LeVar Burton now has a digital book club and membership is open to all.

Launched on Tuesday, the LeVar Burton Book Club by Fable, a social reading app that encourages users to build safe communities and foster mental wellness through reading.

“As we expand Fable, our goal is to continue to work with partners who share our mission to improve mental wellness through reading and engage in meaningful conversations and human connections through digital book clubs, curated folios and social reading,” Fable creator and tech industry pioneer Padmasree Warrior said in a press release obtained by Blavity.

Every three months, Burton will select three new books to be added to a “folio” and will handpick a new book monthly for the group to read as a unit. Each folio also comes with a customized book club discussion board to help readers engage with their virtual community.

In his book club’s debut, the Star Trek actor specifically chose books written exclusively by Black authors, including James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain as the first designated reading.

“For my first Fable folio I selected books that have had a tremendous impact on my life,” Burton said in the press release. “At a time when Black people had very little representation in the publishing industry, Baldwin delivered a debut novel that introduced to the world an essential voice in American Literature. I invite everyone to join me on Fable as I am both inspired and energized by the opportunity to not only re-read this story but also share my point of view and hear everyone else’s as we read together.”

Burton, described by Warrior as “synonymous with reading” formerly hosted the children’s educational program Reading Rainbow on PBS from 1983 to 2009 and co-founded the award-winning Skybrary app for young readers. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Inamori Ethics Prize, an award presented to those who display exemplary ethical leadership.

“In my worldview, literacy is freedom! If you can read in at least one language, you have the facility to educate yourself on any subject,” he said during the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s (ASCD) Empower 2020 conference. “On Reading Rainbow I always said, 'But, you don't have to take my word for it!' Meaning: don't depend on me, go pick up a book yourself.”

The other two picks in Burton’s inaugural folio include Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, and The Fire This Time, a book written by Jesmyn Ward which pays homage to one of James Baldwin’s most prolific pieces, The Fire Next Time.

“Great literature is alive and well. There are so many great authors and amazing contemporary books," Burton told Blavity. “What we are losing… is our attention and the patience to invest our attention in books and novels that will inevitably expand our world view and give proper context for the complex experience of being a human being in this day and age.”

Burton’s advocacy for literature is unyielding, as he also hosts the LeVar Burton Reads podcast for children, teenagers and adults.

When asked what his vision is for the book club, Burton replied that he wants to share his love for stories with everyone and have honest conversations.

“My vision is to read great books with my community and share my love for stories with everyone, he told Blavity. I am hoping to drive meaningful and thoughtful conversations about racial justice, cultural shifts, equality and to be honest… stories that simply allow us to escape through a good yarn.”

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