So if you’re like me and are intensely motivated by ✨shiny things✨, all the Quest badges are so cute and beautiful and fun! And you want to collect them all because not only do they represent achieving a certain reading goal, but they also make your profile the most aesthetically pleasing one on the block!

I’ve joked about collecting a bunch simply because they look good together before, but with the most recent batch of Quests and avatar images that dropped, I thought there were enough options to try to make little themed sets of them as a way to procrastinate all my responsibilities. I’ve come up with a few just-for-fun “badge packs” below (solely based on the badge designs) that I think would look cool if I collected them all, but i would love to see what other people come up with! Go forth and mix and match!

Fairy Glen

For when you want your profile to resemble an enchanted meadow of sunlight and flowers and the shiniest lil critters you have ever laid eyes on

Quest badges featured: Plants, fungi, and trees - oh my!, Majestic Minibeasts, Intro to Poetry Possible avatar pairings: Fairy, elf, unicorn, satyr

Once Upon a Dream

For when you want to pretend you live in a castle in the clouds with a rainbow outside your bedroom window. And heaps of books littering the place, of course

Quest badges featured: Fairy Tale Retellings, Historical Fiction Starter Pack Vol II, LGBTQ+ Middle Grade Possible avatar pairings: Angel, princess, genie, witch

Valley of Monsters

For when you’re grinding a fantasy RPG and they throw you into a training arc. Scales and fangs and claws abound!

Quest badges featured: Those Who Lurk Among Us: Monster Manga, Flights of Fire, Mermaids After Dark Possible avatar pairings: Devil, goblin, monster, western dragon

Abducted by Aliens (but make it a grainy 1980s TV program)

For the classic sci-fi vibe. Lil green martians and flying saucers and questionable CGI (may or may not feature an “alien planet” that was filmed in some random area outside of LA)

Quest badges featured: LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi Charcuterie, Operation Epic Scope Possible avatar pairings: Alien, superhero, robot, astronaut

Queen of Hearts

For when you’re in the mood to plant a rose garden atop the beheaded corpses of your enemies. Beware the flesh-eating flowers!

Quest badges featured: Tragic Love: Queer Edition, Fantasy and Sci-Fi with a Side of Romance, Botanical Horror Possible avatar pairings: Vampire, Fabio, emo girl, Victorian Gothic

Museum Display

For when the vibe is walking into a collection of priceless artifacts and restored antiques, ready to learn about history!

Quest badges featured: Mythological World Tour, Classics Starter Pack Vol II, Greek Myth Retellings Possible avatar pairings: Detective, audiobook (you’re taking the guided audio tour)

Medieval Quest

For when you need everyone to know that you’re AOL on a quest for glory at the behest of the local monarch

Quest badges featured: Medieval Times, Gothic Literature, Universe Quest: The Cosmere + Cytoverse Possible avatar pairings: Knight, wizard, dragon, prince

Back From The Dead For The Purpose of Murdering Shitty Men

What it says on the tin

Quest badges featured: Blood Suckers, Supporting Women’s Wrongs, Sapphic Vampires Possible avatar pairings: Emo girl, vampire girl, punk

’Twas a Dark and Stormy Night

For those classic haunted house vibes. It’s a horror movie, and you’re for sure going to investigate the strange bump coming from the basement!

Quest badges featured: Whispers in the Walls, Queer Horror, The Macleaniverse Possible avatar pairings: Emo boy, ghost, Binx

Some other possible ones I thought of: The Vampire Lord’s Crusty Old Castle (Gothic Literature, Dark Academia, Blood Suckers), I’m A Magical Girl But I Love Cannibalism (Fairy Tale Retellings, Gothic Literature, Tragic Queers), A Bite To Eat (British & Irish Classic Literature, Classic Literature From the United States, Love, but Also Food), Serving Cunt in a Brutalist Hellscape (Feminine Rage, Fictional(?) Dystopian Societies, Every Villain is a Hero in Their Own Eyes), Day In the Life (Quiet Novels, Cozy Fantasy, punctuation: optional)

I love — and also am frustrated by — the fact that there’s no Sauron-like bad guy.

The complexity of all the characters makes it more interesting and exciting and less predictable. But it’s also harder to root for. 🙃

(Okay, Ghassan totally sucks. But almost everybody else has both good and bad traits.)

I found Pagebound kind of by chance when choosing a “trying different book apps” video to have on as background noise while doing some household tasks and was really intrigued by the design of the app, as well as the forum feature, prompting me to check it out. I’ve tried countless book-related apps where I created an account, but always found something missing for me — even though I never could figure out what it was. I’m still not sure how exactly to put it into words, but whatever it is — Pagebound has it.

I have always loved reading, but the discussions that happen on some other apps about books (booktok, bookstagram, booktwitter, etc) would inevitably steer me away from being an active member of the community itself (how many times do we have to say that yes, audiobooks DO count as reading, no readers should not stalk authors and authors should not stalk readers [or respond to low rated reviews in reader-oriented spaces], yes reading is actually VERY inherently political, etc etc etc).

But the community and the overall atmosphere here on Pagebound has absolutely reignited my enthusiasm to talk about books with other readers! This app has brought me back into the book community, offering so many avenues for dialogue, a plethora of recommendations, and pretty badges that feel like a reward for doing one of my favorite things 😌

All of that to say, I am curious to know how others discovered Pagebound, and what has made you stay/become an active user!

In addition to the feeling of community, my favorite tech features in the app are the forums and the quests! What are yours?