When buddy reads were launched in December 2021, we had to explain what they were, especially for those outside of online book communities who may have never heard the term before.

Now, on the cusp of the launch of readalongs, we're getting a lot of people asking: "What's the difference between a buddy read and a readalong?"

And it's only as I go to answer that question that I realise the product has almost redefined what those two things are.
 

I'll say: "Well, with a buddy read, it's a free-flowing discussion with a small group of people, where you can leave comments for any point in a book, whereas with a readalong, it's typically a much larger group and the discussion is more structured, with forums you can access when you reach certain checkpoints in the book..."

And well, I'm saying that because that's how the features on StoryGraph work. 😅

Before our buddy read feature launched, people ran buddy reads more closely to how our readalongs will operate: namely, pre-set weekly check-ins, where you've all read up to a certain amount and then have a burst of activity discussing it, before cracking on with next week's reading. There didn't exist any software to enable you to do it any other way.

I just love that our product — especially once readalongs and book clubs are live — has unlocked new ways to read with others and will give hosts the flexibility to craft perfect reading experiences for their communities. 🥰
 

Highlighted search results:
 

Emoji reactions:
 

And finally, improving how spoilers work (they currently don't work properly on lists) and look: 

I've also sketched out how the secure file upload for giveaway hosts will work such that digital and audio prizes can be delivered immediately to winners in-app! 😍
 

My goal is to finish all of the readalong side quests along with the main one, of course. Then I gotta get started on book clubs straight away! 😅
 

Started This Place: 150 Years Retold last night, a beautiful graphic short story anthology exploring the history of the Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Have a great week,

Nadia

P.S. Know somebody who's an avid reader or would enjoy following along with this journey? Please do forward this email to them! Thank you. :-)
 

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