Resources to Make Reading Easier

Reading Resources: Book Ideas | App and Platform Suggestions | No Buy Resources

This post got away from me a bit, but it made me realize I rely on so many great resources that fuel my reading.

As I’ve mentioned in older posts, my initial way to make reading a habit was sparked by finding books that inspired some of my favorite shows and movies. It helped me to read a bit faster because I could save time that would otherwise have been used processing descriptive details.

When I got to a point where reading was a regular part of my routine (and I got a bit tired of the series I was reading), I turned to social media to find some new books that might be of interest.

While I went to places like BookSky and Bookstagram thinking it was all about current reads, reviews, and aesthetically pleasing hauls, it didn’t take long to find there was so much more on offer – some of which would make reading even easier.

To share this knowledge, I’ve put together an overview of some of my favorite apps, pages, and platforms. This isn’t a comprehensive list and I may have more to add down the road. At the moment, though, these are some of my favorite reading resources.

The Helpful Side of Social Media

Book Ideas

Through social media, I found a few interesting book clubs – some local, some online – to guide my reading. Book clubs have been essential in branching out to different topics, authors, and themes.

I’ve found some excellent fiction (not my normal genre) and nonfiction titles through these book clubs and can’t recommend tracking down some book clubs surrounding your favorite topics enough.

Two online book clubs I currently follow:

1. Morbidly Curious Book Club
   • MCBC has several local chapters and offers virtual meetings as well
   • Linked above is their website – they offer a subscription box to have the month’s title sent right to your door
   • This is “an 18+ virtual and global nonfiction book club exploring the macabre.“
   • Check them out on Instagram!
2. Overeducated Women with Cats
   • Overeducated Women with Cats was founded to combat close-minded worldviews through diverse reads…and share cat pics
   • They offer an excellent reading challenge on StoryGraph
   • Their Instagram is loaded with pictures of cats and good reads

Peer Pressure – the Good Kind

Along with finding new book ideas, social media provides just the right amount and kind of peer pressure to motivate my reading.

Watching others share their progress, tips, and tricks has been a massive motivator for me and has helped keep me consistent not just with reading, but also tracking.

App and Platform Suggestions

If you’re anything like me and have been trying to find smaller alternatives that don’t further pad already overstuffed pockets, the book side of social media might be a good place for you too.

Through BookSky, BookTube, and Bookstagram, I’ve found the following apps and alternatives that I’m working to further integrate daily.

Tracking Reading

2. Fable

• Fable feels a bit more social than The StoryGraph – and considers itself a social media app.
• You can track reading and watching through Fable and can even link your Netflix account.
• Some, more basic, stats are offered, but it’s more focused on streaks.
• Feel free to follow me on Fable!

3. Calibre

• Don’t let the dated-looking website scare you, this is an invaluable resource for any eReader.
• I recently got a Kobo Libra Colour and wanted to transfer my massive Kindle library – it would not have been possible without Calibre
• There are so many tutorial videos out there to get started with this program and I’m hoping to add my own to YouTube in the future.

Curated Book Deals

• BookBub
  • My wallet doesn’t necessarily thank me for BookBub, but my library certainly does.
  • BookBub lets you enter your favorite genres or authors and get notifications about eBooks on sale sent directly to your inbox each day.
  • They have a wide list of sites they pull from, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Kobo.

Buying Books

• Bookshop.org (print and ebooks)
  • Want to support your local bookstores without even leaving your house? Bookshop.org has you covered.
  • Bookshop.org lets you choose a local bookstore (or any bookstore you like, really), which will receive a portion of the profits from your purchases.
• Libro.fm (audiobooks)
  • Libro.fm is Bookshop.org’s audiobook-specific counterpart. You can listen through their app and select a bookstore to support with your purchases.
• Chirp (audiobooks)
  • Chirp runs limited-time deals on audiobooks from their wide library. There are no monthly subscription fees or minimum purchases.
• Rakuten Kobo (ebooks and audiobooks)
  • This is my current alternative to that massive online retailer we all know too well.
  • They have their own line of eReaders (I’m currently obsessed with my Libra Colour), and offer really great deals on a wide range of titles.

No Buy Reading Resources

Libraries!

I’m biased here – I married a librarian whose mom was also a librarian – but folks, I’m not exaggerating when I say I think libraries (and librarians) are magic.

Not only are public libraries an option, but many communities have at least one little free library around and you can check in with colleges and universities to see if they offer community borrower options for non-students/staff/faculty.

Public and academic libraries are not just for physical book borrowing anymore, either. Many offer online resources for borrowing ebooks, audiobooks, and periodical publications.

Some community borrower programs will require a fee, but those fees are often small and are a big part of keeping libraries free or affordable resource centers for the communities they serve.

Buy Nothing Groups

While I haven’t used these groups much, and certainly not for books, it’s always worth a shot to check these types of groups to see if anyone is looking to offload or trade books.

I’m always looking for ways to reduce not only my spending but my waste, so the idea of buying or getting books second-hand is second nature to me. It’s not often that I buy a brand new book, and I love when I find an opportunity to spend no money to either borrow or give a book a new home.

Book Exchanges

I’ve come across at least one online group dedicated to book exchanges (it has been several years, but I’m sure they’re still out there). I also participated in my first in-person book exchange in December 2024 with my local book club. I ended up with two interesting titles and was able to hand off some of my favorite reads for someone else to enjoy.

Wrapping Up

Well, I didn’t expect this post to go on quite this long, but I guess I have a lot of reading resources to be excited about.

What are some of your favorite reading resources?

What are you currently reading?