Recommend a Book and Read Along

Two actions let readers take part in your book club: recommending a book and reading along. You choose who may do each one, and the button says what a reader needs before they click.

Who may do what

In the book club settings, choose separately who can recommend a book and who can read along: anyone, your subscribers, only your paid subscribers, or no one. When an action is off, its button does not show.

"Your subscribers" means anyone subscribed to your publication, free or paid: an email address is enough, no payment. "Only your paid subscribers" means every paid level. A paid subscriber is also one of your subscribers, so a choice of "your subscribers" lets them in too. Someone you imported who has not accepted yet, or who has not confirmed their subscription, is not one of your subscribers yet: their button asks them to subscribe until they do.

What the button says

The button tells a reader where they stand, before any click:

• Sign in to recommend a book or Sign in to read along, when they are signed out.
• Subscribe to recommend a book or Subscribe to read along, when the action is for subscribers and they are not one yet.
• Upgrade to recommend a book or Upgrade to read along, when it is for paid subscribers.
• Recommend a book and Read along, when nothing stands in the way.
• You're reading this, once they have joined the reading.

One click goes through the missing step: the sign-in window, a one-click subscribe, or the plans window. Then it carries on with what the reader asked for, so they do not have to find the button again.

Recommending a book

The reader picks a book, then a window shows it with a place for a few words on why (optional, up to 500 characters). Recommend sends it, and the window says what came of it:

• the book was sent to the book club (Sent to the book club);
• or the book is already in the club, and the reader's voice for it is counted.

A recommended book is private to the club's organizers and editors: other readers do not see it, and it does not show in the upcoming books. A reader cannot approve their own recommendation.

Reading along

Read along joins the reading at once, with no confirmation. A message says You're reading along with an Undo button. A reader can leave the reading later; the message then says You left this reading. Joining is refused on a book that is not part of the club yet, was removed, or is over.