Why pick BookLoom over Fable
Fable is a beautifully designed social-reading app: editorial clubs, public feeds, reading streaks, celebrity-led reads. It's optimized for discovery — finding new books and new readers. BookLoom is optimized for the opposite: running the club you already have, without your group's reading history feeding a follow graph or recommendation engine.
- Private by design. A BookLoom club is a single sealed unit, shared via iCloud invite. No public profile, no follow graph, no "people who read this also enjoyed".
- No subscription. Every feature — ranked-choice voting, meetings, RSVPs, ratings, custom discussion prompts — is free. Fable's Premium tier is fine; we just don't have one.
- Native Mac app. Same SwiftUI codebase as the iPhone/iPad version. Useful when you want to draft a discussion agenda from a real keyboard.
- Per-member ratings, side by side. See your group's actual sentiment at a glance, not an aggregate score.
- Local meeting reminders. Each member's device fires the reminder at the offsets you choose. No platform-side notification settings.
- Data Not Collected. Membership, books, ratings, notes, meetings — all live in your iCloud, not in our analytics dashboards.
The "small, focused" version
BookLoom intentionally ships a smaller surface area. The features included are the ones a real club uses every cycle:
- Proposal pool. Anyone in the club submits books with ISBN lookup; covers and metadata pulled automatically.
- Pick the next read. Random Loom Pick or ranked-choice poll with one ballot per member.
- Meetings + RSVPs + agenda. Date, host, optional video link, agenda field, reminder offsets, and a per-member "bringing" note.
- Ratings + private notes. 1–5 stars per member visible to the club; private notes only to you.
- Discussion mode. Starter prompts plus custom prompts your group writes — surface them at the meeting itself.
How BookLoom compares to Fable
| Feature | BookLoom | Fable |
|---|---|---|
| Native iPhone, iPad & Mac apps | ✓ all three, SwiftUI | iOS & Android; web for desktop |
| Works without an account | ✓ iCloud identity | Account required |
| Private-only club model | ✓ single sealed graph | Public + private clubs in a shared social product |
| Ranked-choice voting on books | ✓ free | Club admin tools (subscription tier varies) |
| Random "pick from the pool" | ✓ Loom Pick rotation | — |
| Meeting scheduling + RSVPs + agenda | ✓ structured | Event-style scheduling |
| Local meeting reminders | ✓ per-device | Platform notifications |
| Per-member 1–5 ratings, side-by-side | ✓ | Per-member ratings + averages |
| Private per-member notes | ✓ | Highlights / notes (some features paid) |
| Discussion prompts (starter + custom) | ✓ Discussion Mode | Discussion rooms / spoiler-free chats |
| Public reading feed / discovery | — by design | ✓ core surface |
| Reading streaks & stats | — | ✓ goals + streaks |
| Reading-progress tracker (page/%) | Planned | ✓ |
| No ads, no third-party tracking | ✓ Data Not Collected | No ads; in-app analytics |
| Pricing | Free, no IAP | Free + paid Premium tier |
Pricing
BookLoom
No subscription, no IAP, no ads. Sync runs through your iCloud, not our servers.
Fable
Free tier with public clubs and a feed; Premium subscription unlocks deeper stats and some club features. Pricing varies — see fable.co.
Frequently asked questions
What does BookLoom give up by not being a social platform?
Public discovery, a follow graph, an editorial feed, video clubs, and influencer-led reads. If those are the things drawing you to Fable, BookLoom isn't a substitute. If you already have your group and just want to run it well, BookLoom is the smaller, focused tool.
Is Fable subscription-only? Is BookLoom really free?
Fable has a free tier and a paid Premium plan that unlocks deeper club features and stat tracking; pricing varies. BookLoom is free with no subscription, no in-app purchases, and no upsell prompts.
Can I run a private club on Fable?
Yes — Fable supports private clubs. The structural difference is that the club lives inside a larger social product. BookLoom is built around a single private club graph: nothing is public, nothing is recommended.
Does BookLoom have video chat or audio rooms?
No. BookLoom schedules a meeting with an optional URL field — you paste your own Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Meet link. Building voice/video into the app would conflict with the privacy stance.
What about Android members?
BookLoom is Apple-only today. If your club has Android members, Fable (cross-platform) will work better.