have Goodreads. Now, I don’t want you to be under the impression that I am a Goodreads hater. I still have an account and use it from time to time. But the app is definitely lacking in software updates and detailed features when it comes to tracking. For instance, when marking a book as “Finished,” users have to leave a star rating. For some readers, leaving a rating and review is not something they can do immediately after finishing the book. After marking the book as finished, users can view the “Yearly Reading Challenge” under their profiles. This will show users how many books have been completed for the year and how close they are to their goal. Since Goodreads is compatible with Amazon Kindle, the same bookmarks will appear on both apps and track reading streaks that way. Meaning, if you want to see progress on a weekly and monthly basis, it’s best to download the Kindle app as well. (Also, when you complete an e-book on your Kindle, Goodreads doesn’t automatically update! You have to manually go into Goodreads and mark the book as completed!) However, other than the yearly challenge and Kindle bookmarks, Goodreads lacks in providing detailed information like weekly and monthly goals. In order to show friends which genres are your most favorite, you have to manually add it in; the app does not produce “most-read genres” based on completed books.

All in all, both apps provide a way of tracking yearly reading progress and helping readers achieve their goals. The determination of which app you should use based on tracking current and completed books will focus on what matters most to you — is clear, detailed, and informational tracking more important? Yes, then go with Fable. However, if you’re a reader who is looking for minimal statistics and just wants to keep it simple, go with Goodreads. Personally, I went to school to be an accountant…give me all the numbers and stats!

2) Provides Authentic Book Reviews and Ratings

It is evident that the main purpose of both of these apps is to provide readers with book reviews and ratings so that readers can make decisions on which book they should pick up next. The beauty of both of these apps is that the reviews posted are not created by professional writers like The New York Times or The US Review of Books. Goodreads and Fable hold book reviews made by everyday readers like you and me (who don’t get paid to read authors’ books; and if you do, lucky you!). Why is that so unique and valuable? Because the reviews are authentic and real! As a reader, I want to be able to express my raw feelings and thoughts about a book and share them with others — yes, I am doing that through a blog, but posting reviews and ratings like it’s a social media post is revolutionary!

When downloading Fable and Goodreads, the first thing that will pop up is something similar to every social media platform ever: a “For You” page of other readers leaving reviews, star ratings, and progress updates on their current reads. Users are able to like the posts and leave comments. However, the main difference between Fable and Goodreads is that Fable is more sensitive to spoiler warnings. When leaving a review, you are able to create your post with a “may contain spoilers” filter, which will allow others to choose to read your review or scroll past it, preventing spoilers. Fable reviewers can make raw posts without fear of spoiling the plot for their friends. On the other hand, users of Goodreads have to manually type “Spoiler Warning” at the top of their review post. Meaning if a reviewer forgets to add a warning, other readers risk a spoiler when scrolling through the app.

All in all, both apps do a great job of providing real and obviously biased reviews and ratings to users. However, when it comes to an overall better reading experience, Fable is the way to go. No one likes a spoiler…

3) Shows Ratings Out of 5 Stars

Another amazing feature of both of these apps is that 5-star reviews are available to readers by simply entering the name of a book in the search bar. This helps readers determine, on average, how “good” a book is.

In comparing Fable and Goodreads, it’s no surprise that Fable is again the clear choice. Fable’s advantage over Goodreads is the ability to rate books in fractions of stars, like 4.25, 4.5, or 4.75, while Goodreads uses simple whole numbers. This feature is great for readers who are in between whole-number stars and want to clarify the reason they rated it that way. Fable’s rating system also features different categories so readers can be more specific about what they liked and disliked about the book.

4) Ease of Organizing Book Lists: “Currently Reading,” “To-Be-Read,” “Finished,” and “Did Not Finish”

Additionally, a helpful feature both apps have is the ability to create your own book lists. Fable gives you the ability to create different lists for “Currently Reading,” “To-Be-Read,” “Finished,” and “Did Not Finish,” and also separate them by genre. While Goodreads only has “Currently Reading,” “To-Be-Read,” and “Finished.” If you want to mark a book as DNF, you have to rate it 1 star, or the book is going to stay on the “Currently Reading” list.

This feature is super important because it helps readers stay organized. When readers visit the bookshop, they are able to check the TBR list to see which books are next on their list to be read or purchased. At times, readers can forget which books they want to read, as recommendations are constantly being given.

5) Healthy Form of Social Media & Book Clubs

As mentioned earlier, both Fable and Goodreads function as social media platforms as opposed to blogs or websites. These apps allow readers to post photos of their current reads and write opinionated reading updates like “tweeting” or “threads.” In addition to that, users can like posts and leave comments.

Fable does not have an option to direct message users, and Goodreads does allow this, but it’s not very popular or used much as far as I know. Instead of DM boxes, the apps have “book clubs.” These book clubs are very similar to Facebook groups. Users can make their own or join pre-existing clubs. Goodreads book clubs are a bit quiet and are not consistently meeting, while Fable book clubs range from having 10 members to 4.7k members. The Fable book clubs are more like Discord, where there are different rooms to chat in. Most Fable book clubs hold a monthly book of the month where members can vote in polls to choose the next read, and the moderator will create different chat rooms for each chapter so readers can update based on what they have read so far. This is a great way to connect with others and express your opinions about books to people who actually care! I know my fiancé is sick of hearing me talk about my romantasy novels!

Moreover, Fable is again the way to go if you are looking for a safe space to express your love for books with others. I’ve had my account for about two years and have not received a single hate comment on any of my posts. People on this app are very supportive and kind.

Summary:

All in all, if you are looking for a reason to switch from Goodreads to Fable, here are Fable’s clear advantages over the former:

1) Helps Readers Track Reading Progress and Goals

2) Provides Authentic Book Reviews and Ratings

3) Shows Ratings Out of 5 Stars

4) Ease of Organizing Book Lists: “Currently Reading,” “To-Be-Read,” “Finished,” and “Did Not Finish”

5) Healthy Form of Social Media & Book Clubs

And if you haven’t explored the beauty of reading apps, I encourage you to download Fable on your phone or iPad and get inspired to read! The recommendations are endless.

While you’re here, follow my Fable account — let’s be friends! (You can receive an e-book credit by connecting with me! ) I’ve been wanting to make my own book club for a while now.

Claire Reads Fable Account:

https://fable.co/fabler/claire-232601034854?referralID=m4GDSqX5qL