Killer Thriller Crew: Fable's Book Club of the Month
Oct 3 2022
Every month, Fable celebrates one of our great book clubs. This month, our featured club is the Thriller Killer Crew, a free club reading and discussing thrillers together.
Join the Killer Thriller Crew Book Club on Fable!
Right now, they are reading “The Whisper Man" by Alex North. The book is a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.“The recipe for a good book club pick is one people are excited for,” said Kat Polcher, the founder of the Killer Thriller Crew. “Books with good twists and many turns are good because they spark shock and discussion.”What makes a great book club?
We caught up with her to get some advice about building an engaging community. “It’s really important to make your members feel comfortable and like the club is a safe space to discuss any opinions and navigate discussion with respect,” Kat told us, explaining what makes the Killer Thriller Crew such a great place to read. “It doesn’t matter how good the book is if people aren’t comfortable,” she said.“It goes back to creating a safe space. If you make people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions, they want to come back and read with you because they have made connections and know they feel welcome."
"Making them feel that way makes them also willing to suggest reads, meet friends and be more active in the club. It’s a waterfall effect that flows into all other aspects of the club,” she concluded.How to make reader polls on Fable
According to Kat, moderators also have to be willing to put in the work and dive head first into the club atmosphere.“Research new reads in your genre people are excited about that are coming out soon. Give people options of what to read. That makes people feel more included. We always have a vote of 3-4 books, and whatever the majority wants, we will read, but sometimes if it’s super close, that will be our next read to accommodate those people as well!” Kat said.You can use Fable's new poll creation feature to help pick your next book. Just open the Fable app and find your book club.- Visit any discussion room
- Tap the "Message" option at the bottom of the screen
- Tap the icon with three vertical bars on the screen
- Select your poll type
- Fill out the fields for a "Text/Link" poll
- Choose books for a "Read Next" poll
- Tap "Share Poll," and your new poll will be visible to your whole club!
How to make great discussion questions
In every chapter of a book, Killer Thriller Book Club members are always talking about the nitty-gritty details of the chapter in the discussion section. Kat advised other moderators to encourage club members to comment as they read.“It’s important as the moderator to pay attention to everything in the chapter that could spark a conversation. Were there any interesting quotes that were said? Did something shocking happen? Are there any theories or small details you can point out that could potentially lead to something happening later?” she explained.“If you are commenting and pointing out any of these things, you start the conversation, which is sometimes all it takes. Maybe someone had a similar thought but wasn’t necessarily comfortable starting that conversation."
“Sometimes, especially for new people, it’s a lot easier to jump into an already happening conversation than to have the courage to start a new conversation topic. This allows them to jump right in and give their opinions, without having to be the one to start it to build up confidence,” Kat concluded.How did the Killer Thriller Crew book club get started?
The Killer Thriller Crew started with a simple post. “I threw out a random story on my bookstagram saying how bad I wanted to read ‘The Chain’ and see if anyone was interested in reading along with me,” said Kat. “I realized that I just wasn’t reading the type of books that interested me,” concluded Kat, who also runs a book-focused TikTik account.“Booktok and Bookstagram are HUGE helpers in filling up my TBR list! My favorite thing on both Tiktok and IG is to go through the #ThrillerBooks hashtag and watch and look at all the videos and pictures. There are so many authors I am stoked to read about!”
